I Came Home From A Business Trip Late At Night And Found My Son Washing Clothes By Hand In Complete Darkness. “They Went On Vacation,”

Marcus Vance’s office on High Street was lined with monitors and file cabinets. Sitting on the leather sofa was a frail man in his late sixties, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. His eyes were hollowed by grief, but his face hardened when Gabriel walked into the room.

"Gabriel, this is Thomas Vance," Marcus introduced. "Arthur Vance's younger brother."

Thomas reached out and shook Gabriel's hand with a surprisingly firm grip. "Marcus told me what’s happening to your boy, Mr. Lawson. I took the morning train from Chicago the moment he called."

"What happened to Arthur?" Gabriel asked, taking a seat opposite him.

"Arthur was lonely after his wife died of heart failure," Thomas explained, his voice raspy. "Candice applied as a home health aide through a private agency. Within six months, she had moved into his house. She alienated him from the rest of the family, telling him we only cared about his money."

Thomas took a sip of water, his hands shaking slightly. "By the time Arthur realized what she was doing, it was too late. She had induced him to sign a power of attorney agreement, transferred his savings into offshore accounts, and placed his life insurance under her name. Two weeks after the final signatures, Arthur died of an 'accidental' insulin overdose. The police ruled it inconclusive because there wasn't enough physical evidence to press charges."

"She did the exact same thing to me," Gabriel realized, the blood running cold in his veins. "She drafted a folder called 'WIDOWS'. She was prepping to file for total custody of Lucas and claim my half-million-dollar life insurance policy."

"It's a pattern," Marcus chimed in, turning a computer monitor toward Gabriel. "Look at this. Candice has opened seven separate LLCs across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois over the last six years. Every single one is tied to dummy bank accounts used to launder funds extracted from grieving men."

"Can we freeze those accounts?" Gabriel asked.

"Sarah Jenkins is already filing an emergency injunction with the county magistrate," Marcus said. "By four o'clock today, Candice’s credit cards will be useless. Every dollar she drained from your business accounts will be frozen under court order."