Through the Dark

Chapter 18

I had parked Jason's car a block away, from Finn's place, and walked my way over to Finn's bungalow. The numerous police cars and officers present there made me suspicious. What could have possibly happened to have caused such a nuisance?

I went inside not knowing what to anticipate. The door was open and I began looking into all the rooms to search for my friends as soon as I got inside. After much exploring, I found all of them gathered inside Finn's enormous room. The number of my ventricular contractions increased with time as I took in their horrid faces.

Finn was seated on the bed while Aiden and Addison were on opposite sides of him. Thea and Nathan were both pacing the room from one end to another.

"Guys what happened?" I asked with complete horror as I saw Finn's pale face.

"It's Finn's dad. He is being taken to the prison," Nathan announced which left me bewildered.

Just then Finn was called by some officer and he strode off the room.

"Why? How? When?" I asked unable to fathom any of it.

"Finn, Nathan and I were supposed to play video games today. Nathan and I came in the early morning. We were in the gaming room when all if a sudden we heard the sirens. The police came and said that his father have been accused of crime and arrested him immediately," Aiden explained.

"What crime?" I was still in a state of shock.

"His father was bankrupt since the past few months and when the procedure started he apparently did not give correct and valid documents. Apparently, he falsified the information for which he has to go to jail for perjury," Nathan added.

"So he is being taken because he committed bankruptcy fraud?" I asked again.

"Yeah the police said that he hid hefty assets and now has to deal with court too," said Thea.

"Did Finn have any idea about any of this?" Addison inquired.
"Don't know," replied Aiden.

Finn was the only son of his parents. His mother had divorced his father ages ago and his father got Finn's custody because of his financial stability. It was evident that Finn never had to face any problems relating to the financial ones until then. He lived in a huge, opulent bungalow which his father owned. He had his own Audi too. It was not surprising though because Finn's father, Mr. Asher, was a wealthy man and earned in millions per year. Though Finn was not a spoilt son, he indulged in all the luxuries that his father's money could buy.

He was patently petrified presuming that he had heard the indisputable truth for the first time.

Finn watched as his father was handcuffed and taken after sometime. The police left after doing some checkup on the house leaving Finn and us inside.

"Did you know about any of it?" Addison asked softly as Finn sat on the couch in the living room.
"Not a single clue," he replied.

"Dad is being accused of bankruptcy fraud but there is a chance of him being proved innocent in the court," Finn said.
"Is he innocent?" Nathan inquired the dreaded question.
"I don't know that either," Finn, exhaled loudly, and lowered his head on his hands.

"If he's proved innocent then things go back to the way it was but if he's not then all his property will be used to pay the debts. He will also have to face a federal prison sentence for a maximum of five years alongside paying $250,000," Finn added and sighed.

I seriously felt pity for him. He was one of the nicest guys out there and I could not believe that he had to face all the trouble because of the wrongdoings of his father. It was not him that did any wrong but still was playing the victim.

"How long is it until the court decides his innocence?" Thea asked and sat down beside him.
"First he needs a good lawyer with expertise in this area for better chance at success and to avoid conviction," he said lowering his head on Thea's lap.

"Am I being crazy for being scared?" he asked us all while Thea comforted him by rubbing his back.
"Any normal human being should be afraid in this situation," I replied.

"Dad told me to not worry about anything. He said that he'll come back home within no time," added Finn.

"Of course he will," stated Aiden with a confidence in his voice.

"Does your uncle know about all of this?" Addison asked.
"No dad said to not tell anyone from our family. If things get worse he would tell them eventually but he did not want them to panic right now," Finn stated.

Finn was struggling to keep a straight face and suppress the fright growing within him. Honestly, he was doing a really good job at it too. 

"Thanks guys for coming and being there by my side," he said after a minute of silence.
"We all will be here for you, always," Thea replied.

We spent the rest of the morning in Finn's place after which we all decided to part.

"Are you sure you will stay here alone?" Addison asked Finn who was adamant about staying in his house.
"I'm not 5 Addi, chill," he replied.

"One thing, guys I would appreciate it if you did not tell anyone from school about any of this," Finn added. We all promised that the secret was safe with us, for as long as he wanted it to be, before leaving.

"Do you think that Mr. Asher is guilty?" Thea asked with great seriousness, once we left the house.
"He may be. I don't think the police took all the action without some proof," Nathan stated. I sort of agreed with him because all of this did not just happen out of the blue. There must have been some clue or suspicious act for which the measures were taken.

If Mr. Asher was guilty then a drastic change would result in Finn's life. His property along with their house would be taken away. Above all, with Finn's father in prison and with no money it would be very difficult for Finn to manage financially. He would have to pay for school which would take a hefty sum of money. Along with that, his day to day paraphernalia needed to be bought too and he needed a place to stay.

The situation could turn into something worse within a short period and all of us were praying that it did not because the victim would be none other than Finn.

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