Chapter 6 - The Assets Frozen
While the criminal case barreled toward trial, the civil asset forfeiture division moved with lightning speed to dismantle Julian and Chloe’s ill-gotten empire.
Because the funds used to purchase their luxury lifestyle could be directly traced to my mother’s drained accounts, Judge Thorne signed an emergency asset-freezing order that paralyzed every bank account, stock portfolio, credit line, and commercial property held by Julian and Chloe.
Two days after the indictment, Chloe attempted to withdraw fifty thousand dollars from a joint account to pay for their elite defense team, only to find her debit card swallowed by the ATM machine with an error code reading “Account Seized by State Authority.”
Panic set in. Without access to liquid capital, their high-priced defense attorney, Harrison Cole, promptly filed a motion to withdraw from representation, citing non-payment of retainer fees. Left with court-appointed public defenders who had caseloads stretching to the horizon, Julian and Chloe suddenly realized the terrifying reality of their situation.
I visited them at the county detention center on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. I didn’t go to gloat; I went to deliver a message.
The glass partition between the visitor’s booth separated us. Julian looked hollowed out, his expensive suit replaced by a coarse orange jumpsuit, his hair unwashed and disheveled. Chloe sat beside him in the adjacent booth, her face streaked with mascara tears, glaring at me with raw, impotent hatred.
“Elena,” Julian croaked, pressing his palm against the reinforced glass. “Please. You’re our sister. You can’t do this to us. Mom is confused—she doesn’t know what she signed. Drop the charges, and we can work this out as a family.”
I stared at him calmly, resting my forearms on the metal ledge.
“When Mom begged you to stop, Julian, did you think about family?” I asked, my voice devoid of emotion. “When you tied her wrists to the bedframe because she asked where her bank statements went, did you think about family?”
Julian flinched, pulling his hand back as if the glass had burned him.
“Chloe hit an elderly woman with a ring on her finger hard enough to fracture her ribs,” I continued, shifting my gaze to Chloe. “And you both sat in that house drinking wine while she starved for affection and safety. You didn’t just steal her money; you tried to steal her dignity, her mind, and her life.”
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“You’re a monster, Elena!” Chloe shrieked, slamming her fist against the glass partition. “You just want everything for yourself! You always hated us!”
“No, Chloe,” I said softly, standing up and buttoning my trench coat. “I love justice. And tomorrow, the court is going to give you both a front-row seat to see what justice looks like.”
