Chapter 3 - The Freeze on Michigan AvenueBy 8:00 a.m. the following morning, the financial district of Chicago was thrown into an unprecedented state of chaotic panic.
Inside the glass-walled executive suite of Moretti Enterprises on Michigan Avenue, Adrian sat behind his wide mahogany desk, holding a cup of espresso, reviewing secondary shipping manifests.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors were thrown open.
His chief financial officer, Arthur Hayes, rushed inside, his face pale as paper, holding a tablet displaying flashing red legal notices.
"Don Adrian!" Arthur gasped, his voice trembling violently. "The primary corporate liquidity accounts at Chase Private Client and Northern Trust have just been frozen!"
Adrian set his espresso down slowly, his storm-gray eyes narrowing into dark slits. "What are you talking about, Arthur? No federal judge has jurisdiction to freeze our operating funds without a ninety-day review."
"It's not a federal RICO warrant, sir!" Arthur stammered, placing the tablet flat onto the mahogany desk. "It's an ex-parte emergency injunction issued by the Cook County Family Court!"
Adrian snatched the tablet, his eyes scanning the black legal typography:
EMERGENCY ASSET FREEZE & CUSTODY INJUNCTION
PETITIONER: CLAIRE BENNETT MORETTI
RESPONDENT: ADRIAN THOMAS MORETTI
ATTACHMENT: CERTIFIED NEVADA MARRIAGE LICENSE #44092-B
Adrian’s face drained of every drop of color.
"Nevada...?" Adrian rasped out, his voice cracking into broken, disbelieving fragments. "No... no, that's impossible! Marcus destroyed those county files eight years ago!"
"The court verified the original master filing with the Nevada Secretary of State three hours ago, sir," Arthur revealed, his voice shaking. "Because your marriage to Claire Bennett is legally active and unannulled... your secondary public marriage to Vanessa Russo is officially classified as bigamy under Illinois law. All corporate accounts registered under joint assets are frozen until a full marital audit is completed."
Before Adrian could speak, his private desk phone rang with a sharp, piercing chime.
He answered it with a shaking hand.
"Adrian?" my voice echoed cleanly through the speaker, calm, steady, and unbothered.
May you like
"Claire..." Adrian growled, his hand clenching into a tight fist over the receiver. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! You think you can use a piece of paper from eight years ago to destroy my empire?!"
"I'm not destroying your empire, Adrian," I answered softly from my new secure apartment in Gold Coast. "I'm simply collecting what you owed me the day you threw our first child away."
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