Chapter 5 - The Empty Vault
The push notification flashed across my screen with a chilling dollar amount: Outbound wire transfer processed: $24,500.00 to Swiss Holdings LLC.
I froze on the stretcher, grabbing the paramedic’s sleeve. “Stop. Wait. Look at my phone.”
“Ma’am, we need to get you to the hospital to monitor the baby—,”
“Look at the time stamp!” I gasped, pointing at the screen. The transfer had gone through less than two minutes ago—while Derek was standing outside the bathroom door pretending to negotiate with me, and Evelyn was streaming the disaster to thousands of people.
They hadn't just been raising money for medical bills. They had set up an automated sweep to drain every single cent of the livestream donations into an offshore account the second the payout threshold was hit, leaving our domestic accounts entirely hollowed out.
“Officer!” I called out, waving weakly toward the nearest detective standing by the squad car.
Detective Miller turned, jogging over as the ambulance doors stood open. “What is it, Mrs. Moreland?”
“They just emptied the account,” I said, holding up the phone to show the transaction ledger. “They transferred the entire day's haul offshore. They knew the police were coming. They had a dead man's switch.”
The detective’s expression hardened instantly. He took out his radio, shouting a rapid-fire order to financial crimes enforcement. “Freeze all connected merchant accounts and initiate an international asset hold on Moreland holdings immediately!”
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He looked back at me, his eyes grim. “They planned for this contingency, Mrs. Moreland. But so did we.”
Before he could explain further, a sharp, unfamiliar pain gripped my lower abdomen, doubling me over on the stretcher as the ambulance doors slammed shut.
