Chapter 10 - THE FREEZE ORDER
By 4:00 PM, my living room had been transformed into a legal war room.
Darcy sat at the glass dining table alongside Marcus Vance—a sharp, middle-aged forensic accountant with wire-rimmed glasses and a quiet, lethal efficiency. Two paralegals were scanning every document pulled from Julian’s safe into a secure cloud server.
"It’s breathtaking," Marcus murmured, clicking through a spreadsheet comparing my architectural firm’s tax filings against Julian’s offshore ledgers. "He was using your firm's EIN number to route unauthorized business loans into shell accounts, then claiming the losses on your personal tax returns. If you hadn't caught this, Sloan, the IRS would have audited you within eighteen months, while he walked away clean."
"Can we prove I had no knowledge of these loans?" I asked, handing Marcus a fresh mug of coffee.
"The audio recording from last night proves total financial coercion," Darcy interjected, setting down her pen. "Combined with the fact that every loan document features a forged signature—with a slightly different slant than your actual handwriting—Marcus can file an Innocent Spouse Relief petition tomorrow morning."
"What about the penthouse?" I asked.
"The emergency judge granted you full occupancy, but with these forged loan documents linking the property to his shell companies, we’re filing a motion for full title transfer," Darcy smiled faintly. "In short: Julian is going to lose his equity, his offshore money, and his reputation in one fell swoop."
Suddenly, my phone rang. An unknown local number.
I looked at Darcy. She gave me a firm nod and hit the 'record' button on her laptop before tapping the speakerphone icon on my screen.
"Hello?" I said calmly.
May you like
"Sloan... you crazy, psychotic bitch!" Julian’s voice erupted from the speaker, raw, breathless, and completely unhinged. "What did you do to my accounts?! Unfreeze them right now or I swear to God I will make your life a living hell!"
"Hello, Julian," I said, keeping my tone as smooth as silk. "I see you finally checked your offshore balances."
