CHAPTER 7

Alan knew in his mind that there was no way he could accept such a hug. It was like a mockery to him.

“Come on you both,” a voice uttered, breaking the awkward moment - it was Ms. Daniels, their lawyer. “Court is about to sit. You need to be in the courtroom now. There would be no delays.”

Alan and Mr. Billing both walked into the courtroom in different directions.

The courtroom was as hushed as the scratching of the Judge’s pen was gradually filling the air. Lawyers filled the courtroom, their faces stern and concentrated.

Bank officials were also present in court. It was a big day for them because they wanted to know if they were allowed to unfreeze the voluminous amount of money that they had frozen many years ago as directed by the court.

Alan had expertly answered all the questions he was asked by the opposing counsel during the deposition and the jury had given their stance.

“Let's hope that the assets can be unfrozen now. The jury seems to be cooperative. The best years of my life have been long gone and I can't wait to return to working with Doppler Group.”

“It would be the best day of my life if the judge can rule in our favor.”

“I am in a lot of debt. The only way that I wouldn't think of ending it all is if the court can announce the decision in our favor. But let's not forget that it is been 10 years, can we still be sure that we will have our places retained in these companies if the decision is overturned and the assets are unfrozen?”

Some of the former employees from the companies under the Greyson consortium were silently discussing amongst themselves because they were getting bored with the suspense created by the judge’s long writing without announcing the judgment.

“Shhh, the judge is about to announce,” one of the employees tapped the others into composure.

The judge raised his glasses, preventing them from slacking off before clearing his throat. 

The eyes of everyone in the court were fixed on the judge as they fidgeted in their seats. Tension mounted on Alan’s fingers as he kept snapping them against each other. He still had to deal with his father’s betrayal but the next moment could spur a total turnaround in his life.

“—This decision is based purely on the evidence presented by the parties and on an adept application of the law. It is believed that the judgment would bring justice to all the parties involved.”

Tik, tak, tik, tak…The ticking sound of the wall clock filled the room, overshadowing the silence.

“This honorable court decides that the appeal in respect of this matter is upheld and the assets of Greyson Consortium be released and restored to the rightful stakeholder or stakeholders.”

The courtroom erupted into cheers as joyous chanting filled the air. Hugs and high-fives were shared among those who were formerly employees of the companies under the Greyson consortium. They all expected to be back to business in no time. 

The judge’s gavel struck the bench with precision, rendering the decision final - the Greysons were back on. Alan was on hand to become wealthy again.

Alan jumped up in celebration, the helm of his suit hanging up in the air. He felt a notification alert vibrating in his pockets.

What could that be? He held his breath, his mind racing with possibilities as he saw the message appearing on the screen.

The number of zeros he saw made his head spin. “Unbelievable! What could this mean?” he muttered to himself. It was difficult to comprehend it.

The sum was too huge and he had never owned such an amount before.

He rushed to Ms. Daniels and tapped her from behind. He wanted to ask her if it was normal that such an amount was in his bank account. It could be a mistake, he thought. Being a lawyer, Ms. Greyson could advise on whether it was a mistake and an amount he had to refund to the rightful owner. 

Before he could say anything to her, she stretched out an arm. “Congratulations Mr. Alan. This decision means that you have successfully restored your family wealth.”

“Oh! Thank you, thank you. I can't appreciate you enough for the work you put in to make this a reality. However, I have to ask. I got an alert just now of billions of dollars. It seemed so strange because I never had such even before our assets were frozen.”

“Oh, Mr. Alan!” Ms. Daniels had a bright smile on her face. “That's because the bank officials started releasing the amounts that they have held for so long. It can be burdensome keeping such huge amounts in their possession due to the appeal being pending all these years.”

“That's why they had to release it immediately. Also, your companies didn't stop earning money even when they were placed on an injunction. Some of your companies were still making huge returns from former transactions and it was truly unfortunate that you couldn't receive these huge amounts until today.”

“In any case, they are all piled up now and that is why you are receiving such a heavy alert.”

Alan was consumed by the overwhelming feeling of happiness surging through his body. He had forgotten the bruises that he was still nursing. Everything seemed to be 10 times better than it was. Just a few days ago, he was fighting for his life like a wrestler in a ring just because his ex-in-law wanted to humiliate him for being poor.

Now, he could barely count the zeros he received in his account.

His thoughts diverted to his father, Mr. Greyson. He had to talk to him one way or another. He was his father after all and Ms. Daniels had told him that he planned to transfer all his assets to him. 

He wondered what was going on in his father’s mind. Why would he want to transfer all of his assets to him and make him become the overall boss of the consortium? It didn't make sense because 10 years ago, he tried to frame him for the offenses that were hanging on the consortium's neck.

Alan turned around to find out where he was. He saw him a few moments ago but he was nowhere to be found.

“Have you seen my dad?” Alan tapped Ms. Daniels again who was still busy in the front row of the courtroom finalizing her documents.

Ms. Daniels responded with a smile. “It's good that you finally want to make amends with your father. You both really need to be in unison because there is still a lot at stake,” she uttered.

“In any case, I don't know where he is.”

Alan would swear that he saw him not long ago. He couldn't have gone far, he thought.