Master of his heart

Chapter 619

The faces of the Rowland clan were ashen, a ghostly parade of worry that only lifted when they all turned to Tessa after a series of tense calls with the bank.

“What do we do now, Tess?” they asked, their voices tinged with a dread that

mirrored the pallor of their skin.

The family was in deep, with other ventures already sucking dry their resources, and hundreds of billions more needed to keep the wheels turning. If this one project didn’t pay off, the financial blow could be catastrophic for the Rowlands.

Tessa’s lips quivered as she slumped in her chair, the weight of the world on her shoulders. Austin quickly stepped forward, giving her a reassuring pat on the back. “Look, it’s not the end of the road. If you and Andrew tie the knot, we can ride the Clements‘ coattails for a fundraising round. With the two families united, those venture capitalists will be falling over themselves and throwing money our way. A few hundred billion? We’ll have it in no time.”

The thought of it made Tessa’s head throb with pain. She was the linchpin, and she knew it.

Her father was right; the banks were getting wind of their troubles and had started their probing calls. They wouldn’t lend any more to plug the gaping financial abyss, and loan sharks were out of the question–with compound interest, the debt would skyrocket to an unpayable sum.

The Rowland family’s net worth might be in the hundreds of billions, but that was all tied up in projects and illiquid assets. Market valuation was just smoke and mirrors; cash flow was the lifeblood of their empire.

like a towering skyscraper with its foundation blocks being pulled out one by one, ready

only way out was Austin’s plan–to marry into the Clements family and keep the Rowlands afloat. And they couldn’t breathe a word of this to the Clements. If they caught even a whiff of

high–society place like Beaconsfield, where family names were currency, it was all about the interests. Once you stripped away the pleasantries, you were

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Chapter 619

marry Andrew and fast. A wedding would smooth the path to fundraising,

drop by the Clements‘

relief as he gave Tess another supportive

as good as done. Andrew’s been eager to marry me.

into the fold by Brielle herself. The offer had been too tempting to refuse. Joining now meant a place at the core of

Rowlands, William–all would soon be beneath

within her. Excitement for the Rowlands‘ impending doom and anxiety for what could go wrong in

incorrect, what should they do? The Rowland family was unaware of this information, so where did

Mason

work with Brielle for exactly