Chapter 26
PHOEBE
The jail cell feels smaller with every minute that passes in heavy, deafening silence. Sitting on a hard bench with my back against the wall, I rub my wrists—those cuffs dug deep enough to leave reddish marks that will soon become bruises.
My cellmate, a young woman in a dealer’s uniform, sits quietly beside me. She seems calm, as if she’s done this before.
“This is insane,” I mutter, glancing past the steel bars.
More people are brought in from the raid, their cuffs roughly removed before they’re shoved into the neighboring cells. They’re keeping the men and women separate, and I can’t see Dominic anywhere. There’s no sight of my mother, either, and I don’t know if I should be concerned or relieved.
“Relax,” the dealer chick says. “It’ll be over as soon as you get your phone call.”
“Not your first rodeo, huh?” I ask.
She gives me a wry smile. “Third time this year. The organizers prepare for this type of situation. The players handle themselves, though.” She pauses to look at me. “Player or lucky broad?”
“Lucky broad, apparently,” I say, then take a deep breath. “Though clearly not that lucky.”
“Hubby or boyfriend or just a date for the game?”
“My partner,” I say.
“You’ll get a lawyer soon. Relax. They’ve got nothing to hold you on. Nothing to threaten you with into making a deal or telling them anything,” she says. “Just cover your ass and say you’re waiting for your lawyer.”
It sounds easy enough. But not knowing what’s going on out there isn’t helping.
“Relax,” the dealer says again, irritated by my foot tapping incessantly on the cold, hard floor as the cops bring a few more players into the cell next to ours. I do my best to shut out the noise and the countless protests. “It’s going to be fine. Seriously.”
“I’m trying to relax, I swear,” I tell her. “It’s just… I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”
She scoffs and shakes her head. “Let me guess. This is the first time you’ve ever been arrested.”
“Yes.”
“I get it. The first time is the worst. You think you know your rights and whatever, but they push you and jerk you around like you’re some worthless piece of crap, some spineless sack of flesh, theirs to do with as they please.”
“Way to get my spirits up,” I grumble and cross my arms.
“It’s all psychological,” the dealer says. “They do it on purpose to get you to crack, to tell them everything you know. But you don’t. You keep your mouth shut.”
A police officer peers through the bars, giving me an amused look. “I thought you looked familiar.”
“Excuse me?” I ask. My brow furrows as my stomach reduces itself to the size of a pea, the nausea picking the worst possible moment to remind me I’m pregnant. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, you’re not Mrs. Newsom, that’s for sure,” he says with a chuckle and shows me his phone.
I stand up, my knees weak, but I need to see what’s on that screen. The closer I get, the tighter my throat becomes as I recognize a snapshot of myself and Dominic as we’re dragged out of the Jade Dragon in cuffs.
“They had press waiting outside?” I gasp.
“Of course. High level players in that joint. The Feds wanted to make a strong case in the public eye. Local PD is assisting. Miss Baldwin, right?” the police officer replies with a cold smirk.
“Baldwin?” the dealer chick asks. “Is that a famous name or what?”
“Only one of the richest families in New York,” the cop says.
The headline turns my stomach inside out, bile burning its way up my throat. It takes a gargantuan effort to swallow it and remain upright as I read it again out loud.
“Baldwin Heiress and Lover Caught in Illegal Gambling Ring.” I hear the words roll off my tongue, yet my brain delays the connection. “Oh, God…”
“Yeah, you’ve gotten yourself into some serious trouble here,” the cop replies.
“Remember what I said,” the dealer quietly reminds me. “Mouth shut. Lawyer.”
“Yeah, yeah, mind your own beeswax,” the cop tries to shut her up.
The dealer comes up beside me and gives him the middle finger. “Screw you, asshole. I know your games. She doesn’t have to tell you anything without her lawyer present. Pray you mirandized her before you brought her in here!”
“I know my job!”
“Then get the fuck out of our faces and go do your job,” she snaps. “In the meantime, LAWYER.”
I watch in disbelief as the police officer puts his phone away and goes to the cell next door to check on the other players and dealers. They’re all infinitely more agitated, a bigger handful than me. Shaken to the core, I hold on to the steel bars for balance.
“Whoa, babe, you don’t look so good,” the dealer says, placing a hand on my shoulder. I give her a weak smile.
“Yes, well, I’m not sure how I’m going to get out of here.”
“Come on,” she says and guides me back to the bench. “At least sit down. They’ll give us some water soon. They’re required to by law.”
“Thanks,” I whisper and resume my seat.
My life is pretty much over. The tweet is out. The newspapers are already circulating my name all over the stratosphere. Phoebe Baldwin arrested. Illegal gambling. Dominic got dragged into it, too. There’s also the issue of the fake IDs we used.
It appears my mother got away. She’ll definitely use this as ammunition against me.
I won’t stand a single chance in court.
She’ll strip me of everything. After what Penny and the guys unearthed about her handling of our family’s business, she’ll run it all into the ground, I’m sure of it. Tears fill my eyes as I try to find a sliver of light in the midst of this madness.
But all I see is darkness.