Chapter 5 - The Confrontation at Land Records
The Hennepin County Land Records office was quiet, smelling of old paper, floor polish, and bureaucratic stagnation.
Sitting at a wooden counter near the service windows was Paige Miller.
Stripped of the emotional chaos of the hospital ICU, she looked remarkably young, wearing a sleek designer coat—purchased, no doubt, with my husband’s stolen funds—and tapping her manicured nails impatiently against her leather purse. Beside her stood a man in a rumpled grey suit, her personal real estate attorney.
I walked into the room, my heels clicking loudly against the polished marble floor. The sound echoed off the high ceilings, drawing the attention of the clerks and Paige’s attorney.
Paige turned around, her eyes widening in immediate recognition. The color drained from her face.
"Jacqueline," she whispered, her voice lacking any of the confidence she had displayed while holding Alistair’s hand at his bedside.
"Ms. Miller," I said pleasantly, stopping three feet from her table. "I see you're attempting to transfer Title 409-B, the Edina property."
Her attorney stepped forward defensively. "Ma'am, I don't know who you are, but my client is in the middle of a private transaction—"
"I am Jacqueline Ross, Senior Partner at Ross & Mercer," I interrupted, pulling a certified court order from my briefcase and sliding it across the counter directly to the county clerk behind the glass window. "And that property is currently subject to an Ex-Parte Freeze Order issued an hour ago by Judge Kathleen Vance of the 4th Judicial District Chancery Court."
The county clerk picked up the order, saw the gold judicial seal, and immediately stopped typing on her terminal. "Transaction halted," the clerk announced systematically.
Paige’s attorney snatched the paper, reading through the injunction with rapidly growing horror. "What? An asset freeze? On what grounds?!"
"On the grounds of systemic marital asset dissipation, corporate embezzlement, and grand larceny," I replied smoothly, looking Paige dead in the eye. "Your client's shell company, AURA Holdings, was funded using $150,000 stolen from my marital home equity line, alongside $500,000 diverted from my law firm's client accounts."
Paige stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the floor. "That's not true! Alistair gave me that money! It's mine! It's for Matty!"
"Alistair didn't own that money to give it to you, Paige," I said, my voice dropping into a quiet, icy register that made her step back. "He stole it. And taking stolen property makes you an accessory to grand fraud."
"He told me you two were separated!" Paige sobbed, her facade breaking down into desperate, angry tears. "He told me you were cold, bitter, and refused to grant him a divorce! He said you didn't love him!"
"He told you what you needed to hear so you would stay quiet in your luxury Edina townhouse while he used my professional reputation to secure bank loans," I countered without a shred of sympathy. "You weren't his secret love, Paige. You were his accomplice."
Her attorney pulled Paige back, whispering furiously in her ear. "Shut up, Paige. Don't say another word."
He turned to me, sweating through his collar. "Mrs. Ross-Finch... my client was unaware of the origin of these funds. She believed Mr. Finch was operating with full authority—"
"Save it for the grand jury, Counselor," I cut him off cleanly. "Because at 2:00 PM today, the County District Attorney and the State Financial Crimes Division are receiving the complete forensic audit of Finch Capital Management. Every dollar, every wire transfer, every jewelry purchase your client accepted will be scrutinised under federal anti-money laundering statutes."
Paige collapsed back into her chair, burying her face in her hands, weeping hysterically as the reality of her situation collapsed upon her.
I turned back to the county clerk. "Thank you for your efficiency, clerk."
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I walked out of the Land Records office into the crisp afternoon air. The outer defense was destroyed. The mistress was isolated. The assets were frozen.
Now, it was time to crush the heart of Alistair's financial empire before he could even leave his hospital bed.
