Chapter 4 - The Frozen Assets
The process server didn't cause a scene. He didn't yell, and he didn't make a public spectacle. He simply walked up to Lucia’s table, placed a thick, heavy manila envelope stamped with the official seal of the Baltimore Circuit Court right on top of the white tablecloth, and looked directly at my mother-in-law.
“Mrs. Lucia Montgomery?” the server asked politely.
Lucia blinked in surprise, her hand freezing midway to her teacup. She glared up at the man with haughty indignation. “Yes? Who on earth are you? Can’t you see we’re having a private gathering?”
“This is a formal legal service of notice regarding emergency civil asset freezing, corporate receivership, and dissolution proceedings filed on behalf of Vera Montgomery against Felix Montgomery,” the server stated in a calm, monotone voice. “You are legally advised that any transfer, sale, or disposal of property removed from the primary residence within the last seventy-two hours constitutes a felony violation of court orders. Have a wonderful morning, ladies.”
Without waiting for a response, the server turned on his heel and walked calmly out of the café.
The silence at Lucia’s table was absolute.
For several seconds, nobody moved. Then, Eleanor slowly reached out a trembling finger and tapped the corner of the thick manila envelope, as if it were a venomous spider.
“Lucia...” Eleanor whispered, her eyes wide. “What... what is this?”
“It’s... it’s some ridiculous mistake,” Lucia stammered, her face turning an ugly shade of mottled crimson. Her hands shook visibly as she snatched the envelope off the table and tore it open. She pulled out the top document, her eyes scanning the dense legal jargon printed in stark black and white.
EMERGENCY ASSET FREEZING INJUNCTION.
PLAINTIFF: VERA MONTGOMERY.
DEFENDANT: FELIX MONTGOMERY.
ESTATED ASSETS FROZEN: ALL COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS, CORPORATE SHARES, AND PERSONAL HOLDINGS.
Lucia’s breath hitched in her throat. She stood up so abruptly her chair screeched loudly against the tile floor, drawing the startled attention of every customer in the café.
“This is absurd!” Lucia shrieked, her voice cracking with sudden, overwhelming panic. She whipped out her bedazzled smartphone, frantically dialing her son’s number. “Felix! Felix, pick up the phone right this instant! Some lunatic just handed me a lawsuit claiming our accounts are frozen!”
She hit speakerphone with a trembling thumb.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then, a frantic, breathless voice blared through the speaker for the entire café to hear.
“Mom! Mom, thank God you answered!” Felix sounded completely unhinged. In the background of his call, the sharp, unmistakable sound of shouting and slamming office doors echoed through the receiver.
“Felix, what is going on?!” Lucia demanded, her voice pitching up into a shrill shriek. “What is this paper I just got? Why are the police—er, why are men in suits clearing out your office?”
“I don't know!” Felix yelled back, panic bleeding openly from every syllable. “I tried to buy lunch with my corporate card and it was declined! When I got back to the firm, federal receivers were standing at my desk! They locked down my computer, froze my personal checking account, and told me my entire stock portfolio in Montgomery & Vance has been seized under a marital asset recovery warrant!”
A collective gasp echoed around Lucia’s table. Beatrice dropped her fork against her plate with a sharp clatter.
“Seized?!” Lucia screeched, her face turning pale as chalk. “How can they seize your company?! You’re the senior partner! You’re the breadwinner!”
“Mom, shut up!” Felix screamed over the phone. “You don't understand! The firm... the firm was entirely funded by her grandfather’s original trust capital! The patents, the real estate holding accounts, the venture capital backing—it’s all legally registered in her maiden name trust! I don't own the company! I’m just an employee!”
The café went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop on the floor.
Lucia staggered backward, her knees buckling slightly as she collided with the edge of the table. Her phone slipped from her nerveless fingers, clattering loudly against the floor, still broadcasting Felix’s frantic, panicking voice into the empty air.
Slowly, inexorably, Lucia turned her head around.
May you like
Her terrified, bloodshot eyes swept across the café until they locked directly onto mine.
I sat calmly at my table across the room, slowly slipping off my dark sunglasses. I gave her a small, polite, devastatingly sweet wave.
