Admitting that to herself would mean her father was a monster. She had watched it all crumble in front of her very eyes. She recalled the day like it had happened yesterday. A day filled with stress. Bunny recalled holding on to her mother. Her mother didn't say a word to anyone once the Feds barged their way into their mansion and flashed their warrants.
Her mother watched with a steely gaze as they seized all the furniture and her belongings. Though her mother looked serene and unbothered, she held onto Bunny's hand for everlasting life. The feelings of anger and sadness from that dreaful day overwhelmed her. Bunny watched her two younger twin sisters huff and puff, walking out with two feds close behind them.
The knowledge that they would never get to keep their toys, games, books, or items they had seen in their home since their brith stung. She and her mother stood in the middle of the chaos as the objects exited their home. First went the sofas, second, the loveseats, next, the armoires, and lastly, the fine China. It was all heartbreaking to watch as each piece went out the door and was loaded into a truck. Bunny had been promised the fine China set for her wedding.
That privilege was now gone. Bunny knew this was a consequence of her fathers actions with his business. She wished she was dreaming, but Bunny knew she was not dreaming. She was wide awake, and this was her life. She hoped that one day soon, she and her family could look back on this and laugh.
It was a good thought, but she knew that would never be. Her father had sat her down before this whirlwind began and told her that he loved her, no matter what. Now she wondered why he had done it because he never said he loved her before.
He had always shipped her off from boarding school to boarding school. It always felt like he was making sure she was out of the way.
She could not protect her mother from his manipulation or abuse if she was in Switzerland. Bunny was twenty-six years old now. There was no more shipping her off to school. Bunny had graduated business school, graduated top of her class. She had earned her Ivy league status.
She arrived home just in time to bear witness of her family being torn to shreds. She had just gotten off the plane and got into the limo when her mother broke the news. Her father had been arrested at their country club and was currently out on bond.
The police wanted to speak to Bunny and everyone in the family about her father, his business and associates. It was all so sorted, and ugly, she thought.
She knew she could never tell anyone how she dealt with this time in her life. Society would shun her, or worse, pity her and her family. It was not in the papers yet. She knew it would. It was only a matter of time, and when it finally did, she did not dare turn on a T.V. or read a magazine.
She saw his name and all of his misdeeds on all the newspapers.
She thought her mother was having a nervous breakdown, but she pulled through. She remained strong in the face of adversity. The venom the high society elites threw their way didn't sting as much. Her mother was a wonderful woman.
During this time, Bunny had prayed more than she ever had. She hoped they would make out of this situation safely. She really wondered what she and her family were going to do. She was shocked that her mother had answered her. It had been an hour since she had heard her voice while the raid went on.
After that dirty violation had transpired, she knew she was right. She didn't know what they were going to do, but it would entail them coming up with some sort of plan...
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Bunny really wondered what she and her family were going to do. She was shocked that her mother had answered her. It had been an hour since she had heard her voice while the raid went on. After that dirty violation had transpired, she knew she was right. She did not know what they would do, but it would entail them coming up with a plan.
They were not going to be able to stay in their home. It was no longer theirs. She recalled the dreaded feeling of asking one of her friends to let her, her sisters, and her mother spend the night in their guest home or wherever they could fit. It had turned bleak. Everyone in their elite circle turned them away.
Bunny turned off the water from the shower, got out of the tub, retrieved a towel from the towel rack positioned directly over the toilet, then patted her soft skin dry. When she was done, she wrapped the towel around her nude form. Even though the hotel was considered cheap, the owner was a stickler about having the cleanest towels and bathrooms. She wrapped the towel around her body and exited the bathroom.
Life was different for sure. Her thoughts went back to her current past. During that time, she realized she did not have any friends. They were all connected to the money Bunnys father had. Once the money was gone, so were her friends. That first night staying with her mother and sisters in a seedy hotel had been one of the hardest nights of her life.
They were all traumatized and sat there in awkward silence.
Everyone had been emotionally drained from the experience of what they all witnessed and endured. What was Bunny going to do? She remembered thinking at that time.
She had decided to take a walk. That walk led to a yellow 1978 Cadillac stopping her and offering her money for sex. It seemed like such a fast way to get money and alleviate the stress from her mother and sisters. They did not deserve to live like this. They had done nothing wrong.
Bunny reasoned with herself. Bunny only sucked off the stranger. The deed lasted three minutes. The stranger had paid her $400. She remembered feeling so happy to see that meager task yielded a good amount of money and, feeling like maybe the Universe had sent the stranger in her direction as a sign of hope.
She had left him and was able to buy a room for a week. As time passed, she posted her career resume. Her thought process being with her business skills and educational background, she would land an excellent job, but it was to not be. She had one interview. It had gone horribly. The interviewer, a middle-aged man, with a substantial chip on his shoulder from the misdeeds of her father, had only brought her in to publicly humiliate her.
Every job interview she requested after that potential Employers would immediately turn her down. Her fathers stench has permeated her life. No one wanted anything to do with her. All the while, their lawyer bills were piling up.
She was the oldest. Her birthright had been taken. Everything she had worked so hard for had been taken. She didn't know what to do. She remembered flipping through the phone book and landing on escorting. She remembered the man in the Cadillac. Her experience hadn't been a bad one, and if that's what she had to do until someone took her seriously, she would do it.
It was a scary thing to think about. Bunny no longer saw her father like she had. He was now a sinister man, who stole from widows and orphans. He had put his family in danger. Anonymous late-night text messages flooded her and her mothers cell phones, to the point they had to get burner phones. There was also the brutal comments made about them on social media. Her nickname was 'Princess Bitchy'. She was dead by association.
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It was a scary thing to think about. Bunny no longer saw her father like she had. He was now a sinister man who stole from widows and orphans. He had put his family in danger. Anonymous late-night text messages flooded her and her mothers cell phones to the point they had to get burner phones.
There was also the brutal comments made about them on social media. Now Bunnys nickname now was 'princess bitchy'. Bunny was dead by association. It was unfair. Bunny worked hard in school to get to the top of her class.
She earned those grades with her own blood, sweat, and tears. None of it mattered. No one would give her an opportunity.
It would be months, maybe years, before someone could have her name on their employee roster without a lawsuit ensuing shortly after. It felt ridiculous?
After all, her father being arrested had stopped a white-collar criminal. She just wanted a semblance of her life back. She knew it would not be possible at this moment. She had to be grateful for the olive branches the universe continued to extend to her. One came in the form of Baxter...