Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

Over the years, a number of the women in that circle dropped out, some because they had seen their personal attackers get punished and that was enough for them, others because their careers or families took precedence over their need for revenge. The four of us, Cheryl, and two others who couldn't make it this week, are still active."
    Holly had the feeling she should have the whole picture by now, but it was still eluding her. "I'm certainly not a psychiatrist, and I can understand how it might help to talk about a bad experience, but is it really beneficial to keep rehashing it after all these years?"
    Rachel laughed aloud. "Well, what do you know! Another blonde with a brain."
    "You're right, Holly," April said. "Talking about it only goes so far. We all needed much more. Since the law wasn't interested in punishing any of the fifteen, we decided it was up to us. By our junior year of college, most of the men were gone, but we had a plan. I had already chosen my career, and under the circumstances, it made sense for me to continue along that line, if for no other reason than to keep our members on an even keel."
    "Each of the others went into careers that would ultimately grant them certain privileges and powers. Cheryl's money was her contribution. With it, we were able to hire detectives to keep tabs on the fifteen men while we finished our schooling."
    "From time to time another victim's name would surface, as yours did, and we would send off the form letter you received. Some responded immediately, others never did. As I mentioned to you, if you decide to join our group, the extent of your participation is up to you."
    Holly nodded her understanding though she still didn't know exactly what April was leading up to.
    "The goal of the Little Sister Society is simple—retribution. Our primary rule for exacting revenge is that the punishment should be of equal magnitude to the crime. In other words, we attempt to degrade, humiliate and rape the target."
    Rachel cut in. "Unfortunately, her usage of the verb 'rape' is in the figurative rather than the literal sense. I still think castration would be a lot more efficient."
    With barely a glance at Rachel, April continued. "Since none of the women were permanently disfigured physically, mutilation would be considered excessive."
    "The second fundamental rule is that every act we perform must be completely within the law. If our group or its goal ever became public, no one could be legally prosecuted. To ensure that, one of our absent members, Samantha Kingsley, serves as our legal counsel and clears every one of our decisions before any action is performed. Rachel holds a law degree as well, but her network of information through the FBI is much more valuable."
    "I'm sure you can guess how an IRS agent could benefit our group," April said, smiling at Bobbi. "And Erica is our resident genius in the business world. Erica, perhaps you'd like to tell Holly about our last success."
    Erica's smile reached her eyes this time. "Did y'all know Kenneth Viello?"
    Holly shook her head. "Actually, I didn't recognize that many names on the list."
    "It doesn't matter," Erica said with a wave of her hand. "Viello had a construction company in Mobile, Alabama. He'd built it up from a one-man home-repair service to a general contractor corporation employin' hundreds of people. The construction business had a few bad years and his company went from bein' very profitable to barely meetin' the payroll. He was certain things would improve eventually; he just needed enough capital to hang on until they did."
    "That's where my company came in with a deal he couldn't resist. Explainin' that we were lookin' for a short-term investment for a cash surplus, we agreed to put capital into the business in exchange for a temporary fifty-one percent ownership and the right to put our employees in certain key positions... to guarantee an efficient turnaround. Once the business was back on profitable ground, Viello had the right to buy back our percentage at a reasonable price.
    "As had happened before with other men, he assumed my bein, a woman would make it easy for him to maintain control of our business relationship. Once my own executives were in place, they followed my instructions for downgradin' the company. Within a year, not only was there no profit bein' made, there was no business left to salvage and no cash to start fresh. And Donner Corporation received a tax benefit for the losses