Chapter 5 - THE FROZEN ACCOUNTS
At 8:00 a.m. sharp, Martin Hale’s emergency asset-freeze protocols hit the financial institutions managing the Mercer holdings. Ethan’s corporate and personal checking accounts, linked through subsidiary management trusts, were instantly locked down pending a fraud and abuse investigation. Furthermore, the deed to the sprawling Connecticut estate—technically held under a subsidiary trust controlled by the Mercer family office—was flagged with an immediate stay of occupancy and transfer, preventing any modification or sale by Ethan or Vanessa.
