“We will pay the balance in cash if we have to,” he said. “Put it on my card for now.”

He handed her his military bank card.

She swiped it.

A red light blinked on the small terminal.

“Declined,” she said.

My father stared at the machine.

“Run it again,” he said.

“I did, sir,” she said. “It’s declining.”

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

I leaned over to look.

The message contained a single image of my father’s bank statement, showing a temporary freeze order.

Below the image, a text read: *You should have accepted the retainer offer, Colonel.*

My father’s phone rang again.

This time, it was Marcus.

“Michael,” Marcus said, his voice tense and low. “You need to hear this.”

My father pressed the speakerphone button on his mobile.

“I’m listening, Marcus,” he said.

“Patricia’s attorneys just filed an emergency motion in the county probate court,” Marcus said.

“On what grounds?” my father asked.