Chapter 7
Anna listened quietly.
She didn't doubt what Michael said.
Richard had spent half his life in the business world, and what mattered most to him was his reputation and integrity.
It was precisely because he couldn't admit defeat that he kept risking everything his family owned, bit by bit.
But because Anna understood his situation didn't mean she had to accept what he did.
"Who forged my signature?" Anna asked.
Michael struggled to get the words out. "After the agent sent over the template, my dad traced it once. He thought he was showing me the format."
"What about the online authorization today?"
"My mom got the verification code from my phone."
"You gave her your phone?"
"She said the bank needed to verify it urgently, and I was at the court at the time."
Anna looked up. "So while we were getting divorced, she was still using my name to submit extra loan paperwork?"
Michael lowered his head. "I found out, too."
"You always find out at the last minute."
Her words weren't harsh, but Michael was left utterly defenseless, unable to say a single word.
Michael pulled a promissory note out of the paper bag. "My dad wrote this. He is willing to own up to submitting the paperwork, and he'll take responsibility for it.
"Can you hold off on calling the cops for now?"
Anna didn't take the note. "I'll talk to my lawyer first and then decide what to do."
"Are you going to sue my dad?"
"I'm dealing with the truth."
Michael looked at her, and for the first time, real panic flashed in his eyes. "He has got high blood pressure. He can't take this kind of stress."
"Did you ever think about whether I could handle it last night?"
Michael went completely silent.
*****
Anna gathered her documents and headed to the partner company.
The meeting lasted an hour.
The manager was well-acquainted with her previous projects and offered her a chance to head up a new product line, plus a cut of the yearly profits.
This wasn't the temporary consultant role Charles had mentioned. It was a core position with real decision-making power.
Anna didn't sign anything right away. She said she needed a day to review the contract.
As she walked out of the conference room, she got a payment receipt from her old company's finance department. [600 thousand dollars had already been wired.]
Almost at the same moment, a legal service text popped up on her phone.
Michael had filed a motion to freeze 600 thousand dollars in assets under her name.
The reason for the application was one line. [Anna had hidden compensation she received during the marriage, allegedly moved marital assets.]
Anna stared at the legal text message. Her first reaction wasn't anger, but to check the sender's number.
She called the court's public hotline and gave them the case number from the text.
Once they confirmed her identity, the staff told her Michael had filed a request to freeze her assets.
The court had temporarily locked down 600 thousand dollars in her bank accounts because of his application.
Just because the assets were frozen didn't mean the court had decided who they belonged to, or that they were taking Michael's side.
Anna asked, "When was the application submitted?"
"At 11:26 this morning," the staff replied.
At that exact time, she was at the bank, sorting out the forged authorization.
While Michael was apologizing to her, he was already preparing to freeze her assets behind her back.
Anna hung up and, still sitting in the partner company's parking lot, called a lawyer.
The lawyer was Ethan Shaw, an outside consultant she'd met back when she was handling project contracts.
After hearing the whole story, Ethan didn't rush to make a judgment.
He explained, "Who gets the severance pay depends on the nature of the payment, how it's calculated, and when it was earned.
"Out of your nine years at the company, five were before you got married. The portion earned after marriage might be contested.
"If those deferred incentives are linked to projects you personally handled, we'll have to evaluate each one separately."
Anna asked, "The divorce settlement says we've both acknowledged and agreed on our own assets. Can he still ask the court to freeze my assets?"
"He can apply, but whether he actually gets any of it is a whole different story. The court only looks at whether it's urgent enough to warrant a freeze. They won't resolve all the actual disputes right away.
"For now, don't touch the frozen accounts, and don't transfer any other assets to friends or family. Otherwise, he could use that against you."
Ethan paused for a moment.
"Right now, the most important thing is to get your hands on his application materials," he said.
Anna quickly pulled together her employment contract, termination notice, divorce settlement, and all her bank records, then sent everything straight to Ethan.