Chapter 12

There was a quiet sigh on the other end of the line. "Tristan, I've been in this business for years, and I've never seen anyone this stupid. Ms. Aiken put her family property up as collateral to help you start a company. The first thing she did once you made money was secretly redeem it, just to protect that ridiculous pride of yours." A long silence followed before Tristan finally found his voice. "How did she even get the money to pay you back?" Every word sounded forced out of him. "There's no way..." The other end of the line went quiet. Then, Dorian gave a cold laugh. "At least you finally asked the right question. When the money from Series B hit the account, you poured it straight into the new plant. You didn't leave anything for repayment. "That day, she came to me and begged for three more months. My condition was simple. I wanted her to spend a night with me." He continued in the same flat tone, "She stood there looking pale. In the end, she nodded." Tristan's grip ti