Chapter 12 - The Deputy's Visit|
While I remained confined to my hospital bed to recover, my father and the financial investigator, Daniel Cho, drove straight to my house, accompanied by a county sheriff's deputy. Melissa had initiated a video call with me so I could witness the entire confrontation unfold live on my phone screen.
When the heavy doorbell chimed, it took a long, tense moment before the front door finally creaked open. Ethan stood on the threshold, his hair disheveled and still wearing the same wrinkled clothes from the day before. He looked incredibly haggard and deeply exhausted.
"Where is Claire?" Ethan grumbled aggressively, glaring daggers at my father.
"She is somewhere safe," my father replied with glacial coldness. "And so is Lily's money."
The sheriff’s deputy stepped forward, holding up a formal document stamped with a bright red official seal.
"Ethan Ryan Morgan," the deputy announced in a booming, authoritative voice. "I am serving you with an Emergency Protective Order. This order explicitly bars you from contacting Ms. Claire in any manner, and prohibits you from coming anywhere near the hospital where she is currently receiving treatment. Furthermore, it grants her immediate, temporary exclusive use of this residence, along with temporary physical custody of the infant, Lily."
The color drained from Ethan's face, his expression morphing from arrogant anger to pure astonishment. Before he could even formulate a response, Daniel Cho stepped up and handed him a separate, equally intimidating envelope.
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"This is a formal preservation notice from the financial crimes division," Daniel stated clearly and firmly. "It pertains to three online loan applications submitted under your wife's name during the exact week she went into labor. All of your associated accounts have now been completely frozen pending an active federal investigation."
Ethan stared blindly at the envelopes, his hands trembling as the sheer weight of his impending doom finally began to settle onto his shoulders. The protective bubble he had lived in was bursting right before his eyes.
