Chapter 2 - ZERO BALANCE
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The elevator descended smoothly toward the underground parking garage of St. Jude’s Memorial. Julian pulled Elena against him, sliding his fingers down her lower back as they watched the floor indicator drop: 4… 3… 2…
"First thing tomorrow," Elena purred, kissing the edge of his jaw, "we sell her Aspen chalet. I always hated that rustic garbage."
"Consider it gone," Julian chuckled. "And her vintage Aston Martin? Shipping it straight to Miami."
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open into the dimly lit, echoey garage. Julian pulled out his custom leather key pouch, hitting the unlock button for Victoria’s $180,000 Mercedes-Maybach.
The headlights flashed once, then completely died.
"What was that?" Elena frowned, her heels clicking across the concrete.
"Dead battery, probably. Hasn't been driven in a week," Julian grunted, grabbing the door handle. It didn't budge. The digital handle display flashed a solid red error code: VEHICLE REPOSSESSED / SYSTEM LOCKDOWN.
"What the hell?" Julian hit the key fob again frantically. Nothing. "Piece of junk."
"Whatever, call an Uber Black," Elena said, pulling her designer clutch from under her arm. "My feet are killing me."
Julian pulled out his phone and tapped the ride-share app. A bright crimson banner popped up across the top of his screen: Payment Method Declined: Card Canceled by Issuer.
"That's weird," Julian muttered, scrolling quickly to his backup corporate Amex. He re-entered the security code.
Declined: Account Terminated.
"Julian, what is taking so long?" Elena snapped, crossing her arms against the chilly draft blowing through the subterranean concrete arches.
"My cards are acting up. Just use yours."
Elena rolled her eyes, unlocking her gold iPhone. She opened her private banking app to scan her balance. She tapped her face ID, waited two seconds, and watched the main dashboard load.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Checking: $0.00.
Savings: $0.00.
Investment Line: $0.00.
"Julian..." Elena’s voice shook, every drop of smug confidence draining from her pale face. "Look at this. Look at my screen!"
Julian grabbed her phone, his thumbs scrolling wildly. "That’s impossible. You had three hundred grand in checking this morning!"
Suddenly, Julian’s phone buzzed violently in his grip. An incoming call from an unknown, untraceable private number.
He hit accept and put it on speaker, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Who is this?"
A soft, familiar, razor-sharp voice drifted through the speaker, accompanied by the distinct clicking of high heels against hospital linoleum.
May you like
"Did you really think dying was on my calendar today, darling?"
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