Chapter 8 - Vanessa’s charges
Vanessa faced separate criminal cases that would later be coordinated.
Child-injury case:
Felony child-abuse/endangering count based on intentional push causing serious injury.
Assault count.
Evidence-tampering count tied to attempts to destroy the phone and camera evidence.
Financial case:
Identity-fraud/false-signature allegations.
Fraudulent loan-document allegations.
Potential theft-by-deception theory related to lender proceeds.
Not every charge survived.
That is what courts are for.
She pleaded not guilty.
Bond conditions:
No contact with Ruby.
No contact with me except through counsel.
No access to my parents’ financial accounts.
No use of Diane’s devices or credentials.
Travel restrictions.
No immediate prison.
Then Colin.
My brother-in-law was not charged initially.
He told investigators:
“I believed Diane had agreed.”
Was that plausible?
Maybe.
He knew Walter wanted to help.
He knew Vanessa handled documents.
He did not attend remote closing.
Crowe Residential received money.
Did he ask enough questions?
Maybe not.
Criminal knowledge needed proof.
Financial/civil liability could still exist.
Then Vanessa’s business messages with Colin.
Vanessa:
Mom is still refusing. Dad’s soft yes is enough. I’ll handle documentation.
Colin:
Don’t do anything stupid.
Vanessa:
I’m fixing the funding.
Colin:
Does Diane know?
No immediate reply.
Twenty minutes later:
She will when it’s done.
That was bad for Vanessa.
Good for Colin?
Partly.
He now knew something was wrong.
Then:
Colin:
Vanessa, stop.
By then remote closing had occurred.
He did not call bank.
He allowed draw three days later.
That could create complicity questions.
Prosecutors reviewed.
No immediate charge.
Then family court.
My parents petitioned for supervised grandparent contact.
Not custody.
Not guardianship.
They knew better.
I opposed.
Dana Cho said:
“Rachel, courts may distinguish Diane from Walter, and both from Vanessa.”
“I don’t care.”
“You will need to.”
I hated her again.
Diane had deleted evidence.
Walter had helped create the financial conditions and lied by omission.
Neither pushed Ruby.
Would permanent no-contact be justified?
Maybe now.
Maybe not forever.
Dr. Hannah Price recommended no contact while Ruby was medically unstable and before trauma assessment.
Court agreed.
Temporary no-contact.
Review later.
Then Vanessa asked through her lawyer to preserve family photographs from my parents’ home.
Why?
She claimed I would remove Ruby from family history.
Nonsense.
Still, property preservation unrelated to Ruby’s body.
The judge ignored the emotional framing.
No one got to use family court as therapy.
Then Franklin Bank’s internal review found serious failures.
Remote notary vendor did not properly compare identification photo to live participant.
The notary had been handling multiple closings.
Video showed Vanessa.
Diane’s driver’s-license image clearly older.
Bank authentication relied too heavily on possession of email/device.
Would bank lose lien entirely?
Unknown.
Walter’s valid signature complicated.
The bank’s own negligence mattered.
Then title insurer became involved.
Then Crowe Residential’s townhouse sale.
It closed.
Net cash available after senior liens:
$276,000.
Franklin Bank demanded proceeds.
Crowe deposited $250,000 under interim settlement.
Remaining facility balance after application and payments:
Approximately $176,000 principal plus disputed fees/interest.
The financial catastrophe shrank.
That mattered.
A $685,000 lie had created a $176,000 unresolved exposure plus legal costs.
Still serious.
But not an empire.
Then one more piece emerged.
Vanessa had not planned to keep the loan secret forever.
She had drafted an email to Diane:
I know you said no, but once Colin’s sale closes you’ll see there was never any real risk.
Never sent.
That sentence became the heart of her financial defense.
She saw herself as forcing a temporary solution, not stealing.
The law might see unauthorized signature and collateral differently.
Then why hurt Ruby?
Because temporary schemes depend on time.
May you like
Ruby threatened the three weeks Vanessa needed.
And Vanessa chose force.
