Chapter 10: B: Bargain Hesitation

👉 [Previous Decision]: You chose Option B – Try to strike a personal bargain with Arthur before police arrive.

The sirens grew louder, the helicopter blades chopping the air above. Arthur’s composure was visibly fraying. This was my moment.

“Arthur,” I said, leaning forward. “This is going to get ugly. Your family, your reputation—”

He cut me off, his eyes flashing. “What do you want, Kross? A payout? Protection? Name your price. I can make this go away.”

“I have the power to retract the leak,” I offered, a desperate gamble. “To say it was a misunderstanding. Buy us time. In exchange for my safety. My career back.”

He stared at me for a long moment, considering. A calculating gleam entered his eyes.

“Retract the leak,” he echoed, his gaze darting from me to the digital letter on his desk. “And what of the original? The physical letter?”

Before I could answer, his hand moved with lightning speed. He swept the digital copy of the letter off the desk, his other hand pressing a button hidden within the desk’s intricate woodwork. A small panel slid open, revealing a built-in incinerator.

With a final, contemptuous glance, he dropped the fragile parchment into the burning chamber. The old paper caught instantly, turning to ash in seconds.

“There,” Arthur said, leaning back, a satisfied smirk on his face. “No original. Just a digital copy now. Easily discredited. Fabricated, even.”

The sirens were now deafening. Footsteps pounded on the stairs, then the sound of a battering ram against the main doors below.

“You hesitated, Mr. Kross,” Arthur said, his voice regaining its calm, chilling authority. “And in this game, hesitation is fatal. Without the original, Marcus’s digital copy is merely a fabrication. Your word against mine. And my word carries far more weight in court.”