Chapter 8 - The Morning of the Freeze
At 7:45 AM the next morning, Garrett was standing in front of the hallway mirror, tying his tie. He was heading to what he claimed was an 'all-day regional driver meeting' in the West District—a meeting I knew was actually a corporate strategy lunch with his logistics VP and Tanya’s father.
"Do you have your keys, honey?" I asked, standing near the front door in my silk bathrobe, holding a mug of warm tea.
"Got 'em," Garrett said, checking his pockets. He walked over, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and smiled warmly. "I'll be home around six. Don't push yourself today, okay? Let Colleen do the heavy lifting if you need groceries."
"I won't push myself," I promised.
He opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch.
Standing on the driveway, right behind his delivery van, were two marked Dallas County Sheriff’s vehicles.
Two uniformed deputies stood beside the front bumper, accompanied by Marcus Thorne, who was dressed in a pristine gray suit, holding a leather briefcase.
Garrett froze on the porch step, his hand still holding the brass doorknob. "What the hell is this?"
Deputy Ramirez stepped forward, pulling a thick packet of legal documents from his jacket.
"Garrett Mercer?" the deputy asked firmly.
"Yeah," Garrett said, looking confused, glancing back at me. "Meline, what’s going on?"
"Garrett Mercer," Deputy Ramirez declared, handing the packet directly into Garrett’s paralyzed hands. "You are hereby served with an emergency temporary restraining order, a petition for marriage dissolution on grounds of fraud, and an ex-parte judicial asset freeze issued by the 302nd Family District Court."
Garrett stared at the papers, his jaw dropping open. "Asset freeze? What are you talking about? There’s been a mistake! I’m a delivery driver!"
Marcus Thorne stepped onto the porch steps, looking down at Garrett with cold, professional authority.
"Mr. Mercer, as of 8:00 AM this morning, all operational and personal accounts tied to Mercer Logistics LLC, GM & TW Holdings, and your personal accounts at Chase Bank have been frozen by court order," Marcus stated clearly. "Your corporate credit cards are deactivated. The mortgage account for 412 Maple Court in Oakridge is under judicial review."
Garrett’s face drained of every ounce of color. His eyes darted frantically from Marcus to the sheriff deputies, and finally back to me, standing in the doorway.
"Meline..." Garrett gasped, his voice squeaking as panic gripped his throat. "Meline, what did you do?!"
May you like
I walked slowly to the edge of the porch, looking down at my husband of nine years.
"I didn't do anything, Garrett," I said softly, my voice calm, clear, and unshakeable. "I just looked at the emergency contact list on my ultrasound chart."
