Chapter 6 - The Delivery Bay Repo
The heavy rumble of a flatbed diesel engine vibrated right through the concrete floor of Aura’s kitchen, rattling the stacked ceramic plates near the pass.
Elena didn't hesitate. She unclipped her apron, tossed it onto the stainless-steel counter, and pushed through the swinging back doors out into the sun-baked delivery alley.
Parked squarely across the loading zone was a massive black commercial tow truck bearing the emblem of Lone Star Asset Recovery. A burly man in a high-visibility vest was currently unhooking a winch cable from the chassis of a midnight-blue Porsche 911 Carrera—a car Elena hadn't even known Mark owned, let alone registered under a phantom shell company.
"Hold on!" Elena called out, stepping over the threshold into the humid Austin afternoon air.
The tow truck driver paused, wiping grease from his forearm with a rag. He looked past her at the restaurant’s back entrance, then back down at his manifest clipboard. "You the owner of the establishment? I’ve got a court-ordered writ of seizure for three vehicles parked on this commercial lot tied to a federal bankruptcy asset freeze."
"I am the sole proprietor of this property," Elena said, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "And that car has been blocking my commercial delivery route for twenty minutes. How many vehicles are on your manifest?"
"Three total," the driver replied, tapping the clipboard. "The Porsche right here, an Audi Q7 currently parked in a downtown parking garage, and a vintage Mercedes convertible titled out in Hill Country. All three tied to Mark and Theresa Miller's revocable trust accounts."
Before Elena could respond, the side door of the alley's adjacent office building clicked open, and David hurried out, holding a cordless landline phone with a panicked expression.
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"Elena!" David shouted over the low rumble of the idling tow truck engine. "You need to take this call on line two right now. It’s Mark's divorce attorney... and he sounds like he’s having a complete nervous breakdown."
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