Chapter 8 - The Empty Safe and the Sudden Audit
By 4:00 PM, the financial net closed completely around Tristan and Gertrude.
From my office at the accounting firm, I monitored the digital alerts coming in from our forensic banking monitors. Judge Harrison of the County Superior Court had signed the emergency freeze orders without hesitation.
The joint Delaware wealth account containing $482,910.43: FROZEN.
Gertrude’s personal savings accounts: FROZEN.
The corporate checking account for Apex Strategy Partners LLC: FROZEN & FLAGGED FOR FEDERAL REVIEW.
Tristan’s personal debit cards: DECLINED.
At 4:45 PM, my phone began to buzz furiously on my desk.
Tristan Calling.
I let it ring until it rolled over to voicemail.
Ten seconds later, another call.
Gertrude Calling.
I ignored that as well.
Then came the text messages, popping up on my screen in rapid-fire succession:
Tristan (4:48 PM): Abigail!! What the hell is going on?! I’m at the grocery store trying to buy steaks for dinner and my card got declined! Then I checked my banking app and it shows an administrative hold! Fix this right now!
Tristan (4:51 PM): Pick up your damn phone! My mom tried to withdraw cash from the ATM down the street and the machine confiscated her card! Did you mess with the accounts again?!
Gertrude (4:54 PM): Abigail, you ungrateful wretch! My heart is pounding! If my blood pressure kills me because of your financial games, Tristan will have you arrested for manslaughter! Answer your phone!
I calmly clicked my phone into "Do Not Disturb" mode, slipped it into my handbag, and looked across the desk at Brenda Vance, who was reviewing the final copies of the eviction summons.
“Are the process servers in position?” I asked.
“Two uniformed process servers and two private security officers are waiting outside your condominium building as we speak,” Brenda said, sliding into her tailored overcoat. “The local precinct has also been notified of a potential civil disturbance involving an unauthorized occupant.”
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“Let’s not keep my husband and mother-in-law waiting,” I said. “After all, Tristan was very clear—he wanted our marital situation resolved by tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, it will be resolved, Abigail,” Brenda said, checking her gold watch. “Long before dinner is served.”
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