Chapter 9 - THE MOTEL MEETING
Across town, in a dreary, mid-tier motel off the Interstate, Julian sat on the edge of a sagging mattress, clutching a plastic cup of cheap whiskey.
Fiona was pacing back and forth across the stained carpet, her silk birthday gown ruined, her mascara running down her cheeks in dark streaks. Four overstuffed suitcases sat piled near the door—their entire world reduced to what they could pack in twenty panicked minutes.
"This is impossible!" Fiona shrieked, slamming her purse onto the laminate desk. "We can't stay here, Julian! The smell of stale smoke is making me sick! Call your friends! Call Arthur! Call anyone!"
"I've called everyone, Mom!" Julian snapped, slamming his cup down so hard the whiskey splashed over his knuckles. "Nobody is picking up! Did you see the look on the Senator's face when those process servers showed up? Word travels fast in Chicago. My name is radioactive."
"Then use the offshore accounts!" Fiona demanded, stepping into his space, her eyes wild with panic. "We have two hundred thousand in the Cayman fund! Wire it to my private account so we can book a suite at the Drake!"
Julian pulled out his laptop, opening an encrypted browser. "I’m doing it right now. Once I transfer the liquid assets, we can hire a real criminal attorney to destroy Sloan’s protection order."
He navigated to the offshore banking portal, typing in his private security clearance. He selected the primary holding account—Vance & Miller Holdings—and clicked on the transfer tab.
A bright red warning box flashed across his screen:
ACCESS DENIED. ACCOUNT FROZEN BY COURT ORDER (COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT - CASE #2026-DR-0892).
Julian froze. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. "What... what is this?"
He frantically refreshed the page. He tried his secondary account.
ACCESS DENIED. ACCOUNT FROZEN.
He tried his personal credit cards.
DECLINED. CARD SUSPENDED BY ISSUER.
"Julian?" Fiona’s voice cracked as she watched the color drain completely from her son’s face. "Julian, what does it say?!"
Julian slowly stood up from the bed, his hands trembling violently as he stared at the glowing laptop screen. "She... she froze the offshore accounts."
"How?!" Fiona screamed. "You said those accounts were untraceable! You said the master safe was unhackable!"
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Julian slowly looked at his right hand—at his thumb. A sickening, terrifying realization began to form in his mind.
Sloan hadn't just endured five years of his cruelty. She had been studying him.
