Threading the Needle Read Online Free PDF Page A

sooner or later it adds up to real money. People are angry and they’re looking for someone to blame.”
    None of this was news to me, not anymore. Gene had given up referring to the charges leveled against Sterling as “allegations” weeks before. Eugene Janders is a brilliant litigator, but he’s not a magician. Even his talent has its limits. After looking at the evidence, Gene said that Sterling’s only chance of not dying in a prison cell was to plead guilty, display remorse, and hope for a lenient judge.
    He was probably right. Even so, I couldn’t help but notice that Gene offered this advice right after our bank accounts had been frozen. You can call me cynical (and you’d be right), but I couldn’t help but wonder. Would Gene have been quite so ready to throw in the towel if Sterling still had access to an almost unlimited supply of cash to pay for the services of Blackman, Janders, and Whipple? Sterling’s admission of guilt might be his best shot for a lighter sentence, but it was also the cheapest way for Gene’s firm to rid itself of an unwinnable case and a client whose pockets weren’t nearly as deep as they’d been. It was all very convenient.
    â€œSterling kept the game going by reeling in new fish and using their money to pay off his longer-term investors. As well as,” Gene said after a dramatic pause—he had a habit of always speaking as if he were addressing a jury—“financing his lavish lifestyle . . . and yours.
    â€œA lot of people have lost a lot of money, Madelyn. Little old ladies don’t have enough to pay rent at their assisted living communities. Folks who were looking forward to a secure retirement on a golf course are realizing that they’re going to have to keep working for years to come. Parents who had scrimped and saved to make sure their kids could go to college are filling out applications for educational loans that will leave them in debt for years. Families are losing their homes. Charities that entrusted their endowments to Sterling are being forced to cut back programs or even close—”
    â€œI know that!”
    Gene shook his head sorrowfully and continued, ignoring my interruption. “And every time those people turn on the television, or boot up the computer, or flip through a tabloid, they see a picture of Sterling coming through the door of his private plane—with you behind him. Or Sterling at the helm of his yacht—with you sitting next to him. Or Sterling, in his custom-made tuxedo, walking down the red carpet at a Broadway premiere—with you on his arm, wearing a diamond choker from Harry Winston—”
    â€œI don’t have it anymore! I had to give it up. All my jewelry, everything Sterling ever gave me. Even my engagement ring,” I said through gritted teeth. The loss of the ring didn’t bother me. If I hadn’t had to surrender it to the court, I’d have happily thrown it in Sterling’s face.
    â€œNo judge who cares about public opinion,” Gene droned on, “and that’s all of them, is going to stick out his neck to help the wife of Sterling Baron right now. No one cares about your problems, Madelyn. People have problems of their own.”
    â€œI understand that! And I feel terrible about it, but it’s not my fault. If I’d known what Sterling was up to, I’d have left him, or stopped him, or . . . something, but I didn’t know! I’m as much a victim of his schemes as anyone else,” I said, ignoring the twitch at the corner of Gene’s mouth.
    â€œI’ve lost everything too. What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go? The government has seized all our assets, frozen all our accounts.”
    â€œSo you were paying attention.”
    â€œYes!” I snapped. “I know I’m not a Rhodes Scholar, Gene—Sterling was always so quick to remind me—but even I can understand