Chapter 10: The Freeze
Marcus called me at ten-seventeen that morning.
I was still in Grace's office when the phone rang.
Grace looked at me and nodded once.
I answered and put it on speaker.
"Claire." His voice was controlled.
Careful.
The voice he used in business meetings when something was going wrong and he didn't want the other party to know he knew.
"I think we need to sit down together today.
Just the two of us.
No attorneys."
"I've already spoken to my attorney," I said.
A pause.
"Whatever Grace told you, there are things she doesn't have the full picture on.
The LLC, the transfers — there are legitimate business reasons for all of it.
If you give me a chance to explain—"
"Marcus, the joint account has been frozen."
Silence.
"What?"
"As of this morning.
Grace filed the motion an hour ago.
All joint assets are frozen pending investigation."
The controlled voice cracked, just slightly, at the edges.
"You can't do that without—"
"It's already done."
"Claire." The careful tone was gone now.
"You are making a very serious mistake.
If you push this, it doesn't just affect me.
It affects everything we built together.
The house.
The accounts.
Your financial security."
"My financial security," I said, "was built on loans I never signed for and an account I never knew existed.
So I'll take my chances."
"I'm asking you to stop.
Right now.
Before this goes somewhere neither of us can come back from."
"I'm not asking you anything," I said.
"My attorney will be in touch."
I ended the call.
Grace was already writing.
Thirty minutes later, Marcus called again.
I didn't answer.
An hour after that, a different number called.
I answered it because I didn't recognize it.
"Mrs.
Harwell-Vance Holdings." A man's voice.
Smooth.
"My name is Paul Vance.
I think you and I should have a conversation before this gets any messier."
I looked at Grace.
She was already pointing at the record button on her phone.
I pressed mine too.
"I'm listening," I said.
"Marcus is a reasonable man," Vance said.
"And I think if you're reasonable too, we can find a solution here that doesn't involve courts or investigators or things getting ugly for everyone involved." He paused.
"I'm prepared to offer you a settlement.
Private.
Clean.
Generous.
In exchange for withdrawing the asset freeze and agreeing not to pursue the fraud referral."
"How generous?" I asked.
Grace shook her head slightly.
I kept my voice neutral.
"Enough to start over very comfortably," Vance said.
"Think about it.
You walk away with real money, no legal battle, no years of your life spent in depositions.
Everyone moves on."
"And Marcus moves on with sixty-two thousand dollars of my money and a company built on fraud."
A pause.
"That's a harsh characterization."
"It's an accurate one." I looked at Grace.
"Mr.
Vance, I'm going to have to decline."
"Mrs.
— Claire.
I'd encourage you to think very carefully—"
"I have thought carefully.
For eight months." I paused.
"This call is being recorded.
Have a good morning."
I ended it.
Grace looked at me with something close to satisfaction.
"He just made it worse for both of them," she said.
"I know."
She picked up her own phone.
"I'm adding obstruction to the referral package."
Outside the window, the city went about its morning.
May you like
Somewhere across town, Marcus was sitting with a frozen account and a phone call he couldn't take back.
I picked up my coffee, which had gone cold, and drank it anyway.
