Chapter 7 - The Alliance in the Shadows
I walked back up to the conservatory, where my mother was sitting with Rosa and Camila. The little girl was coloring on a piece of paper my mother had found for her, while Rosa sat with a cup of warm tea, looking exhausted but visibly lighter than she had two hours ago.
"Rosa," I said, entering the room. "May I have your landlord's phone number?"
Rosa looked up, startled. "Oh, Mr. Julian, you don't have to call him. If I get the money tomorrow, I can just go to his office—"
"I’m calling him tonight," I said, holding out my hand for her phone. "He threatened a child in my home. I want to make sure he understands exactly who he is dealing with."
Rosa hesitated, then pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up the contact info for a man listed as Mr. Sterling. I copied the number into my own phone and stepped out into the courtyard, the cool night air hitting my face.
I dialed the number. It rang four times before a gruff, annoyed voice answered.
"Yeah? What is it? I told you, Rosa, if you don't have the cash—"
"This isn't Rosa," I interrupted, my voice cutting through his words like a scalpel. "This is Julian Vance."
There was a long pause on the other end. The name Vance carried significant weight in Los Angeles real estate circles. "Julian Vance? As in Vance Enterprises?"
"The same," I said. "I am Rosa Martinez’s employer. I understand you had a conversation with her earlier today regarding her tenancy at your property on Elm Street."
Sterling’s voice instantly shifted, the aggressive landlord routine replaced by the oily tone of a small-time property manager trying to please a billionaire. "Oh, Mr. Vance! I didn't know she worked for you directly. I mean, she said she worked at a mansion, but you know how these tenants are, always making excuses about delayed checks—"
"Her checks were delayed because of a criminal embezzlement scheme inside my organization," I said coldly. "A scheme that has now been resolved. I am calling to inform you that a courier is currently en route to your office with a cashier’s check covering Rosa’s rent for the next twelve months in advance."
"Twelve months?" Sterling gasped. "Well, that... that changes things completely, Mr. Vance! She can stay as long as she likes, no problem at all—"
"She isn't staying," I said, cutting him off again. "She will occupy the unit for the next thirty days while she transitions to her new residence. You will keep the rent for those thirty days, and the remaining eleven months of that check will serve as her security deposit return and a penalty for your lack of empathy regarding her daughter. If I hear that you so much as look at her sideways during the next four weeks, my corporate legal team will audit your property compliance records from the last ten years. Do I make myself clear?"
The line was dead silent for five seconds. "Crystal clear, Mr. Vance," Sterling whispered.
"Good," I said, and hung up.
I walked back into the conservatory, feeling a slight sense of satisfaction, though I knew money couldn't completely erase the terror they had felt.
"It’s taken care of, Rosa," I said as I sat down next to them. "Your rent is paid for the next year. You don't have to worry about the locks being changed tomorrow. You don't have to worry about where Camila is going to sleep."
Rosa covered her face with her hands and began to cry tears of pure relief. My mother moved closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, whispering comfort.
Camila stopped coloring. She looked up at me, her brown eyes searching my face. Then, she slid out of her chair, walked over to me, and placed her small hand on my knee.
"Thank you for not being a liar," she said softly.
May you like
Those seven words meant more to me than the entire five-billion-dollar Singapore merger. They were the validation that my home was finally becoming a home again.
"Thank you for being brave enough to tell me the truth, Camila," I said, shaking her tiny hand as if she were a major corporate partner. "You saved this family."
