Chapter 5 - The Frozen Accounts
The aftermath of Charles’s arrest sent a seismic wave through Syracuse’s high-society network. Within twenty-four hours, news of the embezzlement scandal had hit the front page of the Central New York Business Journal.
On Friday afternoon, I sat in the living room of my house—the house Lucas and I had built together.
The front porch had been thoroughly cleaned and repaired. The broken latch on the front door was replaced with a state-of-the-art biometric security system, and two private security guards hired by Samantha stood discreetly at the end of the driveway.
Inside, the house smelled of fresh chamomile tea and faint baby lotion. Leo was sound asleep in his crib in the nursery down the hall.
Samantha sat on the sofa across from me, a tablet balanced on her knees as she reviewed the latest banking records.
"Courtney tried to clear out the joint checking account at twelve o'clock today," Samantha said, a cold smile touching her lips.
I looked up from my mug. "How much was in it?"
"About four hundred thousand dollars," Samantha replied. "Or at least, there was four hundred thousand dollars until three o'clock yesterday afternoon, when the state attorney general froze all liquid assets connected to Charles Baldwin and his immediate dependents."
"She tried to use the card?"
"At a luxury boutique on Armory Square," Samantha chuckled softly. "The card was declined, the account was flagged, and the store manager called local police when she started screaming at the cashier. She was escorted off the premises and told that if she attempted to liquidate any secondary marital assets, she would be cited for contempt of court."
I took a slow sip of tea, feeling a strange sense of quiet resolution settle in my chest. "Where is she now?"
"Living in a cheap motel near the highway," Samantha said flatly. "Charles’s criminal defense team refuses to represent her unless she can produce a fifty-thousand-dollar retainer, which she obviously doesn't have. She called my office three times this morning begging to speak with you."
"What did she want?"
"To offer 'information' about Charles in exchange for you dropping the civil trespass charges against her," Samantha said, tapping her screen. "She claims she has text messages proving Charles planned the entire eviction strategy two weeks before Lucas died."
I froze, my mug hovering halfway to my mouth. "What did you say?"
Samantha’s eyes darkened. "Read that again, Victoria. Two weeks before Lucas died."
A sharp, cold knot formed in the pit of my stomach. "Lucas died in a highway accident on I-81. His brake line parted during a rainstorm."
"The state police report concluded it was an accidental mechanical failure caused by rust and age on an older commercial van," Samantha said, her voice dropping into a dangerous whispered register. "But if Charles was discussing how to seize the estate two weeks before the crash..."
"He knew," I whispered, my heart beginning to race. "Or he made sure it happened."
Samantha stood up immediately, grabbing her coat from the armchair. "I’m driving down to the state police barracks in Syracuse right now. I’m meeting with the lead investigator on Lucas’s accident file."
"Take Courtney’s offer," I demanded, standing up beside her, my knuckles white as I gripped the back of the sofa. "Tell her if she hands over every text, every email, and every voicemail Charles ever sent her regarding Lucas, I’ll pay her motel bill and drop the civil suit."
May you like
"Victoria, she’s a poisonous snake—"
"She’s a desperate snake who needs money," I corrected firmly. "And right now, she’s the only person who can tell us what Charles did to my husband’s car."
