Chapter 7 - The Freezing of the EmpireThe first domino fell on a Thursday morning.
Armed with my forensic report and the digital signature logs, the federal government bypassed the state court and issued an emergency freeze on all assets associated with Sterling Developments and Daniel Sterling personally.
Daniel was in the middle of a high-stakes board meeting, trying to convince a new group of investors to inject cash into his failing company, when two federal agents entered the room.
"Mr. Sterling, your personal and corporate bank accounts have been frozen under suspicion of bank fraud and money laundering," the lead agent announced, presenting the warrant.
"You can't do this!" Daniel screamed, his face turning pale. "My wife is behind this! She’s a disgruntled employee!"
"Your wife is a certified forensic examiner who just provided the DOJ with three years of pristine transaction ledgers," the agent replied coldly. "Please step away from the computer."
By noon, the foreclosure notice was officially served on Evelyn’s beloved colonial home. The three-million-dollar loan she had secured using my forged signature was declared in default due to fraudulent acquisition.
Evelyn called my phone thirty times in two hours. When I finally answered, her voice was no longer sweet or haughty. She was hyperventilating.
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"Mara, please! We can talk about this! We’re family!" she begged, sobbing openly. "They're going to take my house! They're going to take everything!"
"You should have thought about that when you watched your son kick me to the floor, Evelyn," I said softly, and hung up the phone.
