Ch 299 - Drumming Up Support

When he saw all the messages of support, David felt a little better. These were his oldest friends, and also the most trustworthy.

His eyes shone with tears, and the display grew blurry.

He typed out a message and posted it.

[Thank you!]

His friends responded right away.

[David, you've always been there for me, so I'm here for you now.]

[What happened? Let us know what we can do to help!]

David smiled and posted another message.

[Come to the headquarters of the Fidelity Group tomorrow, and I'll tell you more about it then.]

He thought for a moment, and then he added some more.

[We suspect that someone is deliberately targeting our family! So be as high profile as you can tomorrow. Let's show my enemy how many people support the Drakes!]

David hoped their support would make the mysterious attacker think twice about messing with the Drake family. His friends would help him through this difficult time.

Everyone agreed with David's suggestion.

[I can do that!]

[We'll be there tomorrow to support you!]

[I'll bring my flashiest car. That should get some attention.]

[We'll show this scumbag that he can't mess with the Drake family.]

David sighed with relief. He put away his phone and made his way to the Fidelity Group headquarters to support his father.

**

Colin lay in his bed with two beautiful women, scowling as he read the online comments.

In a few days, his family would be the most powerful in Washington, D.C., so everyone should be loyal to him. He was jealous of the kindness being shown to David.

He scrolled through his phone, looking at every single message, and then he sneered.

"You have no idea that I'm the one who harmed the Drake family," he muttered. "I can see everything you say, and I'll make you pay for every word."

He read some more messages.

"Poor David, do you really think you can turn this around?" He laughed. "Purely wishful thinking! The Ambrose family is the strongest in the world. No matter what you do, it will all be in vain." He snorted. "I hope I get to see the expression on your face when you realize I did this to you."

While Colin was talking to himself, his phone rang. It was Nathan Ambrose's number, so Colin answered straight away.

"Mr. Ambrose," Colin said, his tone respectful.

"I assume you've seen what happened to the Drake family?" Nathan drawled.

He had used his influence to lean on various companies, forcing them to abandon all ties with the Drake family. He had more than enough money to cover any fines for breaches of contract. When he hadn't been able to threaten or bribe a company, he had simply arranged for officials to make surprise inspections, and whenever they hadn't been able to find a problem, they had created one.

Many people had considered it impossible to defeat the Drake family, but for Nathan Ambrose, it had been simple.

"Yes, I saw," Colin said. "All the Fidelity Group companies are in crisis. Reginald is worried his family may not survive. He's still at the company headquarters, and David is begging his friends for help online."

"I expected all of that," Nathan said. "No one can escape once I move against them." He chuckled, pleased with himself. "Go to the Fidelity Group headquarters tomorrow and buy the company from the Drakes. I'll provide you with the thirty-five billion dollars needed to purchase it. Once that's done, your family will be the most powerful family in Washington, D.C., but remember that you will still answer to me."

"Yes, I know," Colin said. "But Mr. Ambrose? Isn't tomorrow a bit too soon to act? Maybe we should wait for a few days. If we go in too early, Reginald might not agree to sell."

"This has to be dealt with quickly," Nathan said. "My grandfather can't know anything about it. After all, the Drakes also serve the Ambrose family."

The Drake family paid a large sum of money to the Ambrose family every year, so if Nathan's grandfather found out that Nathan had attacked the Drakes without permission, he would be furious, and Nathan would be severely punished.

Lincoln Ambrose was currently at the family estate, undergoing various relaxation therapies. Nathan had arranged for the treatments to last for three days, and during this period, Lincoln would have little contact with the outside world.

Nathan wanted to make the most of this time to hide his activities from his grandfather.

"I understand," Colin said. "I'll go to the Fidelity Group tomorrow and buy the business."

**

The next day, the Drake family was all over the news in Washington, D.C., and many reporters were camped outside the Fidelity Group's headquarters.

Security guards blocked the door, preventing the press from entering. The reporters were noisy, clamouring for an interview with Reginald Drake.

David and his father had stayed in their offices the night before.

David had finally fallen asleep, but Reginald had been awake all night.

"Dad, you should eat something," David said, handing him some food. "If you don't, you could get sick."

"I'm not in the mood, but you go ahead." Reginald sighed. He had spent the night trying to think of a plan, but he hadn't been able to find a way out of their current predicament.

David took out his damaged cell phone and posted a message to the group chat.

[Are you here yet? Hurry up! And thank you for your help.]

He hadn't managed to raise any money, but he still had the support of his friends.

He needed the person responsible for coming after his family to know that they wouldn't go down without a fight.

Soon, his friends replied.

[On my way now.]

[I'm coming. Wait for me!]

[Just give me half an hour, and I'll be there!]

David smiled as he read the messages. He freshened himself up in the bathroom, and then he took the elevator down to the lobby to meet his friends.

"It's David Drake!" cried a reporter. The others looked over and then rushed toward him. If the security guard hadn't stepped in, then David would have been overrun. The press all shouted out questions.

"Mr. Drake, what's going on with your family?"

"This is the biggest crisis in your family's history. Can the Drake family survive this? There are rumors you're facing bankruptcy! Is that true?"

"What are your family's plans? Have they already applied for bankruptcy?"

They jostled each other as they held out microphones, waiting for David to speak. They cared nothing about David's feelings as they asked their probing questions.

"The Fidelity Group will survive," David said, suppressing his anger. "And my family will not be applying for bankruptcy. Someone has deliberately targeted us using underhanded methods, but they will not succeed. The Drake family will come through this stronger than ever."

The reporters didn't believe him. They had already investigated the matter, and they knew the Drake family had already lost more than two billion dollars and that loss would continue to grow. If the Drakes couldn't come up with enough money to cover their losses, then they would be forced to declare bankruptcy.

They all knew that the Drakes only had access to half a million dollars, so it would be impossible for them to recover from this. Bankruptcy seemed inevitable.

A fancy car drove up and everyone turned to see who had arrived. When a man stepped out of the car, the press recognized him instantly. It was Jason Morley!

"David, I'm not late, am I?" Jason asked, smiling as he walked over to David.

"Not at all," David said, hugging his friend.

Before the reporters could discover why Jason was there, more cars drove up. Each was a luxury model, and the people who got out of them were famously rich. Derek Jackson, Kevin Ashcroft, and Ralph Baldwin had all come to support David.

Darryl had also come with Myriam. He hadn't wanted to get involved, but all their other friends had promised to be there, so if Darryl had stayed away, it wouldn't have looked good.

They all walked over to David and greeted him warmly.

The journalists watched in awe, impressed with the level of support David had. But would it be enough to save the Drake family?