Chapter 8 - The Asset Freeze
With Ryan and Diane behind bars awaiting trial, the civil battle for my father’s estate reached its critical phase. Laura Chen moved swiftly to freeze all corporate and personal assets belonging to Sterling Architecture & Design.
It turned out Ryan’s firm was a house of cards. Behind the polished glass facade and leased luxury cars lay millions in unpaid contractor fees, defaulted business loans, and hidden gambling debts owed to Victor Vance’s syndicate.
One afternoon, while reviewing financial statements in Laura’s office, my phone buzzed. It was an unknown international number. I swiped to answer.
'Melissa Bennett?' a smooth, gravelly voice asked. 'I believe we need to have a conversation about your husband's debts.'
'Who is this?' I asked, my hand tightening around the phone.
'You can call me Victor,' the voice replied smoothly. 'Victor Vance. Your late husband—well, soon-to-be-former husband—borrowed a substantial sum from my organization to fund his architectural expansion. He promised us your father’s house as collateral. Since he’s currently residing in county jail, that debt falls onto the marital estate. Which means, legally speaking, part of that house belongs to me.'
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I let out a cold laugh. 'Ryan didn't own that house, Mr. Vance. It was placed in an irrevocable family trust before we were even married. Ryan had zero legal equity in it. If he tried to use it as collateral for your illegal loans, he committed fraud.'
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. The smooth tone vanished, replaced by a menacing edge. 'You think you're very smart, don't you, Mrs. Sterling? But smart people often find themselves walking down very dark alleys alone. Think carefully about whether a house is worth your life.'The line went dead with a sharp click.
