Chapter 11 - The Federal Warrant
At 2:00 PM, inside a cramped, dingy motel room on the outskirts of the city, Nathan sat on the edge of a stained bed. A half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey sat on the nightstand beside a pile of overdue bills.
Eleanor sat in a worn armchair, weeping quietly into a paper towel, her silver evening gown from the previous night sitting crumpled in a plastic grocery bag in the corner.
“We can call Uncle Richard,” Eleanor whimpered, her voice raspy. “He has a house in Palm Beach. He can wire us ten thousand dollars...”
“Uncle Richard blocked my number three hours ago, Mom!” Nathan snapped, taking a heavy swig from the whiskey bottle. “Everyone knows! My name is trash! No firm in this city will ever hire me again!”
Suddenly, the flimsy wooden door of the motel room was kicked open with a thunderous CRACK!
Four federal agents in tactical vests with "FBI" stamped in yellow across their chests surged into the small room, weapons drawn.
“Nathan Ashford! Hands where we can see them! On the floor now!” the lead agent shouted.
Nathan dropped the whiskey bottle, which shattered on the thin carpet. He fell to his knees, throwing his hands above his head in absolute terror. “What?! What did I do?! I signed the divorce papers!”
The lead agent slammed Nathan onto the floor, pulling his arms behind his back and clicking heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
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“Nathan Ashford, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, corporate espionage, and grand larceny involving the Brooks Holdings patent estate.”
👉 Eleanor screamed, rushing forward, only to be held back by another agent. “You can't do this! He’s an Ashford!”
