Chapter 4 - The Subpoena
Three days later, the formal legal notices were served.
I was sitting in my home office reviewing quarterly audit reports for a tech acquisition when Marcus walked in without knocking, holding a thick manila envelope. His tailored gray suit was immaculate, and a sharp, satisfied grin played at the corners of his mouth.
“Well, Luca, the initial injunction hearing went through this morning,” Marcus said, tossing the envelope onto my desk. “The judge didn't even hesitate. All joint accounts remain frozen, Wendy’s personal assets have been placed under a temporary judicial hold pending the fraud investigation, and the emergency restraining order has been granted.”
“Did she show up?” I asked, leaning back in my leather chair.
“Oh, she showed up alright,” Marcus chuckled, sitting down in the guest chair opposite me. “Accompanied by a very expensive, very nervous defense attorney who tried to argue that the asset transfers were ‘gifts’ freely given by your mother under a valid power of attorney. But the moment we presented the medical examiner's report, the notary fraud analysis, and—credit to you for this—the hallway security footage showing Wendy physically shoving your mother away from the refrigerator, her lawyer practically abandoned ship on the spot.”
I opened the envelope, scanning the legal documents inside. The signatures were clean, the court stamps official. Wendy was legally barred from coming within five hundred feet of our home, my mother, or myself. Furthermore, any attempt on her part to access the contested funds would result in an immediate bench warrant for her arrest.
“She’s threatening to go to the media,” Marcus added, watching my reaction closely. “She’s spinning a narrative to her friends and local lifestyle blogs that you’re a controlling, abusive corporate tycoon who trapped her in a gilded cage and manufactured financial charges to ruin her reputation during a routine divorce.”
“Let her try,” I replied calmly, sliding the papers back into the folder. “In my line of work, narrative is cheap. Data is everything. The moment she steps into a public forum and makes defamatory claims, we hit her with a countersuit for corporate and personal defamation, backed by certified bank statements and police reports. She won't survive the discovery phase.”
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Marcus nodded approvingly. “You always were ruthless when the numbers didn't add up, Luca. It’s good to see you’re applying the same methodology to your personal life.”
“It’s not ruthlessness, Marcus,” I said quietly. “It’s accuracy.”
