Chapter 12 - The Bankrupt DynastyWhile I adjusted to life as a new mother, Patricia’s world was tearing apart at the seams.
Without access to her frozen bank accounts, she couldn't afford her personal mortgage, her car lease payments, or the retainer fees for Sterling, her high-priced criminal attorney. Sterling withdrew from her case after three weeks of non-payment, forcing the court to assign her a public defender.
Her luxury townhouse in San Diego went into default. Her creditors, realizing she was named as a co-conspirator in a major fraud and assault suit, began foreclosing on her personal properties.
To make matters worse, Patricia’s late husband’s judicial pension board launched an internal ethics review after the video of her role in the assault was leaked by local media outlets. The board suspended her monthly pension disbursements pending the resolution of her felony charges.
By the time the criminal trial began in late spring, Patricia was living in a small, rented studio apartment paid for by a distant relative, driving a fifteen-year-old sedans, and wearing off-the-rack clothes to court.
Her social circle in San Diego completely abandoned her. The woman who had bragged about her status and mocked my "rotting wooden house" now found herself ostracized, bankrupt, and facing years behind bars.
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Every time she saw me walk into the courthouse—dressed in crisp, elegant suits, carrying my daughter in a stroller—her face twisted into a mixture of pure venom and utter helplessness.
She had tried to strip my dignity. Instead, she had lost her own.
