Chapter 11 - The Shadow on the Ledger
"Then he's ruined," I whispered, glancing at Caroline, who was sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. "The federal government will take everything."
"It's worse than that, Lydia," Richard said, his expression darker than I had ever seen it in forty years of knowing him.
He didn't hand me the papers. He held them tightly against his chest.
"Eric didn't come to the hospital to fight for custody," Richard said slowly. "He came because the people whose money he was washing realized the accounts were frozen by Judge Harper two hours ago. They know the funds are locked in Delaware under Caroline Holdings. And according to the corporate registry documents Eric filed to keep his own name off the public records..."
Richard paused, looking directly into my eyes with stark, unvarnished fear.
"...Eric listed *you* as the sole primary officer of Caroline Holdings. To save his own skin if the IRS ever audited him, he made you the legal target."
Before I could even process the horror of what Richard was saying, the lights in the recovery room flickered violently once.
Twice.
Then, the gentle hum of the hospital monitors died as the main power cut out, plunging the room into the eerie, muted glow of the emergency red backup lights.
Down the hallway, the heavy fire doors clicked shut.
May you like
The security guard stepped outside into the corridor, his hand on his holster. "Stay inside. The whole wing just lost main grid power."
From just beyond the locked stairwell door at the end of the hall, the distinct, sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the sudden silence, followed by heavy, deliberate footsteps walking straight toward our room.
