Chapter 4 - The Strategic RetaliationI picked up my phone and made a single call.
"Hannah," I said when my attorney and closest friend answered. "It's time. I need the emergency filing. I need the forensic accountants to freeze the joint accounts, and I need a process server at the building's private elevator lobby by exactly five o'clock."
Hannah didn't even hesitate. "I've had the paperwork drafted since you told me about his 'we' speeches last month, Evelyn. Are you sure about this?"
"He wired four hundred and forty thousand dollars of my money to his brother, and he hired a demolition crew to destroy my writing studio next week," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "He thinks my public image makes me fragile. Let's show him what happens when the story changes."
"I'm on it," Hannah said, her professional tone cutting through the line like a scalpel. "The process server will be there. I’m also calling the head of building security. Since the penthouse is owned by your corporate LLC, Marcus has no legal tenancy. He is a guest. A guest whose invitation has just been permanently revoked."
For the next three hours, my penthouse became a war room. I worked with Hannah's team to trace the funds. The $210,000 "capital improvement" wire had indeed been sent to a commercial demolition firm. I called the firm's owner directly.
"This is Evelyn Vance," I said, my voice dripping with corporate authority. "The contract signed by Marcus Vance for the demolition at the Millennium Penthouse is unauthorized. The property is owned solely by my LLC, and any attempt to enter the premises with tools or equipment will be treated as criminal trespass and property damage. I suggest you cancel the work order immediately if you want to avoid a massive lawsuit."
The contractor apologized profusely, promising to freeze the contract and return the deposit to my holding account.
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Next, I worked with the building's IT director. The penthouse was equipped with state-of-the-art biometric security. At 4:30 p.m., I sat at my laptop and deleted Marcus's fingerprint, his facial recognition profile, and his backup access codes from the master database.
He was officially a ghost in his own kingdom.
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