“You built a life without asking us for a single dollar.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said.

He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and stared down at his leather shoes.

“Derek doesn’t have that kind of resilience.

The venture capital firm pulled their second round of funding on Monday afternoon.”

I kept my palms flat on the cold iron table.

“What does that mean for his business?”

“It means bankruptcy,” he said softly.