Chapter 655: Debt
She took a deep breath. "I think my family is about to go bankrupt."
Theodore’s eyes widened. "What?"
"My family..."
She lowered her head in embarrassment. "They’re most likely going bankrupt."
Her voice was so quiet that Theodore immediately moved closer and gently held her hand.
"Why do you think that?"
Jacqueline took a deep breath before explaining everything.
"My parents may be famous celebrities, but fame doesn’t necessarily mean power."
She smiled bitterly.
"We don’t have influential connections or enough money to fight powerful people."
She continued softly.
"This time, my parents were invited to review a movie produced by an extremely wealthy production house. They simply gave their honest opinion. They never expected that production house to become furious. They directly blacklisted my parents."
She lowered her eyes.
"Now no one is willing to hire them."
Jacqueline looked up at the moon before letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
"You know... This isn’t even the first time. I’ve dealt with things like this my entire life."
She smiled weakly.
"On the surface, we look rich. But the truth is... We can be blacklisted at any moment. And when that happens... all we can do is wait until the ban is lifted... or hope public opinion eventually turns in our favor."
"Only when public opinion finally shifts in our favor will that ban be lifted," Jacqueline murmured softly.
She lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the edge of the bench.
"But every single time this happens, our family’s net worth keeps shrinking. Our savings are constantly being drained."
She paused for a moment before letting out a weary sigh.
"I even created a YouTube channel because I thought I could earn some extra income through another industry."
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
"But that channel keeps getting mass reported. Every single time it starts growing, it gets suspended."
She laughed helplessly. "It’s honestly frustrating. I thought I would finally have a stable side income, but the result was always the same."
She slowly shook her head. "Sometimes..."
Her voice became quieter. "It feels as though someone has been targeting our family from the very beginning."
Theodore narrowed his eyes. "If that’s the case..."
He looked directly into her eyes. "Why do you think your family will actually go bankrupt this time?"
Jacqueline took a deep breath before answering. "It’s already been six months since my parents reviewed that movie. Logically speaking, public opinion should have shifted toward my parents by now."
She clenched her fists.
"But for some reason, the movie hasn’t even been released. When my father secretly asked around, he discovered that the production house is most likely planning to postpone its release by another two years."
A trace of despair flashed across her face. "By then..."
She forced herself to smile. "Our family will have completely run out of money."
She lowered her head. "Sometimes I honestly feel that this entire thing was a trap. A carefully planned trap. And my family unknowingly walked straight into it."
Theodore remained silent for several seconds before speaking. "If it’s only about money, then I can help."
He spoke calmly as though discussing an ordinary matter. "Tell me. How much money do your parents actually need every month just to survive?"
Jacqueline immediately shook her head. "It’s not that simple."
She looked toward the distant city lights.
"You see... my father owns a professional review company. There are dozens of employees working under him. If our company collapses, every single one of those employees will lose their jobs. They all rely on my father."
She sighed deeply.
"My father spends nearly twenty million dollars every month just paying everyone’s salaries. Although we had some savings, those savings have been disappearing month after month. If this situation continues for another two and a half years..."
She bit her lip. "We won’t survive."
She paused before continuing.
"And that’s only one part of the expenses. My mother’s relatives are constantly falling sick."
Her expression softened.
"When my mother was seriously ill years ago, those relatives were the ones who supported her without asking for anything in return. So now... We simply can’t ignore them."
She smiled bitterly.
"But almost every year, someone ends up being diagnosed with cancer. The treatment itself is already incredibly expensive. Since we want them to receive the best medical care available, the expenses become even higher."
She continued listing one expense after another. Theodore quietly listened until she finally finished.
Only then did he ask, "So... How much does your family spend every month in total?"
Jacqueline thought silently for a few moments.
Then she answered, "A hundred million dollars. Every single month."
She laughed helplessly.
"I can personally earn around fifty million dollars. But there’s still a deficit of another fifty million. My parents are also working as hard as they can..."
