Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

"Have a nice holiday?" Uncle Jack looked at him with a smile. "You've made us chase hard. You shouldn't have done that, boy." Soapy wanted to beat him up, but when the guards pushed him into the room, though they had let go of his arms, his wrists were still bound tightly. Uncle Jack put away his smile, glanced at Judge Bruder, and said, "Saul, Judge Bruder and I did our best for your father and grandfather, but you never showed any gratitude to us, which is of course very important to us." Clear. But you still want to make trouble for us. Now show you how we deal with those little fellows who don't know what to do. We're going to teach him a lesson. Are you ready, Judge?"

Judge Bruder grinned grimly, and brought a whip from behind him. "Push him on the table!" Soapy woke up gasping for breath, yo, it hurts!He looked around the small hotel room, trying to remember where it was.For many days, he has been running here and there, and sometimes he has circled half the world, so he already knows the customs and customs of this planet well, and he will not feel very novel.He also got a new ID card that was authentic enough.It's not difficult, he has been in the underground society before, once he understands that all underground societies are similar, everything will be solved easily.

Oh, he remembered, this is South America. Alert rings.It's exactly midnight, time to go.Soapy dressed, glanced at the luggage, decided he didn't want it, and slipped quietly down the back stairs, across the path, and away. Aunt Lizzie didn't like the bitter cold of the Yukon, but she went along anyway.At this time, someone finally called Leda, saying that there were not many shopping days until Christmas.Thorby managed to call the lawyer back in Uranium City, and Gash smiled and said, "January 4 at 9:59 a.m. in Rudbeck District Court, Fourth District. You mustn't show up until then. "

So in San Francisco Soapy and Leda had a quarrel in front of their aunt.Leda wants to go to Nice, but Thorby must go to Australia.Finally Soapy said angrily, "Prepare the car! I'll go alone", and left angrily, buying a ticket to Sydney. That day, he pulled the old trick of pretending to go to the toilet and took the subway across the bay.Once he was sure he had shaken off the security guard who was staring at him, he collected himself and counted the wad of cash that Leda had slipped him during their public quarrel.It was nearly 2 million, and there was a note inside, saying that she regretted that there was only such a small amount of money, because it was not prepared in advance.

While waiting for a connecting flight at the airport in South America, Soapy checked how much money Leda gave him was left, only to find that money was tight.How is the money spent? After returning to Rudbeck City, photographers and journalists swarmed him and surrounded him.Annoyed, he fought his way through the crowd to finally meet Gash in court at 9:58.The old lawyer nodded and said, "Sit down, Judge Hizonth is coming." Before the words were finished, the judge arrived.In a monotonous voice the clerk announced the age-old promise of justice: "...your complaints are heard!"

Gash said: "This judge is controlled by Bruder." "Huh? Then why are we still here?" "Because you paid me to fight them. But a judge makes a good judge when he realizes he's in full view. Look at those people behind you." Soapy looked back and saw that the courtroom was so packed with reporters that there was no room for ordinary spectators. "As long as I promise someone else's work, I will definitely do it well." Gash raised his thumb in the front row and said, "That big-nosed guy is an ambassador from Proxima Centauri, and the old man next to him Stuff is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and—" He broke off abruptly.

Thorby did not see Uncle Jack, but Judge Bruder was sitting at another table—he did not look at Thorby.Soapy didn't see Leda either, and felt alone. Gash sat down after finishing his opening remarks, and whispered to Soapy, "Miss has something to tell you. She wishes you 'good luck'." Soapy appeared only when he testified, and then there were tit-for-tat and eloquent verbal battles and warnings from the judge.When taking the oath, Soapy recognized the retired chief justice of the Confederate Supreme Court who had dined at Rudbeck's house and sat in the front row, and he never saw anyone he knew again.

Each issue was debated endlessly by both parties, but then came a dramatic turn.The court absurdly deemed Bruder's objection valid, prompting a cacophony of disbelief in the courtroom, some stomping their feet in protest, leaving the judge flushed. "Quiet! Or I'll kick you out!" Amid the protests of the reporters, the action to rectify order began.Those sitting in the first two rows watched the judge silently.The ambassador from extraterrestrials turned and whispered a few words to the secretary, who kept typing on his shorthand machine. The judge cleared his throat and said, "...we will not tolerate disregard for the court unless you quiet down immediately!"

At the end of the trial Soapy couldn't help but feel a little strange: "...the court therefore concluded that the deaths of Creighton Bradley Rudbeck and Martha Bradley Rudbeck were beyond doubt, And died of common misfortunes. May their souls rest in peace. Now please record it for future reference." The judge struck the gavel, and continued, "If the testamentary custodian of the deceased is present and holds the will, please let them Go to court now." The court did not hear Soapy's shares, but Soapy went into the judge's office anyway and signed a receipt of a parental death certificate without Judge Wimsby or Bruder appearing.

