Chapter 3 - The Locked Gates
At 7:04 AM, a sleek silver Mercedes pulled up the curved stone driveway of the Greenwich estate.
Lorraine Vance stepped out in a tailored pastel blazer, carrying an empty designer handbag, expecting to enter the house and issue her morning demands.
She walked up the wide stone steps, inserted her brass key into the front deadbolt, and twisted.
The key wouldn't turn.
Lorraine frowned, trying again with forceful aggression.
Nothing.
She tapped her biometric key fob against the scanner.
BEEP-BEEP. ACCESS DENIED.
Panic and fury flushed across Lorraine’s face. She raised both fists, pounding violently against the reinforced mahogany doors.
"Audrey! Open this door right now!" Lorraine screamed, her voice echoing across the courtyard. "How dare you lock me out of my son's house!"
Inside the foyer, I stood dressed in a sharp black tailored pantsuit, watching her on the high-definition security monitor.
I pressed the two-way intercom button.
"Lorraine," I spoke smoothly, my voice echoing through the external speaker above the portico. "Save your energy. This house was never Ryan's."
Lorraine stepped back, gasping in outrage. "You insolent brat! I will have Ryan throw your belongings onto the lawn!"
At that exact moment, a black town car and two unmarked federal vehicles pulled up behind Lorraine's Mercedes, blocking the driveway.
Stepping out of the vehicles were Arthur Sterling, two forensic auditors from the Connecticut Department of Banking, and Detective Marcus Vance from the Greenwich Police Department.
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Lorraine turned around, clutching her pearls in sudden, breathless terror.
"Lorraine Vance?" Detective Vance asked, holding a sealed envelope. "We are executing an emergency asset freeze and search warrant regarding thirty-five million dollars in fraudulent corporate loan originations."
