Chapter 4 - The Legal Hammer Drops
Two days later, Marcus met me in a private conference room downtown. He slid a thick, bound folder across the glass table. The expression on his face told me everything I needed to know.
"It's worse than we thought, Arthur," Marcus said, tapping the documents. "Your mother didn't just spend the $1,800 a month you sent for Sarah. Three years ago, she forged your signature on a power-of-attorney document while you were overseas. She used that forgery to take out a massive $400,000 equity loan against the Bayside Heights mansion."
My breath caught. "A $400,000 loan?"
"Yes," Marcus nodded. "She and Prudence used that cash to fund an incredibly lavish lifestyle—buying two luxury vehicles, open tabs at high-end boutiques, and funding a shell corporation registered under Prudence's name. They've been laundering your hard-earned international salary into Prudence's personal trading accounts. They assumed you would either stay in Saudi permanently or that they could sell the house out from under Sarah before you ever found out."
"Can we freeze the accounts?" I asked, a cold, unyielding rage washing over me.
"We already did," Marcus smiled coldly. "I filed an emergency ex-parte motion with the county court yesterday afternoon, citing clear evidence of signature forgery and elder/dependent exploitation. As of nine o'clock this morning, your mother’s bank cards are completely dead. The luxury cars are flagged for repossession. And I have served an emergency eviction notice to Gertrude and Prudence."
"When do they have to be out?"
May you like
"The court gave them exactly twenty-four hours to vacate the premises due to the criminal nature of the fraud," Marcus said, leaning back. "Would you like me to handle the handover with the sheriff's deputies?"
"No," I said, standing up and pulling on my jacket. "I want to be there to see it myself."
