Vanessa: What... what is this? Richard, look at your screen!
Richard: This can't be right... My primary offshore account... it says zero balance!
Vanessa: Check it again! The Sterling Trust account was supposed to transfer forty million dollars at six o'clock!
Chloe: Did you really think... I left the main server access codes... in my father's old desk?
Richard: What did you do, Chloe? What did you tap on that phone?!
Chloe: I didn't tap a bank app, Richard. I activated the fraud fail-safe my father built into the company ten years ago.
Richard took two rapid steps toward me, the veins on his forehead bulging with intense shock and fury as he pointed a trembling finger at my face.
Richard: What did you do?! Answer me!
Chloe: I triggered the automatic asset freeze. Every account linked to my father's social security number, including the company reserves, is currently under federal lock.
Vanessa: You crazy bitch! You froze our personal accounts too!
Chloe: Your personal accounts were funded by forged wire transfers from my trust, Vanessa. The system flagged them as illegal laundering.
Richard: Unfreeze it right now! Call the bank back and enter your master PIN!
Chloe: No.
Richard raised his hand, his eyes wide with rage, but before he could step closer, a loud electronic chime echoed through the penthouse foyer. The automatic glass doors at the end of the long hallway slid open, revealing the private elevator bay.
Outside the tall glass windows of the penthouse, red and blue lights began flashing against the evening city skyline. The sharp, piercing wail of police sirens echoed up from the street below, bouncing off the high concrete walls of the building.
Vanessa: Richard... the police are downstairs! Why are there sirens outside our private garage?
Richard: You called the police? You told me you didn't call ninety-one-one!
Chloe: I didn't call the local precinct, Richard. My fail-safe app sent an automated alert directly to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI financial crimes unit.
Vanessa: The FBI? Richard, do something! Call our corporate defense lawyers!
Richard: With what money, Vanessa?! The bank accounts are frozen! We can't even pay a retainer check!
I slowly pushed myself up from the cold marble floor, holding a white cloth napkin against the bleeding cut on my forehead. My dress was torn, my body was covered in bruises, but as I stood tall against the velvet sofa, I looked straight into my husband's terrified eyes.
Chloe: You told me I owned nothing, Richard. But in about thirty seconds, you're going to realize that this entire penthouse, the company, and every asset you ever touched... belongs to me.