Julian yanked his phone out, his fingers fumbling against the glass screen.
A piercing series of warning tones erupted from the device, rapid and unrelenting.
Chloe: What is that noise, Julian? Who is calling you?
Julian: It's... it's the private banking portal. It says server disconnect.
Chloe: Refresh it! Just refresh the page!
Julian tapped frantically, his manicured hands beginning to shake.
The screen flashed bright red, replacing the balance summary with a bold white notice: REGULATORY FREEZE ENFORCED.
Julian: No... no, that's impossible. There was forty-two million dollars in the operating account!
Clara: Not anymore. Every cent is locked under federal escrow pending audit.
Julian: You can't do this! You were just his home health aide!
Clara: I was a Navy lieutenant commander who served alongside your father for eight years before he ever needed round-the-clock nursing.
Chloe stared at Clara, her mouth open in absolute horror.
Chloe: You said she was an uneducated nobody from the rural county, Julian!
Julian: That's what my lawyer told me! Clara, cancel the order right now!
Clara: Why? So you can throw more cash on the ground?
Julian: I will sue you for every penny you ever breathe! I have the best litigation team in New York!
Right on cue, Julian's phone rang with an incoming call from his lead attorney, Arthur Sterling.
Julian swiped the screen and put it on speakerphone, desperate for vindication.
Julian: Arthur! Thank God. Clara is here with some military gadget, and my bank accounts just locked down!
Arthur: Julian, do not say another word on an open line. Where are you?
Julian: I'm in my foyer! Sue her! File an immediate injunction against the bank!
Arthur: I can't do that, Julian. The Department of Justice just served an emergency freeze on our firm's Vance retainer trust.
Julian: What are you talking about?!
Arthur: Your father didn't leave you the master holding company. He transferred total executive control to a private trust managed by Clara Vance.
Julian's eyes bulged, the phone nearly slipping from his grasp.
Julian: She isn't a Vance! We never married!
Arthur: She is his legally adopted daughter, Julian. He filed the adult adoption and the revised trust charter three months ago.
The silence that fell over the foyer was suffocating.
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