Nathan clenched his fists in frustration. Even though Alex was still cut off from the family, there were things he could do to ruin Nathan's plans. If he told Justin and Nelly what Nathan was up to, they could go to their grandfather and let him know. If that happened, Nathan would be in big trouble.
Reginald knew what was happening. He understood that Nathan was behind the whole affair. The audacity shocked him. He'd throw his whole family under the bus, he thought, if it will help him enrich one of his lackeys.
The others in the conference room were confused. They didn't know who Alex was talking to. Colin was getting anxious.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he protested to Alex. "I'm the one making the decisions here. I'm buying this company because I want to, and that's it!"
He turned to Reginald. "Reginald, just sign the contract. It's the only way. You know that. Don't listen to this nonsense."
"Colin." Nathan's voice rang in Colin's ear. He sounded weak and defeated. "The deal is off."
"But… Nathan," Colin stammered. He was so panicked that he had forgotten to hide Nathan's involvement. "Reginald is ready to sign. After he does, the Fidelity Group is mine. We'll control everything."
Colin's mind was racing. Just one signature, he thought. Afterwards, we'll topple the Drakes. We could be the masters of D.C. And now Nathan just wants to drop it. What's he doing?
Nathan grew angry at Colin's disobedience. "I said the deal is off! Are you listening or not?"
Colin took a deep breath. There was nothing he could do. If Nathan said the deal was off, then it wasn't going to happen. "All right", he said unwillingly.
Everyone in the room was staring at Colin. It was becoming clearer and clearer what was happening.
"Reginald," Colin said. "I withdraw the offer."
David and his friends jumped with joy. Those employees who had not taken Colin's bribes were equally happy. They did not fully know what had happened, but they felt like they had won a great victory. It was all thanks to Alex.
Joseph, Noah, and those executives who had betrayed the Drakes looked utterly defeated. Many of them hoped desperately that they might be able to keep their jobs.
"Colin, what are you doing?" Noah asked. "Everything is going our way, and you're backing out?"
Colin looked at him with a pitiful expression on his face. "I don't want to. But the guy who backs me won't let me go through with it. There's nothing I can do."
His words caused an uproar. Many in the room had risked their jobs by listening to Noah and backing Colin. They gathered around him and demanded an explanation.
"Listen, I'm really sorry," Colin told them. "You'll all receive fifteen thousand dollars. And if any of you need jobs, there's a place for you in my family's company."
The executives became even angrier. "Fifteen thousand?" one of them asked indignantly. "Are you joking? That's not even a month's salary. And come work for you? I know what you pay your managers. Compared to what we make now, it's peanuts!"
Colin grew irritated at their whining and bickering. "You should consider your choices. Even if I don't buy the Fidelity Group, it's still going bankrupt. You'll lose your jobs anyway, and who's gonna hire you when your last job was at such a failure of a business? I can promise you that I won't."
He paused. "When the Fidelity Group collapses, my family will still be a major employer. And without the Drakes, you'll need me on your good side."
As he spoke, Colin felt better and better about the future. The Fidelity Group would collapse. Nathan might still give him some money to improve the prospects of his family. In time, the Pattersons could still become the most influential family in Washington D.C.
"Very clever, Colin," Nathan whispered in Colin's ear. He realized that the Drakes would not forget what he had done. He still needed an ally in Washington D.C.
"You're not going to fix what you did to the Drakes, are you?" Alex asked forcefully. He was speaking to Nathan through Colin. Even if the deal didn't happen, only Nathan could save the Fidelity Group from going under.
Nathan looked at Alex's gloomy appearance on the screen. He thought for a few seconds, and then he knew what to say. He had covered his tracks. The intermediaries he had used to destroy the Fidelity Group were loyal to him. They would swear that they had acted on their own.
"Colin," he said. "Tell Alex that I have nothing to do with the Fidelity Group's troubles. He can check with the companies that ruined their business. They'll tell him that they did it on their own. I can't do anything to save the company." Colin repeated Nathan's message to Alex.
Alex stared at Colin in disbelief. He trembled at what would happen to the family if Nathan were ever in charge. "Would a true Ambrose really hurt the family like this for his own profit?" he asked.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Colin said, obviously directed by Nathan. "You're not part of the family. Don't talk as if you were."
Then, Colin turned to Reginald. "Reginald, we'll let you keep your company. But you won't last a week. Your wealth will erode, and you'll end up in the gutter. And it's all thanks to Alex." With that, Colin turned to leave.
Reginald wanted to stop him and beg him to buy the Fidelity Group after all. The company could not be saved. If it was allowed to go under before they could sell it, the loss would enormous.
"Who says that the Fidelity Group is going bankrupt?" Alex said. "Mr. Drake, please rest assured. I think you can expect to return to normal within one hour."
Colin turned to him and laughed. "Dream on. The company is done for. It couldn't return to normal operations in a hundred years."
Alex ignored him and addressed Reginald. "Mr. Drake, Lindsey told me you were trying to raise funds to use to weather this crisis. How much would you need to reverse the situation entirely?"
Reginald looked gratefully at Lindsey. He had not figured out how Alex had known to come here today. Now he knew. Lindsey had told him.
"Now that some of the mystery has been taken out of all this, I think we might get by with less. We need about a billion dollars. That would be the bare minimum to keep us afloat," he said.
Reginald paused, and his voice grew sad when he resumed speaking. "But I can only muster about 500 million on short notice."
The room fell silent as they considered the numbers. Even though all of David's friends were more than willing to help, and had each managed to pledge a couple of million, they knew that they would not be able to help the Drakes reach a billion dollars.
"Aren't you going to be a good boy and help them, Alex?" Colin said derisively. "You'd only need about 500 million dollars. I guess you won't get to be the hero, after all."
Alex smiled. The amount of money was very large, but he thought he might be able to make it work. He took out his phone and dialled Jessop's number.
"Hello, Mr. Clifton," he said when the call was answered. The whole room stared at him. "Could you help me with a little problem?"