Chapter 2 - The Freeze and the Ambush
At 8:00 AM sharp the following morning, Christopher and I sat inside the private office of the regional vice president of First National Bank in downtown Baltimore.
On the mahogany table lay the official police report detailing the physical assault by Jared, the emergency medical evaluation from the hospital, the temporary restraining order issued by a judge at dawn, and a certified court subpoena ordering the immediate freezing of all assets associated with Dwight Vance and his family holding company, Vance Enterprises LLC.
The bank vice president, a stern woman named Ms. Henderson, reviewed the documents along with the video evidence Christopher presented on his tablet.
"This is extraordinary," Ms. Henderson said, her eyebrows pulling tight together. "Mr. Vance attempted to execute a wire transfer of forty-eight thousand dollars from your joint down-payment account into his father’s commercial entity at six o'clock this morning."
"Did it clear?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"No," Ms. Henderson replied, turning her screen toward us. "The system flagged it due to an irregularity in the signature verification. Because of the court order sitting on my desk, I have placed an administrative hold on all six accounts tied to Dwight Vance, Jared Vance, and Vance Enterprises."
A quiet, triumphant breath escaped my lips.
"Furthermore," Ms. Henderson added, "since your name was listed as the primary contributor on the original cashier's check, the forty-eight thousand dollars has been transferred back into an escrow account held under your sole legal authority."
"Thank you, Ms. Henderson," Christopher said, standing up and shaking her hand. "Now, please ensure no one notifies Mr. Vance until the process servers execute the papers."
We walked out of the bank into the bright morning light. My phone began to vibrate wildly in my coat pocket.
It was Dwight.
I looked at Christopher, who gave me a slight, approving nod. "Answer it, but keep it brief. Let him think you're scared."
I slid the green icon across the screen and put the phone to my ear.
"Elizabeth!" Dwight’s voice erupted through the speaker, hysterical, furious, and panicked. "Where the hell are you?! What did you do to my bank accounts?! I just tried to use my debit card at the office, and it was declined! My dad's business line of credit is frozen!"
"Hello, Dwight," I said softly, my voice completely devoid of emotion.
"Don't 'Hello Dwight' me, you crazy bitch!" he screamed. "My father is losing his mind! He’s at the apartment right now! You smashed our glass table, you threatened my family with a metal pipe, and now you’re trying to ruin our finances?! You bring your ass back to the apartment right now and fix this, or my father will have you arrested for destruction of property!"
"Your father hit me twice, Dwight," I said coldly. "Ryan recorded the whole thing. It’s already in the hands of the Baltimore City Police Department."
A heavy silence fell over the line for three seconds. I could hear him catching his breath, realizing for the first time that the timid, quiet girl he thought he had trapped was no longer taking orders.
"Elizabeth... look, let's talk about this," Dwight’s tone shifted rapidly into a smooth, desperate attempt at damage control. "My dad went too far, okay? I admit it. He was stressed about the wedding costs. Just come over to my parents' place. Ashley is here, too. She came over to help my mom clean up. We can sit down like adults, resolve the financial misunderstanding, and move forward."
A dark, bitter smile touched my lips. Ashley was at his family's apartment. The whole rat pack was gathered in one place.
"Alright, Dwight," I said, pretending to hesitate. "I'll be there in thirty minutes. Have your father and mother sitting at the table."
"Good girl," Dwight breathed a sigh of relief, completely unaware of the mountain about to crush him. "We'll work this out."
I hung up the phone and turned to Christopher.
May you like
"Are the process servers ready?" I asked.
"They're already parked outside the apartment building," Christopher replied with a cold grin. "Along with two officers from the Baltimore Police Department executing the temporary protection order and civil standby."
