Chapter 13 - Freezing the Veins
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By sunrise the next morning, the financial collapse of the Montgomery empire was the lead story on every major news network.
Federal agents executed a simultaneous search warrant at the Montgomery mansion and their corporate offices in Midtown. TV cameras captured the iconic image of Cordelia Montgomery being led down her grand front steps in handcuffs, her expensive navy dress crumpled, her face shielded by a silk scarf as agents loaded boxes of seized ledgers into federal vans.
The Montgomery Enterprises stock plummeted eighty-five percent within thirty minutes of the market opening, forcing a trading halt.
I sat in Ethan’s office, sipping warm green tea as the TV screen mounted on the wall broadcasted the live raid.
“The judge signed the asset seizure order an hour ago,” Ethan said, sliding a fresh document across the table. “Your two hundred thousand dollar trust allocation has been fully recovered from their holding accounts before they could transfer it to Panama.”
I let out a long, quiet breath. For the first time in three agonizing days, the weight crushing my chest finally vanished.
“What happens to the estate?” I asked.
“It’s going into federal receivership,” Ethan explained. “It will be auctioned off to satisfy their outstanding bank loans, victim restitution funds, and unpaid staff wages. Bernardet will be receiving a substantial back-pay settlement for her wrongful termination.”
Suddenly, Ethan’s desk phone rang. He listened for a moment, his eyebrows pulling together in a sharp frown.
“Are you sure?” Ethan asked the caller. “Okay, bring her up.”
He hung up the phone and looked at me with an odd, tense expression.
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“Who is it?” I asked.
“Cordelia’s personal assistant,” Ethan said. “She managed to avoid the initial round of arrests. She says there’s a second safe inside the estate that wasn't listed on the financial drive—a safe that only opens with a secondary key.”
