Chapter 6 - THE FREEZE
By 8:00 AM on Friday morning, the legal strike hit with surgical precision.
Arthur stood in the kitchen brewing fresh tea for Clara when his phone vibrated against the granite counter. It was a formal notification from his primary bank: the operating account for his architectural firm, Pendelton & Associates, had been frozen under a court petition filed by Julian Vance on behalf of the Pendelton Family Trust.
A minute later, his firm’s junior partner, David, called in a state of sheer panic.
"Arthur! What’s going on?" David stammered over the line. "The bank just rejected our payroll run for thirty employees! And Julian Vance’s legal team is standing in our lobby with a court injunction claiming you misappropriated trust capital!"
Arthur kept his voice flat, steady as iron. "David, gather the project leads into my office. Tell Julian’s team I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Don't answer any of their questions until I arrive."
Upstairs, Clara walked slowly down the hall, holding three-week-old Maya against her chest. The white bandage across her forehead stood in stark contrast to her pale, bruised face, but her eyes held a new, quiet resilience as she saw her husband’s back squared against the counter.
Arthur hung up the phone, turned around, and walked over to Clara. He took her face gently in his large hands, kissing her uninjured temple.
"Julian frozen the business accounts," Arthur said softly, concealing nothing. "They're trying to force us into a corner before the police report clears."
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Clara took a deep breath, resting her hand over his. "We filed the police report this morning, Arthur. The officer saw my forehead. They took the photos. I’m not afraid of them anymore."
"Good," Arthur whispered, his eyes burning with protective warmth. "Because today, we hit back."
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