Chapter 7 - THE MIDNIGHT SUBPOENA
Panic replaced arrogance as Derek scrambled to retain high-priced defense attorneys, only to be turned away because every major law firm in Chicago had already been retained by Judge Vance on behalf of Grace. Isolated in his freezing, half-empty penthouse with his credit cards declined and his luxury vehicles impounded, Derek finally realized the terrifying scope of his miscalculation.
At midnight, a sharp knock echoed against his front door. Derek yanked it open, expecting a delivery, but found a process server holding a formal subpoena. Not only was he facing criminal indictment for financial fraud, but the civil family court summons demanded his immediate appearance to answer for domestic abuse, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraudulent abandonment of a pregnant spouse. Attached to the summons was a formal legal notice establishing Grace as the sole legal heiress to the multi-million-dollar Sterling estate—a fortune that completely dwarfed the Ashford portfolio.
