Vanessa eventually pleaded guilty to reduced charges and received probation, court-mandated counseling, an order to pay full financial restitution to Teresa, and a permanent order to stay away from her and from me.

Her mountain of debt, no longer propped up by the fortune she had been counting on marrying into, collapsed, and she was forced into bankruptcy.

I felt no joy watching it happen, and I want to be honest about that, because a story like this seems to invite it.

What I felt was closer to sorrow, the plain sadness of watching a life reveal itself to have been built entirely out of appetite and deception, with nothing underneath.

She had wanted, so badly, to have everything.