Chapter 15 - The Counter-Offensive
The realization hit us with the force of a tidal wave. Margaret wasn't retreating to Florida to lick her wounds; she was preparing a scorched-earth escape plan. If she managed to liquidate the remaining assets and transfer them offshore, the money would vanish into labyrinthine tax havens, rendering Clara’s true lineage—and my family's birthright—completely unrecoverable.
"How much time do we have?" Andrew demanded, his professional attorney instincts instantly kicking into high gear. The shock was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating determination that matched Elena’s.
"Less than forty-eight hours," Elena replied, checking her watch. "The federal hearing for the asset freeze is scheduled for Monday morning at ten a.m. But Margaret has hired Vance & Sterling—the most ruthless corporate defense firm in the state. They’ve already drafted an injunction claiming our evidence is fabricated and barred by the statute of limitations."
I walked over to the kitchen counter, picking up my phone. My hands were steady now. The terror of the unknown had vanished, replaced by the crystal-clear focus of a mother protecting her child's future.
"We’re not waiting until Monday," I said, dialing a familiar number.
Andrew looked up, surprised. "Who are you calling?"
"Vance," I said, referring to the brilliant, bulldog of a lawyer who had dismantled Margaret’s financial empire during the initial lawsuit. "The man who helped us strip her credit lines doesn't sleep on weekends when there’s a multi-million-dollar fraud case on the line."
The phone rang twice before a deep, gravelly voice answered on the other end. "This is Vance. It’s Sunday morning. You better have a damn good reason for waking me up."
"We do," I said into the receiver, my voice steady and cold. "Margaret Harrison is attempting to liquidate the estate through an offshore shell corporation before Monday’s hearing. I have documentation proving she concealed the true primary lineage of the Harrison trust—dating back to Clara Harrison."
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. "Clara Harrison? The institutionalized sister whose existence was scrubbed from the probate records in 1984? Claire... do you realize what you’re telling me?"
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"I’m telling you we have the original safety deposit box files from Zurich, authenticated by Elena Harrison," I replied, glancing at Elena, who gave a sharp nod of confirmation. "We need an emergency ex parte injunction filed within the hour to freeze every single corporate account Margaret controls, nationwide."
"Get to my office in downtown Manhattan," Vance ordered without missing a beat. "Bring the physical documents. Don't email them, don't fax them—bring them in your hand. If what you’re saying is true, we’re not just looking at a civil dispute anymore. We’re looking at grand larceny, identity theft, and federal mail fraud."
