Chapter 6 - The Fallout in AspenWhile Preston was being booked into the federal holding facility downtown, two thousand miles away in Aspen, Colorado, the fantasy was unravelling at lightning speed.
Elena Vance sat in the plush leather-and-fur lounge of the five-star mountain resort where she and Preston had spent the last week living like royalty on embezzled funds. She wore an expensive white ski parka, sipping a hot spiced cider while scrolling impatiently through her phone.
"Where is he?" Elena muttered, tapping her manicured fingernail against the glass table. "He said he’d be back from the airport forty minutes ago."
She checked her watch for the fifth time.
Her phone buzzed violently against the table. Finally. She snatched it up, expecting Preston’s voice telling her he was stuck in traffic or dealing with some minor domestic issue with his "annoying wife."
Instead, it was an automated text alert from her corporate credit card company:
ALERT: Your corporate card ending in 4892 has been declined due to an active account freeze.
Elena frowned, her stomach dropping. She tapped open her banking app.
Account Balance: $0.00.
Pending Status: Frozen by order of the U.S. District Court.
"What the hell...?" she whispered, her face draining of color.
She dialed Preston’s cell phone.
The subscriber you have dialed is not available...
She redialed. Same message. She tried his backup line, his office line, his assistant's line. Every single number went straight to voicemail or was answered by an automated disconnect tone.
Panic seized her chest. She jumped up from the lounge chair, nearly knocking over her cider, and rushed toward the resort concierge desk.
"Excuse me," Elena said breathlessly to the receptionist, leaning over the mahogany counter. "I need to check the status of Suite 402. The bill for the remainder of the week—has it been settled?"
The receptionist tapped briskly on her computer keyboard, her professional smile instantly freezing into a tight, polite mask.
"Ma'am, according to our system, the master credit card on file for Suite 402 was declined thirty minutes ago due to an unauthorized chargeback and federal asset seizure order," the receptionist replied coolly. "Furthermore, management has requested that all guests in Suite 402 settle their outstanding balance of fourteen thousand dollars immediately or vacate the premises within the hour."
"Fourteen thousand?!" Elena shrieked, drawing the startled glances of several wealthy tourists nearby. "There must be some mistake! My fiancé is Preston Vaughn—he’s a major executive, he owns—"
"Mr. Vaughn's corporate accounts have been globally frozen," a security manager interrupted smoothly, stepping out from the back office with a clipboard in his hand. "We have already received notification from the local authorities regarding his federal detention in Chicago. You have thirty minutes to collect your belongings from the suite, Miss Vance. Security will be escorting you to the lobby."
Elena stood there in her designer ski parka, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
May you like
The penthouse suite, the luxury ski trips, the expensive dinners, the stolen money, the dream of stepping into my shoes and taking over my life—it had all evaporated in a single afternoon.
As security guards escorted her out into the freezing Aspen snow with her designer luggage piled awkwardly around her ankles, Elena realized the bitter truth: she hadn't won a prize. She had inherited a sinking ship with a captain who was already locked at the bottom of the ocean.
