After the Rothschild Family meeting adjourned, Alexander followed his father out of the family conference hall and back to the study.
Along the way, Alexander did not look well. The other branches had put enormous pressure on them this time, even threatening to split from the family, leaving him with no choice but to compromise.
One major reason the Rothschilds had endured for two hundred and fifty years was that their ancestral rules kept them united and forbade internal strife.
Although some things were unavoidable, they would never be allowed to get too out of hand. When necessary, someone would certainly have to sacrifice their own interests.
He was that person now.
But the other branches did indeed have sufficient grounds to force their hand. Because of them, the family's overall business had suffered losses.
"Father, I'm very sorry about this," Alexander said as soon as he entered the study.
"What did you do wrong?" David asked unhurriedly.
"I..." Alexander frowned tightly, gritted his teeth, and shook his head. "I did nothing wrong."
"Then if you did nothing wrong, there's no need to say you're sorry." David's voice was calm, yet it carried the authority of a superior—an authority forged through years spent in power.
"I shouldn't have made them that promise," Alexander said.
He knew that if they lost the banking group, his branch would lose its place at the center of the Rothschild Family's power. To them, that would be disastrous.
"Then are you confident you can increase the bank's profits by 25% within a year and a half?"
"To be honest, not very."
For a bank, annual profit growth of 10% was already impressive, but 25% was excessively high. If the stock market and the economy performed poorly, even negative investment returns were possible.
The 25% profit