“On whose authority?” I asked.

“An emergency order filed by lawyers representing Aldridge Luxe in Manhattan,” he said, picking a silver paper clip up off his blotter.

“The paperwork alleges accounting fraud connected to the source account.”

I picked up the blue slip.

The printed line showed twenty million dollars carved out of my fifty-million-dollar settlement and locked in a restricted escrow account until a court ruled on it.

“Can I take out the remaining thirty million?” I asked.