"There's no way. I called some good friends. They're not around. They're abroad. They're busy. They said they'd make an appointment later." William Vance answered in a dejected tone.
I used to think I had so many friends. When someone needed to borrow money, I was always generous. I never blinked an eye. It didn't matter if they paid me back or not.
But this time, I made a bad decision. The capital flow is stuck. I wanted to borrow some money from a few close friends. But I couldn't find a single one of them.
They say adversity reveals the truth. You see who your real friends are at a critical moment.
"Dad, what's the difference? If not, I can borrow some from my friends first!" Evie asked.
She never had a clue about money. After all, she never had to worry about it.
Now, facing the family's bankruptcy crisis, she felt a bit lost.
But it's better to think of a solution together than to just sit there and do nothing.
Many hands make light work, right?
"No, what you can borrow from your friends is just a drop in the bucket. We need at least two million dollars just to turn things around a little. And next month, a six-million-dollar loan is due. That's a funding gap of at least eight million dollars!" William waved his hand and answered helplessly.
"Dad, I have some jewelry. I can pawn it. I'll raise some money first. Sis, don't you have a lot of designer bags, clothes, and jewelry? If you sell them at a discount, that should bring in a lot of money!" Evie turned to her sister and suggested.
"Are you crazy? Those are all limited editions. They're sold out! And you want me to sell them at a discount? Do you have a hole in your head?" Victoria suddenly became hysterical. Then she realized she was getting worked up, so she softened her voice and said, "I still have a few thousand dollars in my account. I can borrow a little more from my friends. It should be okay to raise a hundred thousand."
That night, they made phone calls and scraped together what they could. In the end, they only got nearly five hundred thousand.
But that was less than a quarter of the two million they needed. And the worst part was the six-million-dollar loan due next month.
If the bank refused to extend it, they would be in big trouble.
After Evie returned to school from home, she kept thinking about how to borrow money.
She had called the bank and asked. To get a loan, you need collateral. Not to mention her family's stuff—basically, everything that could be used as collateral was already mortgaged. Besides, there was a waiting period between applying and getting the loan. It wouldn't solve the immediate problem.
She didn't know if the half a million could help Dad get through the difficulty temporarily.
If not, her family would really end up on the streets.
"Evie, what's wrong with you?" Emily poked Evie and asked.
"Oh, nothing!" Evie sighed and answered.
"Nothing? Then why are you sighing? Are you trying to imitate some tragic heroine?" Emily was speechless.
"I'm fine, but my family is going bankrupt!" Evie turned her head to look at Emily, sighed, and said.
"Ah? No way, isn't your family like, super rich?" Emily's eyes widened.
"Yes, but even the super rich can go bankrupt sometimes."
"That serious? What are you going to do?"
"If we can't find a way to raise eight million dollars, my family will be on the street!"
"Eight million!! I haven't even seen eighty thousand!" Emily said.
"I haven't seen it either!" Evie sighed again.
She was used to swiping her card. She had never seen that much money in her life!
"Come on, how much is your bag worth? How much are your limited edition clothes? And your..." Emily rattled on.