Court Attention At All Cost Novels & Stories

Collins opens his mouth, but I don’t let him speak. “He will win.” My voice is hard now. “If we take this to court, if we push for a judgment, Allister will win. The courts will easily rule in his favor anytime. So, tell me, brother, what do you suggest? That we fight a war we cannot win? We spend Pack resources on legal battles that will drain us dry? Do your brains work at all because I’m trying to understand why you keep acting senselessly!”

In my first year out of college, my mother sues me over the 60 dollars a month I give her for living expenses. In court, she breaks down in tears. "She only gives me 60 dollars a month! And she makes me check in every single day before she'll hand over that day's money! "I raised her and her brother all on my own. I gave everything I had to put her through college. How can she do this to me?" Her lawyer submits printed copies of our text conversations as proof. The judge frowns as he reads through them, then passes them to me. "Defendant, are these messages authentic?" I nod calmly. "They are." The gallery erupts in whispers, people calling me ungrateful and a terrible daughter. Then,

“Can she do that?” “Apparently.” “What did your lawyer say?” “That I should let her.” “What?” “He said fighting her in court would be expensive. Public. Ugly.” Adrian’s voice was bitter. “Like I care.” Vanessa touched his arm. “Adrian—” “I’m not giving up my children, Vanessa. I don’t care what it takes. I’m not letting her win.” Vanessa didn’t say anything. Adrian leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.

"I understand why you made the choices you did. A judge would probably understand the circumstances too. But understanding the circumstances and ruling in your favor aren't the same thing." She folded her hands on the desk. "Here's the reality. He has substantial financial resources. If this goes to court, he'll be able to hire attorneys far beyond what legal aid can provide. The process could take a year or more, and it will cost you far more than money. Stress. Time. Your daughter would have to participate in evaluations and interviews." She let that sink in. "Honestly, your strongest position isn't in a courtroom. Your strongest position is at the negotiating table, where you still have s

Make sure the judge knows, so they don't think I'm trying to extort her. The longer the lawsuit dragged on, the more miserable the Gantt family would become. But three months was the limit—after that, the apocalypse would arrive, and the Gantts wouldn't have to fork out the money anymore. He wanted to make sure they felt the sting of losing money. Chuck found the demand strange. He'd never met a client who wanted to prolong litigation. But fine—no reason to argue. The longer the case ran, the more hours he could bill. Why object?

I said, “we still have Day 30.” The line settled over the room because everyone knew it was true. Tomorrow was not salvation. Tomorrow was a barrier. Necessary, temporary, probably ugly. Renaud came around the desk and stopped beside me, not touching, just near enough that I could feel the shift in air. “Yes,” he said. “If we win court, we still have Day 30.” “And if we lose?” Julien answered first. “Then Hector walks into the board day carrying a temporary legal blessing and every coward in the room decides that caution suddenly looks like wisdom.”

one of them finally has the guts to repeat it. I cut my gaze to him, slow and sharp. “Settling, huh?” “Yes,” another one jumps in quickly, almost relieved someone else said it first. “A settlement could save us the cost and risk of a trial, because if this goes badly, you could be ordered to pay the full two hundred and fifty million dollars.” Silence lingers, and for a beat, I consider letting them squirm. Then I lean forward, hand flat on the polished table. “No. Not an option,” I blurt, the words sharp, clipped, and final.

In the car afterward Zara and I sat for a moment before either of us started the engine. "The suppression motion," she said. "If the judge grants it." "We fight it at every level," I said. "And we build the financial case without the backup if we have to. It is harder but it is doable." "And if Marcus walks on two or three counts because of technicalities."

How is that too much? I snorted and raised my voice. "I'm telling you now, if a single dollar is missing, you won't have peace for the rest of your lives. I'll always come for you guys!" Hames choked on his words. His expression turned ugly. "If you don't accept mediation," I said, rising to my feet. "Then we'll go through formal litigation." I looked at Henry. He sat in his wheelchair. His face was ashen. "The only question is whether Henry can wait that long. Lawsuits take time. With trials and appeal, it isn't unusual for things to drag on for a year or two."

“And what do you mean it could save me? You just can’t tell a girl you’ll marry her out of the blues. It’s not that I see this as a non-opportunity, right? There are things that we can be able to do to make Xander back off.” “This is the only way he’s going to sign this and we can get the law to be on our side. Because if Xander decides to show up and decides to fight you with the law, the law might back him up.” “I’m hearing might. So you think we have a chance to win… right? “The chance of you losing is higher.” “How?” “Okay, first of all, Xander has the finances to go against you in court. And it will be long and expensive, something you can’t be able to afford at the time.”