From Money Burner to Debt Collector

"Mr. Stewart, you have to give us an answer today!"

The conference table in the top-floor meeting room of Stewart Group was covered with more than a dozen payment demands.

The room was packed with representatives from banks, suppliers, and investment firms.

They had all come to collect their money.

My dad, Landon Stewart, sat anxiously at the head of the table.

He had not slept all night, and he looked worn out.

My oldest brother, Noah Stewart, stood behind him. He was taking calls while flipping through the financial reports.

His face grew darker by the second. "Dad, the bank just pulled the loan for the Eastport project. The Westfield construction site has also stopped work. If we can't replace the funds by midnight, three banks will file for asset protection at the same time."

Landon's hand shook around his glass of water.

Half of it spilled onto the table, but no one offered to clean it up.

In the past, these people would have needed to make an appointment weeks in advance just to visit the Stewart Mansion.

But now that our family was in trouble, they had all come running.

Once they saw a chance to profit from our situation, they suddenly became very eager.

I sat on the sofa in the corner, using my tablet to change the color of the outside walls of a half-finished building.

I thought red was too ugly, while gray was too dull.

In the end, I chose gold.

After all, the land around this building would become much more valuable in the future.

"Talia!" Noah suddenly called my name.

I looked up just as he threw a pen at me.

I turned my head, and the pen landed on the back of the sofa, leaving a black mark. "Noah, you're going to have to pay for damaging company property."

Noah's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion. "The company is about to go under, and you're still changing the color of that piece of junk?"

"It's not a piece of junk. Its name is Golden Towers."

A few people in the room snickered.

One of the suppliers, Reggie Campbell, shook his head. "Ms. Stewart is so cheerful. Everyone outside is saying that this financial crisis was caused by you."

I corrected him seriously. "That's called investing."

Reggie laughed even louder. "Seven unfinished buildings in Southfield have been sitting there for eight years. That empty piece of land in Northwood is in the middle of nowhere. And those five companies you bought are behind on wages, taxes, and utility bills. They have nothing left except a company seal. Do you still call that investing?"

I looked down at my tablet.

Actually, the company seal was pretty valuable too.

Especially when it was sitting on top of 1.8 billion dollars in debt claims.

Unfortunately, all they saw were empty offices and dusty desks and chairs.

They couldn't see the construction payments, supplier invoices, and guaranteed debts that had been unpaid for ten years.

But that was normal.

After all, none of them had any vision.

Landon rubbed his tired forehead. "Enough. There's no point arguing about who's responsible right now. Noah, how much money can we still move?"

Noah answered in a hoarse voice, "Less than 30 million dollars. But the debt due tonight is 1.07 billion dollars."

The room fell completely silent.

The gap was enormous. There was no ordinary way to fill it.

Only an impossible stroke of luck or a miracle could save us now.

Just then, the conference room doors opened.

Connor Hooper, the CEO of Hooper Group, walked in with a lawyer.

He handed Landon a thick agreement. "Mr. Stewart, I can pay off all of Stewart Group's debts. But I have one condition. 51 percent of Stewart Group's shares must belong to me."

Landon's head shot up.

Connor slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket. "Think carefully. This isn't an acquisition. I'm giving Stewart Group one last way out."