A Debt of Revenge

"President Knight, we need answers today!"

More than a dozen payment demands slammed onto the conference table in the top-floor meeting room of the Knight Group headquarters.

Representatives from banks, suppliers, and investment firms filled both sides of the table. Every one of them wore a sharp suit, and every face carried the same four-word message: We want our money.

My dad, Waylon Knight, sat at the head of the table, his temples throbbing. He hadn't slept all night. Half his hair had turned gray.

My older brother, Heston Knight, stood behind him, juggling phone calls while flipping through financial statements. Every time he hung up, his expression grew a little grimmer.

"Dad, the bank financing the Eastport project just pulled our loan. The construction site on the west side has shut down, too.

"If we can't come up with the funds by midnight, three banks will simultaneously apply to freeze the company's assets."

My dad's hand trembled around his water glass. Half the water spilled across the table.

Not a single person in the room reached for a napkin.

In the past, these people would've needed to book an appointment two weeks in advance just to get through the Knight family's front gates.

Now, the moment the family showed the slightest sign of weakness, they'd swarmed us like vultures. Even vultures circling a carcass weren't this eager.

I sat on a sofa in the corner, using my tablet to experiment with new exterior colors for an unfinished building I'd bought.

Red was too ugly. Gray was too gloomy.

In the end, I chose gold.

After all, land prices around that building would soon be so high they'd practically shine.

"Henley Knight!" Heston suddenly shouted my name.

I looked up.

A fountain pen came flying straight at me. I tilted my head and dodged it. The pen struck the back of the sofa, leaving a black mark.

"Hey, Heston. That's company property. If you break it, you'll have to pay for it."

Heston's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion. "The Knight family is about to go under, and you're still changing the color of some dump?"

"It's not a dump. It has a name: Aureate Tower."

A few people around the conference table snickered.

David Trace, one of our suppliers, shook his head. "Henley, you've certainly got a gift for keeping your cool. People are saying your reckless spending is what caused the Knight family's financial crisis in the first place."

I corrected him earnestly. "It wasn't reckless spending. It was investing."

David laughed even harder. "Seven unfinished buildings in the south of the city. Construction's been halted for eight years.

"A patch of wasteland in the northern suburbs, so remote you wouldn't even want to grow vegetables there.

"And those five companies you acquired? They owe back wages, taxes, and utility bills. There's nothing left but a stack of paperwork.

"You call that investing?"

I glanced down at my tablet.

Paperwork had value, too. Especially when they sat on top of $18 billion in outstanding debt claims.

Unfortunately, all these people saw were empty offices and dusty desks. They didn't see the decade's worth of unpaid construction fees, outstanding invoices, and guarantee claims those companies were owed.

Then again, that was hardly surprising. With their eyesight, they could read an instruction manual and still skip the most important part.

My dad wearily rubbed his temples. "Enough. There's no point arguing over who's responsible right now.

"Heston, how much money can we still mobilize?"

Heston's voice was hoarse. "Less than $300 million. $107 billion in debt comes due tonight."

The conference room fell silent.

This wasn't a hole we could plug by selling a few houses. We'd need a gold mine to fall out of the sky.

Just then, the conference room doors swung open.

Everett Dawson, president of the Dawson Group, walked in with his lawyers. He placed a thick agreement in front of my dad.

"Mr. Knight, I can repay all of the Knight family's debts. On one condition: 51% of the Knight Group's shares will belong to me."

My dad's head snapped up.

Everett calmly unbuttoned his suit jacket. "Think carefully. This isn't an acquisition. It's the last breath of oxygen I'm willing to leave the Knight family."