Fatal Hubris

By Mina Scheller-Wildfeuer

Judge Ken Stolz was the ultimate example of over-ambitiousness and pride-fullness He was the center of his mother’s universe. Coming from humble origins, she gave up her own well-being for him. From then on, he chose his relationships mainly for being beneficial to him. The women in his life sacrificed everything for him to further his career and placement in society, but in return, they only received heartache and fateful ends.

That is until he met his match, Diana, who was equally ambitious in her quest for high society. Because of his own arrogance and pride, he ends up making a calculated decision that will advance him socially and professionally but will also put his family and his Judgeship in danger, causing him a great personal toll. What measure will he go to in order to protect his family and legacy?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984554840

Mina Scheller-Wildfeuer

Mina Scheller-Wildfeuer was born in Galicia (West Ukraine). As a refugee, she came to Germany with her parents and eventually received a teacher's degree there. She also studied psychology. Consequently - with that knowledge of human behavior and a good novelist's instinct of details - she is able to feature intriguing and complex personalities in her stories. Mina immigrated to the United States as a young adult. She married, had five children and lives with her husband in California.

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Copyright © 2018 by Mina Scheller-Wildfeuer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/26/2018

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J

UDGE KEN STOLZ was not born into comfort. He came from humble origins and no one expected him to be more than an average, hardworking Joe like everyone else in his family.

His parents owned a small farm, inherited from a long line of modest farmers. The farm produced very little income and left the owners living in poverty. The main reason for this sad situation was Ken’s father who had frequent bouts with alcoholism and neglected his duties. This addiction to alcohol also led to violent outbursts.

Ken’s early childhood was filled with fear; although his mother, Ruth bravely took the brunt of her husband’s anger and shielded her son from physical abuse. That poor woman had several miscarriages before Ken was born, and was overjoyed to at last have a healthy baby boy. Ruth adored him and gave him all the love she had.

Ken was still quite young when his father died in an accident, caused by his drunkenness. He left his widow in dire straits. Ruth tried to keep the farm afloat but finally gave up and sold it. It was not much money she received from the sale but enough to make a down payment on an affordable dwelling in a modest neighborhood in a small town. Ruth hoped with that move, to be able to send her son to a good school.

Ruth spent hours making the run-down house livable and succeeded in creating a comfortable home. There was not much money left, and it was a hardship for Ruth to make mortgage payments. She had to look for a job. Luckily, she found one as a motel maid with permission to bring her young child along.

That was Ken’s life now. While his mother was cleaning rooms, Ken kept himself busy with collecting magazines and books, left behind by overnight guests. The colorful magazines amazed the young boy. He looked at the world of beauty and wealth, depicted in them and had his first taste of a pleasant alternative lifestyle. His mother, seeing his interest, provided Ken with a small scissor, white construction paper and school glue.

Ken carefully cut his most favorite pictures out of the magazines and pasted them on the construction paper. He made collages and created his own version of a good life.

Ruth admired the childish artwork and repeatedly promised her son, he too would, one day, become like these fortunate people, living in wealth. Although Ken was too young to understand the concept of wealth, he was pleased to hear and kept it in his memory.

Besides having fun with magazines, Ken especially loved the children books, occasionally left behind and which he could take home. Although Ruth was tired, she regularly read to her son in the evening hours. The stories appealed to Ken. He was introduced to a new and fantastic world. He loved the colorful pictures but was particularly fascinated by words. He followed his mother’s reading them with his eyes. On Ken’s insistence, Ruth taught him how to recognize the words, write them down and read simple sentences.

When Ken entered Kindergarten, his teacher was astonished of his ability to read at such a young age. He was advanced to first grade and excelled in each following grade. Soon, it was recommended to send him to a private school for gifted children. Ruth was very proud of her son but realized that she couldn’t afford the tuition. She saw this great opportunity for Ken and wanted very much for him to succeed in his life. Ruth weighed all possibilities and decided to take on one more job, cleaning offices at night, and Ken was enrolled in the school for gifted children. Ruth, working hard day and night without much sleep, often felt very tired, but when she heard the teachers praising her son for being an intelligent and outstanding student, she forgot her troubles. It was worth it. Her efforts paid off.

When Ruth was told that she had an exceptional child, she was overwhelmed. She didn’t know what to make of it. His father’s and her family had always been simple folks. Out of the midst of these unassuming, average farmers rose this son of hers with exceptional intelligence, far above all of them. Ruth was afraid. How should she handle this child without destroying his gift? He surly couldn’t be treated like any other boy.

After all, he was special! She started looking at Ken with different eyes. Their relationship changed. Ruth became uneasy around Ken and treated him almost with reverence.

When Ken was still quite young, he sensed the change in his mother’s behavior toward him with sadness. He missed the closeness they used to have. Growing into the self-absorption of teen-age years, he enjoyed the freedom his mother gave him. She was reluctant to ever criticize him. Ken had no boundaries, but he never took advantage of It. He was completely goal-oriented. His main object was to get away from his present poor environment and become someone important. With this in mind, he concentrated on his studies.

Ken graduated from high school with honors, a scholarship, and the choice of any higher educational institution. Showing signs of exaggerated ambition, Ken researched potential professions for their best chances of advancing to high positions. He decided to study law and chose a very prestigious university.

His scholarship was generous but still not enough. There were so many more expenses that were not included in it. Ruth was shocked to learn how much Ken’s education would cost and how difficult it was for her to finance it; but how could she deny her beloved special son this opportunity. She had to make it possible! She would just have to work harder and get the money somehow. Her son should have the life he desired and which he deserved.

Ruth worked even more hours than before. She denied herself many things which could make her life more bearable. She even neglected her appearance for want of time. She saved and scratched money together every which way to support her son who did very well at the university. Of course, Ken could have taken a part time job to subsidize his scholarship, but it never occurred to him. His mother wouldn’t suggest something so beneath her talented son.

Ken rarely visited his mother and when he did, it was of a short duration. He didn’t pay attention to signs of serious deterioration in Ruth and her house. He just found her life unappealing and left as soon as he could. Ken was a brilliant student and had the potential of a successful career; but not withstanding his intelligence, he was ignorant of his mother’s sacrifices and dire predicament. Ruth was unaware of the fact that she had raised an egotist.

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When Ken had entered the large, prestigious university which he chose, he was lost and intimidated in this unfamiliar, bustling environment. Ken had grown up under circumstances that kept him virtually in isolation. All he really knew was his mother’s narrow world and his special schools.

Without a doubt, Ken was superior in intellect but lacking experience, inferior in social interaction. He didn’t have any connection to the young people at the university and didn’t participate in any of their activities. Ken was a loner, dedicated only to his studies.

Such was Ken’s situation when Susan came into his life and changed it drastically. Being a young, healthy male, he had noticed - for a while already - a very attractive young woman around the campus. With long blond hair and lovely blue eyes, she was Ken’s type. Obviously quite popular, she was always surrounded by fellow male students. She was vivacious and always cheerful. Dressed in the latest style, her whole appearance showed sophistication. Ken deduced that she came from a wealthy family. He admired her from afar but never even hoped to be in contact with her ever. Ken knew, he was hopelessly out of her league.

One day, Ken was reading in the library when he heard a loud commotion. Looking up from his reading material, he saw - to his great surprise - the admired girl, picking up books from the floor. She apparently had side-swiped a stack of them on a desk and had knocked them down. Ken jumping up came immediately to her aid. The girl smiled, and Ken saw her beautiful blue eyes looking at him. He blushed and continued gathering up books.

All the books were