Chapter 8 - The Financial Sting
Marcus stumbled back from the table as if he had been slapped a second time.
"You... you called the police on Mom?" he stammered, his voice climbing to a hysterical pitch. "She’s sixty years old! She has high blood pressure! You’re trying to kill her!"
"Your mother drugged my daughter with antihistamines and struck her across the face," I said, rising to my feet. "She belongs in a cage. And so do you."
Sterling jumped up, frantically grabbing his briefcase. "This meeting is over. We will see you before a judge, Vance!"
"Count on it, Preston," Sarah replied coolly. "Oh, and by the way? You might want to advise your client to check his commercial bank accounts. The forensic freeze we filed at 8:30 this morning just went through."
Marcus froze. He reached into his pocket with trembling hands, pulling out his smartphone. He unlocked it, tapped his corporate banking app, and stared at the screen.
His jaw dropped. His knees visibly buckled.
"Zero?" Marcus choked out, clutching the edge of the conference table. "The... the operating accounts are frozen? Maya, that’s payroll! That’s the quarterly tax reserve for the retail plaza!"
"That is marital property subject to an immediate forensic freeze under suspicion of fraudulent transfer," Sarah stated without looking up. "Every dollar you funneled into Aegis Holdings is now locked under a court-ordered receivership. You can’t touch a dime. Evelyn can’t touch a dime."
"You ruined us!" Marcus screamed, his composure completely shattering. Spittle flew from his lips. "Do you know what Mom’s creditors will do to us? They have personal guarantees on the commercial debt! If we miss the Friday deadline, they’ll initiate immediate foreclosure on the family estate!"
"Then I suggest your mother start packing her pearls," I said coldly. "Get out of my office, Marcus."
Marcus looked at me with pure hatred burning in his eyes. For years, he had seen me as docile, compliant, a woman who would endure any humiliation just to keep the peace. Seeing me hold all the cards broke something fundamental inside his brain.
"You think you’ve won, Maya?" Marcus hissed, stepping toward the door. "My mother has friends in this city you haven't even dreamed of. Judges, city council members, precinct captains. By tomorrow morning, that video will disappear, your lawyer will be disbarred, and Lily will be back in our house. You will regret the day you ever defied my mother."
He slammed the conference room door so hard the glass partition vibrated.
Sarah exhaled slowly, taking a sip of her cold coffee. "Well. That went about as well as could be expected."
"He’s not bluffing about Evelyn’s connections, Sarah," I said, my heart pounding despite my outward calm. "Evelyn’s second cousin is a circuit court judge. She donates millions to the police benevolent association."
"Judges and politicians are loyal to one thing only, Maya: their own survival," Sarah replied, clicking her laptop open. "When the unedited video goes live on every major news outlet at 5:00 PM today, no judge in this country will touch Evelyn Hayes with a ten-foot pole. Sunlight is the best disinfectant."
Suddenly, the door from the back office opened. Julianne walked out, holding Lily in her arms.
Lily looked at me, reaching out with her tiny hands. "Mama. Go home?"
I took my baby into my arms, burying my face in her soft hair, breathing in the scent of baby shampoo and lavender.
May you like
"Soon, my sweet girl," I whispered against her cheek. "Mama is building us a brand new home."
***
