👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option A to refuse to sign and retain sole proxy over the $14M trust.
Arthur’s hand, holding the pen, hesitated above the paper. He looked at the stack of documents, 1,200 pages thick, threatening federal charges and ruin. Then he looked at his father, who offered only a sneer.
A tremor went through him, but not of fear. He dropped the pen. It clattered loudly on the polished mahogany.
“I won’t sign,” Arthur said, his voice softer than he intended.
Raymond Cross’s jaw tightened. “You understand the ramifications, Mr. Finch?”
Arthur pushed the transfer agreement back across the table. He stood, adjusted the strap of his messenger bag, and walked out without another word. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving his father and the attorneys in the silent conference room.
Within twelve hours, the legal blitz began. His phone buzzed relentlessly. His inbox flooded with notifications. Three separate state court injunctions arrived by courier, each demanding his immediate surrender of the PAC.
Emergency ethics complaints were filed against him with the Federal Election Commission. The legal notices, thick as phonebooks, piled up on his coffee table.
Then came the bank alert. His personal savings account, holding $14,200, showed a “temporary freeze” under a preliminary discovery motion. Every cent he had was inaccessible.
Arthur sat in an all-night diner across from the State Capitol, the harsh fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. He hunched over a cold cup of coffee, his messenger bag slumping beside him, overflowing with legal notices. He could almost hear his father’s sneering voice in the quiet room.
Governor Finch didn’t want the money to operate. He wanted to drain Arthur’s meager resources. He intended to bury Arthur under paperwork, drowning him in legal fees before the next election cycle even began.
A waitress refilled his coffee, her eyes passing over the red FEC headers on the documents scattered across his table. Arthur picked up another court order, his eyes scanning for any loophole.
He knew what this was: a war of attrition. His father would bleed him dry.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 3A to continue the story
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