As the crane’s engine roared to life, lifting the roof of Richard’s office into the bright blue sky, the screen of my phone lit up with a new incoming call from Gloria.

I swiped the screen to answer and held the phone to my ear.

“Alexandra,” Gloria’s voice came through, sharp and clear over the hum of the idling crane.

“I’m here, Gloria,” I said, leaning my head against the cool headrest.

“The judge just signed the emergency order,” she said.

Outside my windshield, the massive yellow crane began to swing its boom back toward the road.

“Is it done?” I asked.

“Every single commercial operating account for Sterling Advertising is frozen,” Gloria said. “The bank processed the freeze five minutes ago.”

“How did you get it through so quickly?”

“We showed the judge the transfer logs from this morning,” Gloria said. “Richard tried to move three hundred thousand dollars out of the corporate payroll account into a private LLC in Delaware.”

I watched the final flatbed truck shift into gear.

Its diesel engine let out a throaty roar, sending a plume of dark smoke into the clear afternoon air.