Chapter 5 - The Freeze OrderAt 6:45 AM, the rain stopped, leaving the morning sky a pale, icy blue.

Inside the penthouse suite of the Grand Harbor Hotel, Evan woke up with a pounding headache from too much champagne. He stretched, reached for his designer watch on the nightstand, and picked up his phone to check his banking app.

He wanted to see the green numbers—the four hundred fifty thousand dollars that was supposed to have cleared into his primary account at midnight.

Instead, when he opened the app, a bright red banner flashed across his screen: [ACCOUNT SUSPENDED — CONTACT ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE IMMEDIATELY.]

Evan sat up, rubbing his eyes. “What the hell?”

He tapped his secondary account—the one holding his personal savings. [ACCOUNT FROZEN.]

He tried his credit card to order room service. [TRANSACTION DECLINED.]

“Marissa!” Evan shouted, kicking off the silk sheets. “Marissa, wake up!”

Marissa stumbled out of the bathroom wearing a hotel robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. “What are you screaming about, Evan? It’s not even seven in the morning.”

“My app is glitching,” Evan said, his voice laced with sudden, sharp anxiety. “The bank accounts are showing frozen. All of them.”

Marissa snorted, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s just a weekend security hold because of the large wire transfer from the title company. Call the bank manager. He knows who we are.”

Evan dialed the direct line for his private wealth manager at First National Bank.

The line rang once, twice, and then was picked up not by his manager, but by a flat, emotionless voice:

“First National Compliance and Legal Division. State your name and account number.”

“Yeah, this is Evan Vance,” he said, trying to summon his usual arrogant tone. “My accounts are showing a temporary hold. I need that cleared immediately. I have a major closing transaction settling today.”

“Mr. Vance,” the compliance officer replied coldly. “Your accounts have been placed under a Non-Intercourse Federal Seizure Order issued by the United States District Court pursuant to 18 U.S. Code § 1344. All assets are frozen pending federal investigation.”

The phone slipped out of Evan’s hand, crashing onto the hardwood floor.

“Evan?” Marissa’s voice lost its smugness, turning instantly shrill. “Evan, what did they say? What’s going on?!”

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Before Evan could answer, the heavy wooden door of the penthouse suite shook under three massive, booming knocks that sounded like cannon fire.

“FEDERAL AGENTS! OPEN THE DOOR!”