Chapter 6 - The Freezing of AssetsBy 9:00 a.m. on Monday, while Daniel and his parents sat in their cold county jail cells wearing orange jumpsuits, I arrived at the high-rise law offices of Sterling, Ross & Vance—the prestigious corporate firm where Daniel was a senior partner.
I wasn't wearing a victim’s clothes. I wore a crisp, tailored charcoal suit, my dark hair pulled back into a sleek bun, with my bandaged right hand resting comfortably in a black silk sling.
Beside me walked my former law mentor and lead trial attorney, Evelyn Reed—a legendary litigator known throughout the state as the 'Iron Velvet.'
When we stepped off the executive elevator onto the top floor, the grand glass lobby fell into dead silence. Paralyzed employees and junior associates stared at us in shock. News of Daniel’s arrest had already broken on the morning financial news networks: PROMINENT CORPORATE LITIGATOR ARRESTED IN BRUTAL LIVE-STREAMED DOMESTIC ASSAULT.
Daniel’s managing partner, Marcus Sterling, rushed out of his corner office, his face pale and flustered.
“Clara!” Sterling stammered, looking at my bandaged arm. “My God... we heard about the arrest... this is a tragic personal situation. But bringing your legal counsel to the firm—”
“This isn't a social visit, Marcus,” Evelyn Reed interrupted smoothly, stepping into his path with an airtight court order in her hand. “We are here to serve a formal Asset Preservation Order and Notice of Lis Pendens under the State Victim Restitution Act.”
Sterling blinked, his jaw dropping. “An asset freeze? On his partnership equity?”
“On his equity, his private offshore accounts, his pension fund, and the deed to the suburban estate,” I said, my voice ringing clear across the glass lobby. “Furthermore, as fifty-percent co-owner of Vance Holdings, I am initiating an immediate forensic audit of all corporate funds Daniel managed over the last thirty-six months.”
Sterling looked at me, realizing in an instant that the quiet, submissive wife Daniel had brought to company dinners was long gone. In her place stood a brilliant, lethal attorney who knew every weak joint in the firm’s financial foundation.
“Clara... please,” Sterling pleaded quietly. “If you freeze his partnership accounts, it could trigger an audit that harms the firm’s public reputation!”
“Then I suggest you vote to terminate his partnership at the emergency board meeting this afternoon, Marcus,” I replied calmly, handing him a copy of the indictment brief. “Because by tomorrow morning, the District Attorney is filing corporate embezzlement charges against him as well.”
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Sterling opened the folder, skimmed the first three pages of financial evidence I had compiled, and slowly closed it.
“The board meeting is at two o'clock,” Sterling murmured, bowing his head in total defeat. “He will be terminated by two-fifteen.”
