Chapter 15 - Seeking Mercy
Beatrice clasped her hands together, stepping tentatively toward my desk.
“Elena... if I may call you Elena,” Beatrice stammered, her voice shaking. “We used to attend the same charity luncheons with your... well, with the Vanderbilts. I just wanted to appeal to your better nature.”
I didn't offer her a seat. I simply rested my hands on the desk and looked at her. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Sterling?”
“The federal asset freeze... it caught our family accounts in the crossfire,” she pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. “Arthur convinced my husband to invest our retirement savings into those shadow shell companies. My husband had nothing to do with the embezzlement! We’re about to lose our home, our health insurance, everything.”
I remembered standing at the edge of the Vanderbilt ballroom years ago, when my mother and I had attended a charity gala as catering setup crew, and Beatrice Sterling had loudly complained that people of “our class” shouldn't even be allowed in the service elevators.
“When my mother lost her home twenty years ago because of your friends, Mrs. Sterling, did anyone appeal to Arthur’s better nature?” I asked quietly.
Beatrice flushed crimson, biting her lip.
May you like
“The federal courts handle restitution based on legal filings, not social connections,” I said, standing up to signal the end of the conversation. “If your husband was an innocent investor, the bankruptcy trustee will review his claims in due course. But I am not a charity.”
Beatrice lowered her head in bitter defeat, turning slowly and walking out of the office without another word.
