Recklessly Bound

Chapter Three

"I would do anything for you guys. You are my family and I am devoted to you." I reply without hesitation. Once he finally settles down, I find myself kneeling before him. An act I did a lot as a child.

Searching his eyes, I seek the truth. My father is a very intact and preserved man. For such a man begging to be saved is almost impossible unless there is something out of his utter control.

"What has happened? Tell me?" I beg him again.

"I'm losing the company." He says avoiding my eyes. "I've been trying to get funding and doing my best to save it, but since last month, we're losing everything. I've talked to a few people, I've cut the budgets by half, but I'm still in too much debt. In a matter of time, the bank would announce my company bankrupted and they would close the gates, sell it to the highest bidder." He explains slowly.

I open my mouth to say something instantly but decide against it. In such moments, it is better to mull over the answer carefully. Being shocked and devastated, I stare at a point behind his head, trying to come up with something. I have so many questions and so many answers in my head at once that I don't know if I should just go with it or swallow my words.

What has happened? What has caused this? Why hasn't he told me this before? How much time do we have? How much money do we need?

"I don't know what to do anymore." He continues, "The lot is your grandfathers' jewel, if we lose it and someone else gets it, we'll fail them," he says.

"What can I do? I can pull a few strings, we can get some money, build it up again. I can ask the crew to work for less-

"Eve, it's too late. Nothing can save it anymore." He says, shaking his head. "I've tried it all. If we get more money, it's only going to put us in more debt. The crew is not united, they'll change their minds, they rebel, they quit, and we would end up getting hurt in the end." I watch as his Adam's apple move slowly as he takes a deep breath.

"Oh, daddy." I look at him with a deeply worried frown. "What are we gonna do?" I put my head on his lap and he starts caressing my head.

"I can't fail my family. I can't fail my father and grandfather. That gate is their blood and flesh. They worked hard to save it and now I'll be one to lose it with my stupidity." He puts all the fault on his shoulder.

Looking up at him, I see the lines of distress aging him almost ten years. His eyes are black and his lips are dry. In a closer look, I see the lines of defeat with a flicker of hope in his eyes as he regards me.

"Tell me what to do and I'll do it," I say bravely. "I will save you, dad, I won't let you down. I will get us out no matter what. If you know what to do, then tell me," I look up at him.

David Campbell is known to be a ruthless man among his peers on his lot. He is sometimes called the master of the camera. But when it comes to the outside the lot and the vicious world of the industry, he's apparently carrying the shoulder of defeat. What went wrong? I desperately want to ask him but knowing it would be salt on his wound, I decide against it.

"There's one thing that you may be able to do. But before I tell you, please hear me out," he asks as he gathers my hands in his cold hands and smiles bitterly. "You are my dearest and I know that you love your family and I believe you when you say you would do anything to save your family but my proposition may find you between what you believe and what you find yourself obligated to. Before you decide though, I want you to know that I would appreciate it if you consider your family."

"Of course, I've never thought anything other than that," I reply instantly.

"I've talked to John. We've been trying to save the company. He could not offer money because his company comes to him first. He can't buy us out because our business is a sinking ship. It's not worth it, I understand. And I never demanded him to do so. However, we finally came up with a..." he looks for the right word. "Compromised deal."