She slowly shook her head. "But it’s still not enough."
Theodore fell into deep thought. Finally, he spoke.
"I think the first thing you should do isn’t borrow money. It’s to investigate your accounts."
He looked at her seriously.
"A hundred million dollars every month is an enormous amount. There has to be someone manipulating the finances behind your backs."
The moment those words reached Jacqueline’s ears, her expression immediately turned cold.
A dangerous chill flashed across her eyes. "If that’s really the case..."
She slowly clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. "Whoever that person is... I’ll make sure they pay with their blood."
Theodore simply nodded. He never once mentioned lending her money.
’Before helping financially, she needs to eliminate every parasite hiding around her. Otherwise, no matter how much money I provide, it will simply disappear into someone else’s pockets.’
That very night, Jacqueline returned home.
Together with a few trusted people, she immediately began reviewing every financial record her family possessed.
Finally... Just as Theodore had suspected... they found it. Numerous accounting records had been deliberately altered.
Different employees had secretly tampered with the books over a long period of time.
The fake expenses had gradually increased the monthly expenditure until it appeared to reach nearly one hundred million dollars.
In reality... their family’s actual monthly expenses were only around fifty-five million dollars.
When Jacqueline saw the evidence, her entire body trembled with anger.
Without wasting another second, she immediately reported everything to both her father and mother.
However... their reactions were completely different.
Her mother lowered her head, unable to meet Jacqueline’s eyes. Guilt was written all over her face.
Meanwhile, her father’s expression darkened with overwhelming fury. Jacqueline didn’t confront either of them immediately.
She quietly waited. Only after both of them went in separate directions did she approach her father alone.
She stood before him in silence. Finally, she broke the silence. "Father..."
Her voice remained calm. "Isn’t there something you should tell me?"
Her father forced a gentle smile. "What could I possibly hide from my daughter?"
Jacqueline let out a quiet chuckle. "Do I really have to spell everything out?"
Her father remained silent. Seeing his silence, Jacqueline slowly closed her eyes.
’I’m sorry... I never wanted to force you like this. But if I don’t shatter these illusions today, our family will never escape this nightmare.’
She slowly opened her eyes again.
"Tell me honestly. Is it true... that you borrowed one billion dollars?"
Her father said nothing. Jacqueline’s eyes immediately turned red. She suddenly grabbed both of his shoulders.
"Why? Why did you borrow such a huge amount? I don’t understand!"
Her voice cracked with emotion.
"Our family was already wealthy! One billion dollars wasn’t an impossible amount for us to earn honestly. We could have lived comfortably."
Tears welled up inside her eyes.
"But you borrowed that money... You destroyed everything!"
Her breathing became increasingly uneven. "Where did that one billion dollars go?"
She stared directly into his eyes. "Did you spend it on your second family?"
The moment those words left her mouth, her father looked completely horrified. "No!"
He hurriedly shook his head.
"Jacqueline, I would never do something like that!"
However, Jacqueline was no longer willing to listen.
"You must have been secretly supporting some mistress!"
Her voice echoed throughout the room.
"Otherwise... I can’t understand it. My perfect father... The man I admired my entire life... Why would he suddenly borrow one billion dollars?"
Her father immediately panicked. "Jacqueline!"
He reached toward her. "You’re misunderstanding everything. Please calm down and listen to me."
But Jacqueline was already standing on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
Months of fear... Stress... Sleepless nights... And bottled-up anxiety finally crashed down upon her all at once.
Previously, Jacqueline hadn’t understood why their monthly expenses had suddenly skyrocketed into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
She had simply assumed that the company was too large and that maintaining it naturally required an enormous amount of money.
But now... Now she understood everything.
That one-billion-dollar loan carried an outrageous annual interest rate of twenty-five percent.
Every single month, her family had to pay nearly forty-five million dollars in interest alone.