Chapter 2 - The Midnight Freeze
The music downstairs stopped abruptly at exactly 10:14 p.m.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the house, followed by the sound of muffled confusion, footsteps shuffling across the hardwood, and the front door opening and closing as the uninvited guests realized the party was over. Then came the frantic stomping of boots coming up the stairs.
The doorknob to Walter’s bedroom rattled violently.
"Dad! open the door!" Brian’s voice was loud, laced with alcohol and a sudden, sharp panic. "Dad! What the hell did you do? The card just got declined at the liquor delivery app, and my phone says my banking access is restricted! Open this damn door!"
Walter did not move from his chair. He remained perfectly still, his hands resting flat on the armrests. "Go to bed, Brian," Walter said, his voice calm, clear, and perfectly carrying through the heavy oak door. "We will discuss the accounts in the morning. In front of legal counsel."
"Legal counsel?" Melissa’s voice shrieked from the hallway, her high heels clicking sharply on the floorboards. "Walter, you senile old fool, you can't just shut off the cards! Brian’s name is on the family account! My auto-pay for my car insurance is linked to that Visa! You’re putting us in financial danger! This is elder abuse!"
"The family account was funded entirely by my retirement annuity and your mother's life insurance payout, Melissa," Walter responded, not a single tremor of anger in his tone. "Neither of you has deposited a single dollar into it in four years. The cards are dead. The authorization is revoked. If you attempt to break this lock, the security system—which I have just re-routed to my personal device—will automatically dispatch the county sheriff."
May you like
"You're crazy!" Brian slammed his fist against the wood one last time. "You've finally lost your mind! Tomorrow morning, we’re taking you to the clinic! We’ll see who owns this house by noon!"
Walter heard them retreat down the hallway, their voices hissing in furious whispers as they tried to figure out how to handle a situation they had never anticipated. They believed he was acting out of wounded pride. They didn't realize that an accountant doesn't fight with emotions; an accountant fights with math. And their balance sheet had just hit absolute zero.
