Chapter 6 - Desperate Measures
By 2:00 p.m., the storm had passed, leaving behind a razor-sharp sky of pale blue and blinding white.
At the Pines Motel, Ray was staring at his laptop screen in utter disbelief. Every bank portal he tried to access returned the same chilling message: ACCOUNT SUSPENDED BY COURT ORDER. His credit cards were useless plastic. His former judicial colleagues were refusing to take his phone calls. Even his country club membership had been canceled after Northstar sent a formal notice of pending criminal litigation to the board of directors.
Suddenly, the flimsy wooden door of Room 112 was kicked inward with a deafening crash, splintering off its hinges.
Three heavy-set men in dark work jackets walked into the small room. At the lead was Victor Vance—a thick-necked man with a scarred jaw and eyes like grey slate.
Daniel let out a pathetic yell and scrambled behind the unmade queen bed, shielding his head with a pillow.
"Victor!" Ray gasped, backing up against the dresser, his hands raised in panic. "Victor, listen to me! It’s a technical glitch with the bank! The transfer will clear tomorrow—"
"Shut up, Ray," Victor said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. He stepped forward and picked up Ray’s expensive leather briefcase from the table, flipping it open. It was completely empty. "My bankers called me at noon. They said your accounts haven't just bounced—they’ve been seized by the federal government."
"It’s my stepdaughter!" Ray pleaded, his voice trembling violently. "She’s a crazy compliance auditor! She filed fraudulent injunctions against my estate! I'm fighting it in court right now!"
Victor leaned in close, grabbing Ray by the collar of his silk shirt, pulling him up until his toes barely touched the cheap carpet.
"I don't give a damn about your domestic drama, Ray," Victor growled. "You owe me six hundred thousand dollars plus interest. My investors don't wait for family court judgments."
"My son has the money!" Ray threw his hands out toward Daniel. "Daniel has the offshore crypto key! Show him, Daniel!"
Daniel whimpered from behind the pillow. "Dad... she froze the crypto wallet too. The key requires two-factor authentication sent to my primary phone number... and Clara turned off my cell service three hours ago!"
Victor looked at Daniel, then back at Ray, a dark, disgusted look covering his face.
"You two thought you were big shots, didn't you?" Victor sneered. "Stealing from an old woman, playing high-stakes games with my money. Now you've got nothing."
"Please!" Ray sobbed, tears finally breaking down his arrogant face. "Give us forty-eight hours! We’ll get the money from the house! We can sell the furniture, the jewelry—"
"That house doesn't belong to you anymore, Ray," Victor said coldly. "I had my guy check the deed an hour ago. It’s held in a private trust registered in Chicago. You're homeless."
Victor motioned to his two associates. "Take their watches, their coats, and their phones. And then take Ray’s Mercedes parked outside. Consider it a down payment."
"No! Not my car!" Daniel cried out.
May you like
One of Victor’s men stepped over the bed, grabbed Daniel by his hair, and slammed his face into the nightstand, breaking his nose with a sickening crunch.
"You talk when you're spoken to, boy," Victor warned. He turned back to Ray, who was kneeling on the floor, weeping openly. "You have until six o'clock tomorrow evening to bring me two hundred thousand in cash. If you don't... my boys will come back, and they won't be taking cars."
