Felix tried calling Ryan but got a "temporarily unavable" message. He asked Oscar, "Did Tristan mention why he''s doing this?


    Oscar shook his head. "No. He wouldn''t budge no matter how much our chairman begged. We finally got this huge loan from Concord Bank and were about to take thepany to the next level. Now, it''s all falling apart.". Felix found it strange. After all, there was no reason to go after Clement if someone wanted to target him. They were merely friendly neighbors during his short time in Gray City, so their connection was not that deep. "Did Clement agree to sell?" Felix asked.


    "What choice did we have? The Jacintos are too powerful. Even selling at a low price would at least cover our debts and let us survive. We''ll lose everything if we don''t sell."


    Felix finally understood why Clement had been so emotional-Tristan must have said something specifically threatening in private.


    "When''s the contract signing?"


    "Tomorrow morning at thepany," Oscar replied.


    After dismissing Oscar, Kurt whispered, "Mr. Zeller, the Jacinto family truly rules Gray City. I''m nothingpared to them. What do you n to do?"


    Felix stood up with a cold smile. "Leave it to me.


    At sunset, Felix watched a young man enter a private room of a luxury restaurant in Gray City. The man asked, "Who are you?"


    Felix found it amusing. "You''ve been causing me trouble without even knowing who I am?" It was Tristan Jacinto, who smiled as realization dawned. "Ah, so you''re Felix Zeller. Impressive that you got Mr. Yardley to arrange this meeting." "Why did you target Clement?" Felix asked directly as Tristan sat down across from him with perfectposure.


    "It''s simple. He''s clearly more than just a casual friend of yours. No one would get Mr. Yardley to approve a loan for someone like Clement unless they were close," Tristan exined.


    "I have no bad blood with the Jacinto family. Who''s really behind this?" Felix pressed.


    Tristan nodded but changed his tone. "There is someone, but you don''t need to know who. Clement is just the beginning-anyone connected to you will meet a miserable end. Taking hispany is only the first step, as you''ll soon understand." 1/2


    Just then, Dorian arrived, trembling and sweating. Before Felix could speak, he rushed to exin, "Mr. Zeller, I had no choice!


    "The higher-ups at Dragonia''s branch forced this through. They''d fire me on any excuse if I didn''tply. I''m so sorry!"


    Felix knew such authority was beyond Jeremiah''s reach as Gray City''s wealthiest man. Since there was clearly someone pulling strings behind the scenes, he did not want to waste too much time on this.


    He mmed something onto the table and said, "Stop the loan recall immediately. Any problems with that?"


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