Thorby took a deep breath as Gash and Thorby emerged from the judge's office. "It's hard for me to believe this lawsuit has been won." Gash laughed and said, "No kidding. We just won the first round. Now it's time to start spending big money." Soapy was speechless for a moment, tongue-tied.At this time, Rudbeck's security guards came and led them out of the crowd. Gash was right.Bruder and Wilmsby did not wait for the development of the situation. They still managed the affairs of Rudbeck Associates and continued to compete.Thorby never saw the power of attorney from his parents.His only interest in the matter now was to try to ascertain whether there was, as he suspected, a difference between "revocable" and "revocable only by mutual consent" between the documents drafted by Bruder and those left by his parents.

But when the court called them to produce the documents, Bruder claimed they had been destroyed as part of the routine filing process.The judge found the move in contempt of court and he was sentenced to 10 days in jail, which was suspended.Just like that, the matter was over. Now, Wilmsby can no longer exercise control on behalf of Martha and Creighton Rudbeck, and Thorby also has no such power.During the probate period, the shares were frozen.Meanwhile, Bruder and Wilmsby continued to serve at the top of Rudbeck Associates and had the support of most managers.By this time Soapy was not allowed to enter the Rudbeck building, let alone go to his old office. Wilmsby did not move back to Rudbeck, and his personal effects were given away.Soapy asked Gash to move into the old house in Wilmsby, where the old man used to sleep, and they were both very busy. Gash told him they had sued 97 times to settle the estate.The court alternately favors and disapproves, so that sometimes things go well and sometimes hang in the balance. As for the will, it is generally relatively simple, because Soapy is the sole heir.There were dozens of small inheritances, though, and some relatives might get something out of it if the will were to be declared invalid.In addition, the issue of "death determined by law" was brought up again, and the "general disaster" judged by the court contradicted the "death at different times" proposed later.Neither Bruder nor Wilmsby appeared in the lawsuit over those issues.Some relative or shareholder always came forward as a plaintiff, and Soapy concluded that Uncle Jack had won hearts and settled each of them. The only lawsuit that broke Thorby's heart was brought by his Bradley grandparents.They argued that because Soapy was incapacitated, Wimsby and Bruder should continue to have custody of him.In addition to the admitted fact that he was not familiar with the intricacies of the earth's living environment as a reason, there is another piece of evidence, which is a medical record in the National Guard.A doctor named Krishnamurthy testified that he was a "potentially unstable person who should not be held responsible for his behavior under certain pressures." Gash asked the personal doctor of the Secretary-General of the Allied Congress to conduct a physical examination on Soapy, and found that Soapy was of sound mind and fully capable of legal responsibility.But then another shareholder sued, saying that Thorby was not qualified to manage the affairs of Rudbeck Associates, whether in the private or public interest. Soapy was very much overwhelmed by all this goings-on.It dawned on him gradually that being rich came at a high price.Soapy was already deeply in debt to pay legal costs and the management of Rudbeck Estate, and he could not withdraw the living expenses he had been accumulating that should have been his own.Because despite multiple court rulings identifying Soapy, Bruder and Wimsby have made a fuss over the issue. After a fraught time, a superior court three levels above Rudbeck District Court ruled that Soapy was entitled to exercise his parent's shareholding until the company's assets were liquidated. According to the right of shareholders to propose proposals stipulated in the company's articles of association, Thorby called a general meeting of shareholders to elect a new senior leader. The meeting was held in Rudbeck's Great Hall.Most of the shareholders on the planet were present.Even Leda barged in at the last minute before the meeting.She happily shouted: "Hello, everyone!" Then she turned to her stepfather and said, "Dad, after I got the notice, I decided to come and see the excitement, so I jumped on the bus and came here. I'm not late, am I? " Although Soapy and the rest of the leadership were seated on stage, Cladda barely glanced at them.Soapy felt relieved and sad at the same time.He hadn't seen Leda since the breakup in San Francisco.Soapy knew that she had her house in Rudbeck Harbor, Rudbeck, and sometimes she went to the city for a walk.But Gash advised him not to contact her-"Her actions indicate that she doesn't want to see you. When a woman makes it clear that she doesn't want to see a man, if she chases her again, she is a fool." So Soapy kept reminding himself that the money and interest owed to her must be paid off as soon as possible. Wilmsby called for silence and announced that, as required, nominations for upper leadership will be