“The gates at 168 Isabella Avenue opened to a $13 million estate she’d bought in 2000, a figure she mentioned twice before we even parked. What she didn’t mention was the $5 million loan she’d taken after the tech crash or the $60,000 a month it cost just to keep the lights on. Like much in Roomy’s world, it was all show, punctuated by name drops about neighbors like Larry Ellison and Yahoo’s Carol Bartz. Inside, Roomy introduced me to her husband, Sakhawat. Far from the “deadbeat” she’d described, he was educated, seemingly successful, and attentive to their adopted daughter, though far less kind to the maid, Vilma, whose breaks he monitored with unsettling precision. I’d later learn she worked nearly ninety hours a week for $250 and would eventually sue them. The house was dotted with carefully arranged silk scarves and designer handbags, a curated display meant to signal wealth. I’ve learned that people who try that hard to show you how rich they are usually aren’t.”
From WIRED ON WALL STREET via CrimeReads.