Release me. Now. Or I will report your father for embezzlement." "Dad would never do that." "I don't care if he does. Your father's actions have had a negative effect on my life. He should never have interfered with my business arrangements. You know how much I gave my money for the good of other people and I won't allow anyone to corrupt what I have done for my city." "So you think that I am going to bribe police and politicians for you?" "The police are too easy. The other politicians in this city are easily bribed and they are already for sale. You need to go to the big shot." "But I can't." "You can. Now is your chance to make some money. I don't want to put up with your father's bullshit any longer. Your father is bad news and he has to go. I will send someone to your house tomorrow at noon and pay them two hundred thousand dollars in cash to take him and the rest of your family. Your mother and sister will also be on the bus. "You have to call me back and let me know if this will work. Otherwise, you're on your own." Lacey hung up the phone. She was shaking. She still had over a hundred million dollars in her private account. How would she ever pay so much money? She could never take advantage of the bribe and she didn't have enough money to move out and begin a new life. She had to think. She would have to tell her father about the bribe, but she'd be damned if he took a bribe and she'd go to jail. She'd been a good girl. She had been keeping the accounts and bookkeeping. She'd been doing her best to keep from getting caught and her father was proud of her. Now she was going to get caught, but she was going to take a stand. She called her father in the morning to tell him about the cash and she agreed to meet the man at a convenience store in the town to give him the money. When she met him she handed him her father's cash box, empty. He told her to come with him to the police station and turn in her father. She went willingly, as she had no choice. They took her father and mother and sister to a holding cell and they put her sister in a small cell. Lacey was in a cell with five other girls and they were being held for the night. It was the third night since they had found the money and no one had given them the word to go home. Lacey would rather sit in the cell with the other girls and wait for a decision about the money. Maybe they would be set free and she'd be able to turn the money in. She thought about the bribe. She couldn't just hand over the money. She was still going to have to ask her father for permission. Lacey wondered if it would be any use if she came home to get her things. There were too many cameras around and she had no way of knowing when she would get out. She decided to stay on and try to wait for a decision. The next day they brought in her father and mother. Her mother's face was pale and she looked sick. Lacey recognized the look from the few times she'd seen it before. The officers were not happy with the bribe and thought that it could be a bribe to get their money back. When the officers were finished questioning the other people they set her father and mother and sister free and they told them to come back after they got their money back. The police officers had no idea that Lacey had called the big shot and left a second bribe. She hadn't told her father, but she'd paid the bribe to the man she spoke to on the phone. She had asked him how he would use the money. He told her not to be stupid and that he would share the money with her. Lacey had agreed to meet him at the convenience store. When she saw him, she felt she had gone completely crazy. Lacey's father had been a cop and her father had never lied to her. She had always believed that her father would help her and she was getting ready to see her father go to jail. Her mother and sister had been crying at the thought of their freedom being snatched away. They didn't want to go home. She couldn't believe what she was doing. She had taken a bribe to sell her family to get two hundred thousand dollars. She was a fool and she knew that if the big shot realized that she had stolen the money, she would go to jail for life. She couldn't use the money for her personal pleasure. She had to give part of the money to her father and mother and sister. The big shot sat in his car waiting for her to give him the money. He knew that she would be afraid to give him the money directly. When he heard the sound of the car, he stepped out of the car and met her. He smiled. "What do you want?" "I have brought the cash. I have arranged for you to give a part of the money to your family. You can keep the rest for yourself. I would never take money from a woman. It is not honorable." Lacey's heart stopped beating and her whole body went cold. Lacey thought of calling off the meeting and returning the cash. There was still a chance. Maybe she had gone insane. She wouldn't look at the big shot. She looked back at her family that she had just put into his car. Her family had no idea of what she had done. The only thing that made her heart beat again was the idea that she had taken back the money. Lacey had gone insane. If she didn't do it, it would be worse than death. She knew that the big shot knew how to operate. Lacey called her father and told him what had happened. Her father didn't want the bribe money to go back to the government, but he wouldn't tell her that she should not have taken it. He told her to stay at the convenience store and call him back if anything happened. She told him about the big shot. He didn't want to believe that she was insane. The big shot walked out of his car and started up the stairs of the convenience store. Lacey ran out the back door and ran down the alley. She turned left and disappeared. When she opened her house door, she saw her family standing on her front porch. She ran to them and they let her hug them. Lacey asked if the police would come. Her mother asked if she would go to jail. Lacey couldn't tell them the truth. She couldn't tell her father that she'd gone insane. Her father would go to jail and she knew that her father would blame her for the bribe and the loss of money. She couldn't tell them the truth. She just said that she needed to go to school. Lacey was arrested that same day and thrown into jail. Her parents never stopped blaming her for the loss of the bribe. Her sister said she was a fool for getting caught and she would never do it again. Lacey would do anything to get out of jail. The day after she was arrested she was taken to court and found guilty of embezzlement and conspiracy to bribe police officers. Her father had gone to the court and gotten her bail revoked. She was facing five years and a ten million dollar fine. Lacey didn't have enough money to take a lawyer and she was going to have to represent herself. She had to find a lawyer who could get her money back for her. No one would represent her because she was facing such severe penalties. The only place she could get a lawyer was in the jail library and she had no money to buy one. She knew there was someone who would represent her for free. She called out to the big shot in jail. He stood up and walked over to her. "I can help you." "How?" "I can have my lawyer bring your money back to you. You won't have to pay the fine and you can stay free." "Will you represent me free?" "No, I can't." "I'm listening." "I can't do it for free. If I do it for free, it will open up a can of worms. I will have to tell my wife and that would never be good for you. She is mad at me. I want to keep my family and my wife happy." "Let me ask you this. You know the system that your wife works for. Do you know if you make a false statement, will you go to jail for lying?" "No, I don't know if I will go to jail." "Your wife works for a very powerful man. It wouldn't surprise me if she works for a criminal. My money can only help you. The fact that my wife is not working for a criminal can only help you. That man will never tell your wife or anyone else that you asked him for help. The fact that I work for the big shot, and he has given my wife a job, can only help you. All I want in return is for you to tell me that you sent the police to the wrong person. If I don't get what I need, I will go to jail and I am sure that the big shot will do the same thing. You would lose more than you would gain by letting me help you