Chapter 4 - Corporate Wolves
By three o'clock that afternoon, I was sitting in the corner office of Vance, Sterling & Holbrook on the fortieth floor of an uptown tower overlooking the Atlanta skyline.
Evelyn Vance did not look like an attorney; she looked like a monarch. At sixty-two, with silver hair cut into a sharp bob and eyes that could pierce glass, she was the most feared family law and forensic asset attorney in the state. She had represented governors, sports franchise owners, and Fortune 500 executives.
She turned the final page of David’s offshore LLC documentation and dropped it onto her pristine glass desk.
“Your husband is an amateur,” Evelyn said, her voice smooth and chillingly calm. “An arrogant, sloppy amateur.”
“Can we freeze the accounts?” I asked, leaning forward.
“Freeze them?” Evelyn smiled, an expression that carried no warmth whatsoever. “Claire, darling, we are going to vaporize his access. By nine o'clock tomorrow morning, I will have an ex-parte emergency order signed by Judge Miller freezing every single domestic asset, line of credit, and investment portfolio associated with David Carter’s social security number. He won’t be able to buy a pack of chewing gum with a debit card without the court receiving a notification.”
“What about the money in the Cayman Islands?” Danielle asked.
“That’s where Rebecca Hastings comes in,” Evelyn replied, tapping the LLC filings. “Rebecca isn't just a managing partner at Sterling Ridge. Her uncle, Charles Hastings, is the founding chairman of the board. The company’s entire brand is built on managing conservative family wealth for Georgia’s oldest dynasties. If a managing partner is discovered running an illicit offshore laundering vehicle to shelter stolen marital assets from a pregnant spouse? The firm won’t just fire her. They will feed her to the federal regulators to protect their own skin.”
“And the life insurance?” I asked, my voice dropping. “The accidental death policy?”
Evelyn’s eyes darkened. “That is no longer a divorce issue. That is a criminal matter. Marcus Hill’s preliminary report has already been forwarded to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Special Investigations Unit. But we have a tactical advantage right now.”
“What advantage?”
“David doesn't know you have this box,” Evelyn said, resting her chin on her steepled fingers. “He thinks you only have the text messages from your laptop. He thinks he’s playing defense against an emotional wife who will settle for the house and child support just to make the pain stop.”
“He threatened to take Isabella,” I said, remembering the shattered wood on the nursery floor.
Evelyn’s cold gaze locked onto mine. “He won’t get within five hundred feet of that child for the rest of his natural life. Tomorrow night is the Sterling Ridge Annual Benefactors Gala at the St. Regis Hotel. It’s where David expects to be announced as the new Senior Vice President of Wealth Acquisitions.”
Danielle gasped. “The gala.”
“David expects you to be hiding in Danielle’s apartment, weeping into your baby blanket,” Evelyn continued, leaning forward. “He expects Rebecca to be on his arm by the end of the evening. Instead, we are going to serve him. In person. In front of every partner, client, and investor who holds his future in their hands.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. A wave of dizziness washed over me, but I forced it down.
“I need to be there,” I said.
“Claire,” Danielle protested, her eyes filling with worry. “The doctor said bed rest. Your blood pressure—”
“My blood pressure is high because he’s still walking around free,” I said, looking Danielle straight in the face. “He tried to kill our daughter for an insurance check and an executive title. I am not going to hide in a bedroom while he drinks vintage wine and shakes hands with his accomplices.”
Evelyn Vance smiled again—this time, with genuine approval.
May you like
“I have an emergency custody petition and a writ of civil attachment ready to file at eight tomorrow morning,” Evelyn said. “And I happen to know the St. Regis event coordinator very well. If you’re going to walk into that den of wolves, Claire, you aren't going in as a victim. You’re going in as the executioner.”
***
