10

My hands trembled as soon as my eyes reached the bottom of the page. My secretary took the tab from my hand, perhaps afraid I would drop it on the floor. Every mysterious word James told me before was all coming back, worsening the tumult  I felt inside.

"This is a huge investment, James. Are you serious about your offer?" I recalled him asking this. I couldn't believe he would drop a business to a stranger easily, knowing he had given it a huge chunk of his time. 

"Of course!" he answered seriously, making me frown in disbelief. "In the name of friendship I had with your dad, and also because that wealth doesn't matter anymore."

I then understood what he meant because, like dad, all the energy he spent on his businesses dissolved like bubbles as the government confiscated or closed them. And my dad was a businessman all his life, only that he linked himself with people who enjoyed doing things that were against the law. 

I even couldn