Chapter 5
“Shut up, Vanessa!” Brian snapped, his facade completely disintegrating. Sweat had broken out along his hairline, glistening under the fluorescent terminal lights. He turned back to me, his chest heaving. “Elena, you don’t know what you’re playing with. If you touch those accounts, if you interfere with the institutional transfers, you’ll ruin the company. Everything we built! Everything that pays for that house!”
“My father paid for that house,” I whispered, and for the first time, the cold composure in my voice gave way to an edge of razor-sharp steel. “My father broke his back in commercial construction for forty years. He poured the foundation of that house with his own hands. When he died, he left it to me unencumbered. And you had the unmitigated gall to forge a secondary deed of trust to secure an unauthorized line of credit for your mistress’s dummy consulting firm.”
“I didn't forge anything!” Brian snarled, his voice rising, drawing the stares of two gate attendants nearby.
“We’ll let the forensic handwriting examiner explain that to the grand jury,” I said smoothly. “Along with the surveillance footage from the Wells Fargo branch on Colorado Boulevard from last Thursday, showing Vanessa presenting herself as the authorized corporate signatory using my forged power of attorney.”
Vanessa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “You’re lying. You can’t have that.”
“I don’t lie, Vanessa. That was always Brian’s department,” I said, glancing at my watch. It was 3:15 PM. “In about forty-five minutes, the banks close their daily settlement window. But forty-five minutes ago, a preliminary freeze order was signed by Judge Harrison in the Second Judicial District Court. Every account associated with Brian Vance, Vance Logistics Holdings, and Apex Horizon LLC has been sequestered under an emergency ex parte injunction for suspected corporate larceny and fraudulent conveyance.”
Brian’s briefcase dropped.
It didn't slip. His fingers simply lost all motor function, and the heavy leather bag hit the airport carpet with a dull, heavy thud.
“You didn't,” he breathed, his voice barely audible above the low rumble of a taxiing jet outside the massive glass windows. “You couldn't have. Harrison doesn't sign ex parte freezes without substantial evidentiary cause.”
“He does when the evidence is delivered by Arthur Vance,” I replied softly.
The name hit Brian like a physical blow. He actually staggered back a half-step, catching himself against a stanchion post.
“Arthur?” Brian choked out. “My... my brother?”