She’s actually going to stay. It’s finally time to let her in.
“As you know, I’ve loved computers all of my life. My mom worked a lot of shifts, so I would have all the time in the world to build computers, play games on them, and create programs.”
Amelia nods.
“So when I was in college, I created the software that is now known as PassportMed. I knew that with the right funding, I could turn it into what it is today, but back then, I was having terrible luck finding investors. Every kid in college believes that they have the million dollar idea, so it was hard to stand out in the crowd. During that time, my mom was clearly burning out. Money was still non-existent, and yet she always managed to send me a couple hundred dollars, even when I told her not to.”
Amelia squeezes my hand in solidarity.
“Anyways, I couldn’t take seeing her struggle anymore. I knew in my gut that I was sitting on a solid software that could generate millions, so like my dad, I took a detour to get it done. I asked an old friend for money.”
I look over at Amelia, and she seems none too impressed with my story. “You asked a friend for a loan? Okay … Am I missing something here? Because Nikki and I used to borrow money off of each other all of the time, Evan.”
I smile at her innocence. “Not just any little loan Amelia. A fifty-thousand-dollar loan. Given to me at the age of twenty-two. That’s life changing money.”
“Wow, okay. I didn’t know you had fancy rich childhood friends.”
“I don’t. This is where the similarities with my dad come into play. The person I borrowed this money from doesn’t have a nine to five … He’s in the cartel business.”
Amelia’s reaction is noticeable for a second, before she takes control back, and grips my hand tighter. “Go on babe,” she encourages.
“I used to know this kid. He lived near my neighborhood, and we sometimes would play basketball together. I knew even back then what his family did for a living, but he was never involved, he was a solid kid. But then I started spending more time with Antonio and your family, and less with him. During that same time, he started dabbling in the family business. And we drifted apart. Fast forward a couple years later, I ran into him at a bar, and he’d completely transformed himself. He now goes by Mr. Valentine. He wears nice clothes, expensive watches, and seems to have a higher rank than just errand boy.” I run my hand over my face, hating that I’m reliving the worst decision of my life.
“Anyways, we got a little drunk reminiscing on old times, and we got to chatting about my software. And just like that, right there and then, he offered to front me the cash, no questions asked. For old time’s sake. I was young and stupid, and believed that these kinds of things had no strings attached, so I eagerly accepted the money. I used that seed money to invest in my software, and it blew up to what it is now. So PassportMed was funded on borrowed drug money.” I blow out a breath and so does Amelia.
“Evan, you got a loan from a shady guy. That doesn’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t make your accomplishments any less admirable.”
“No Amelia, that’s exactly what it means. I have no integrity. I was surrounded by your family during the holidays and heard their struggles, real struggles. From immigrating to a new country, learning the language, dealing with racist pricks, having to retake medical exams and work their way back up the totem pole with no guarantee that it’ll work out in the end, just so that they can try and provide a better future for their children. That is integrity, that shows the character of a man, and I am no better than my father for taking the easy way out. “
“Evan, stop,” Amelia pleads.
“I’m actually worse than my father, now that I think of it. He at least paid for his crime. What did I get? Huh? I became insanely rich. It’s a fucking joke. I’ve spent the last decade trying to downplay my finances to your family because I know I don’t deserve them. And now, after all these years, it’s finally caught up to me. And you’re what’s at risk.” My eyes burn with fury.
“What do you mean Evan? Did you ever pay him back?” Amelia asks, her face wrangled with worry.
“Of course I paid him back. Six months after he gave me the loan, I paid him back with interest. It was basically all the money I had just made off of it. I got more investors once my software gained visibility, and a year after that I gave him fifty thousand more as a thank you, and told him to consider it as a gift for his mom, who I knew was sick. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, and I assumed that would be the end of it for us, until this summer happened.”
“What happened this summer?”
“I was on the cover of Forbes magazine with my team. The company net worth was printed, along with our projections for what we expect to make once our international deal goes public. Billions. He reached out to me for a meeting, which I felt I couldn’t turn down due to our history. If he spoke to reporters, it could blow up this deal and I could not stand the thought of seeing thousands of our employees losing their jobs, not being able to feed their families, due to a scandal. So against my better judgment, and that of my security teams, we all met.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted fifty million dollars.”
“What?!” Amelia shouts.
“Yeah. My thoughts exactly. Says he deserved it since he was my first investor. Said he could retire out of his ‘enterprise’ with that kind of money and move to the Caribbean. I shut him down and left. I knew that any money given to him would be traced and would be just as bad if he outed our original loan setup. I didn’t think about it again, until after we got back from the cabin.”
Amelia visibly stiffens at the mention of the cabin. “What happened after the cabin?”
“Remember when I had to leave you after your holiday party because LC called me?”
She nods.
“Well, dad’s been working as a PI, and he stumbled on some information. One of Mr. Valentine’s patsy got drunk at a bar and started blabbering about a job Mr. Valentine had him do. Take pictures of a rich tech guys’ cabin up in the Berkshires.”
Amelia’s hand covers her mouth. “Does that mean … that’s what I saw. Out in the backyard?”
