Chapter 10 - The Freeze
The legal blow fell before noon.
My mobile phone began buzzing incessantly with notifications from my corporate banks, investment accounts, and personal credit cards.
Alert: Account frozen by order of the Federal District Court.
Alert: Asset seizure warrant executed on primary business liquidity.
Within minutes, every single cent I had earned, every investment I had built, and even the bank accounts tied to my daughter’s future trust fund were completely locked down by the federal government under the sweeping provisions of the RICO Act.
I sat upright in my hospital bed, staring at the screen in numb disbelief. In less than twenty-four hours, I had gone from a self-made multi-millionaire living in a luxury Manhattan penthouse to a woman flat broke, legally entangled in a federal conspiracy charge, and trapped in a hospital room with a newborn baby.
The door to my room swung open violently.
Ethan’s defense attorney—a high-priced, shark-like litigator named Harrison Vance—walked in uninvited, flanked by two armed private security guards. He wasn't wearing a coat, and a smug, victorious grin was plastered across his face.
“Ms. Morgan,” Harrison said smoothly, stepping right up to the foot of my bed. “I trust you received the court notifications regarding the asset freeze?”
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I forced myself to sit taller, channeling every ounce of cold fury I had inherited from the battlefield of corporate entrepreneurship. “You have a lot of nerve walking into my room without an invitation.”
“Technically, it’s not your room anymore, and those aren't your funds,” Harrison laughed softly, leaning over the footboard. “Viktor Vance extends his regards. He told me to remind you that you can fight the federal indictment for the next ten years in a maximum-security prison, or you can sign a quiet corporate settlement—handing over your penthouse, your company patents, and your remaining shares—and we’ll make sure the federal prosecutor drops you from the co-conspirator list.”