made at this meeting. "The majority of shareholders agree that the past business issues will be left to be dealt with in the future." The gavel slammed, "Now the secretary of the general meeting will announce the list of candidates for the chairman." He smiled triumphantly. The laugh worried Soapy, since he and his parents' stock controlled just under 45% of the voting power.Judging from the list and other indirect information, Wilmsby controls about 31% of the voting power.Thorby is still short of 6% of the votes. He wants to use the name of "Rudbeck's Rudbeck" to sincerely appeal to the shareholders to realize his wish.Although Wilms had more than three times the number of votes he needed, Soapy still had no idea.Those votes that have not yet been cast are likely to fall into Wilmsby's pocket. Worrying is all about worrying, Soapy stood up and nominated himself with one of his shares: "Saul Rudbeck's Rudbeck!" After that, all the other high-level leaders present were willing to bow down and did not come out to compete. Until someone proposed the name of Wilmsby, no one was nominated again. "Secretary, please," said Wilmsby, drawling. "We first report the shareholder's self-vote, and then report the proxy vote, and the clerk checks the stock number based on the original file data. Now, Saul Rudbeck... the Rudbeck." Soapy invested all 45 percent of his own stock and sat down exhausted.He took out his pocket calculator and did some calculations.There are 94,000 shares in total, and Soapy doesn't believe he can remember the total number of votes added up one by one.The secretary kept reading the stock numbers, and the clerk kept repeating the numbers while checking the serial numbers of the stocks on the file.Thorby needs to pull 5,667 more shares to win by one more vote. Soapy's votes began to slowly increase—232...906...1917, some of which were cast by himself and some by others.But Wilmsby is also on the rise.After hearing their own names, some shareholders only said one sentence: "Proxy." Others did not answer.Soapy thought Wilmsby might already own those proxy shares.However, the votes for "Rudbeck of Rudbeck" are still increasing, 2205... 3036... 4300... Here it stops, and the last names are now being announced. Gash turned sideways to Soapy and said, "That's the only pair left." "Yes." Soapy put away the calculator, feeling very chagrined -- so it seemed that Wilmsby had won after all. Apparently someone had already told the secretary whose name was to be read at the end. "Dear Judge Bruder!" Bruder cast his hefty stake in Wilmsby: "To our chairman, Mr. John Wimsby." Wilmsby also stood up, and said with a happy face, "I will vote in my own name, and I will vote with the secretary as an agent entrusted by others..." Thorby couldn't listen anymore, and just wanted to immediately Find your hat and walk away. "The counting is over, I announce—" The secretary began to read out the final count of ballots. "Wait a minute!" Leda stood up and said, "And me! This is my first time attending the meeting, and I want to cast my vote!" Her stepfather said quickly, "Okay, Leda, but you can't mess around." He turned to the secretary and said, "It won't affect the election." "No, it's just going to affect the election! I'm going to put 1,880 shares in Saul Rudbeck's Rudbeck!" Wimsby stared, and said, "Lyda Wimsby!" Leda retorted: "My legal name is Leda Rudbeck." Bruder shouted: "This is illegal! The ballots have been recorded, and yours can no longer be counted..." "Hmph, bullshit!" cried Leda. "I'm here myself, and I'm still voting. Also, I've canceled my proxy—I was at the post office in this building 10 minutes before the meeting was announced." The firm went through the procedures for the sale of the power of attorney, and saw it being taken to the 'the company's attorney's office' to sign. Judge, if you don't believe me, how about sending someone to verify it? I'm right here, Now add my shares." With that, she turned and smiled at Soapy. Soapy gave her a big smile too, then said to Gash with a stern face, "Why keep it a secret from me?" "If you don't, 'Honest John' will know that he has to beg, borrow, buy, and get more stock to be chairman. If that's the case, he's probably already won. As I ordered, give him a reassurance first. What a good girl, Soapy, you can't make a mistake in choosing her." Five minutes later, Soapy stood up pale and trembling, took the gavel that Wilmsby had put down, and announced to the shareholders: "Now the election of other directors." He could hardly control his voice.Shareholders enthusiastically and unanimously approved Gash and Thorby's slate of candidates for the board of directors, including the addition of Lyda. Leda stood up again: "Oh, no, you can't elect me as a director." "This is an exceptional selection. You have performed your duties. Accept it now." Leda hesitated to speak, but finally sat down. When the secretary announced the election results, Thorby turned to Wilmsby and said, "You're still managing director, aren't you?" "yes." "You lose, and your share will go to the company. And don't go back to your old office, put your hat on and walk away now." Bruder couldn't help but jumped up.Soapy turned and said, "You too. Guards, get them out of the building."