Chapter 5 - A DEBT THAT WAS NEVER HERS
The first time Gabriel offered to pay my debts, I almost threw my coffee at him.
We were sitting in a private meeting room at Laura's office.
He had arrived carrying a folder.
Inside were documents showing my overdue rent, utility bills, and a credit-card balance that had grown while I cared for my mother during her final illness.
I stared at the papers.
“How did you get these?”
“Victor arranged a financial review.”
“Without asking me?”
Gabriel hesitated.
Then closed the folder.
“You're right.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“I shouldn't have done that.”
I folded my arms.
“No, you shouldn't.”
He nodded.
“I apologize.”
The apology was so immediate that I almost didn't know what to do with it.
Then he said, “I wanted to help.”
“Then ask what help looks like.”
He studied me.
For a moment, I saw how unfamiliar the concept was to him.
A man who could order expensive cars and private jets probably never needed to request permission to solve a problem.
But I wasn't one of his problems.
I was a person.
---
Laura interrupted with news.
The landlord's collection agency had submitted a disputed fee schedule.
Several charges appeared to be improper.
A tenants' attorney was reviewing them.
But there was something stranger.
My original lease had been guaranteed by a company I had never heard of.
Crown Harbor Residential Holdings.
I stared.
“Crown Harbor again?”
Laura nodded.
“The same corporate family connected to the diner building.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Crown Harbor was supposedly dissolved after the shipping fire.”
Laura opened another document.
“Apparently, someone revived it.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“Who signed the authorization?”
She turned the page.
A name appeared.
Paul Mercer.
The business partner who had attacked Gabriel.
I looked at him.
“Paul was connected to my apartment?”
Gabriel stared at the document.
Then looked toward Laura.
“Find out when he took control of that company.”
Laura nodded.
---
Over the next two days, we discovered that several tenants in my building had been charged questionable fees.
Some were elderly.
Some were recent immigrants.
Some were single parents working multiple jobs.
The same company that controlled the diner held interests in the apartment building.
The company had been using aggressive debt collection to pressure residents into accepting unfavorable agreements.
I was furious.
“This isn't just about me.”
Gabriel looked up.
“No.”
“They're targeting people who can't afford lawyers.”
“Yes.”
“Then we help them.”
He studied me.
“Maya—”
“Not with threats. Not by sending men with guns. We find a legal organization that can represent them.”
His mouth twitched.
“You're giving me orders.”
I crossed my arms.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
He smiled faintly.
“Apparently not.”
---
That evening, Laura accompanied me to a tenants' meeting.
Twelve residents attended.
I expected fear.
Instead, I found anger.
A grandmother had been threatened with fees she didn't owe.
A delivery driver had received repeated notices containing inaccurate balances.
A young mother had been told she might lose her apartment over charges that weren't in her lease.
I listened.
Then stood.
“My name is Maya Brooks. I live on the third floor.”
A few people nodded.
“I've been frightened for months because I thought I was the only one struggling.”
I looked around.
“I'm not.”
The room grew quiet.
“We have legal help now. But we need records. Notices. Receipts. Everything.”
For the first time, I felt useful without sacrificing myself.
---
When I returned to the hotel, Gabriel was waiting in the lobby.
He rose when he saw me.
“How did it go?”
“Better than expected.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
I studied him.
“Why are you here?”
He hesitated.
“I wanted to see if you were safe.”
“I am.”
He nodded.
Then I asked, “Gabriel, did Paul know my mother?”
His face changed.
“Possibly.”
“Did he know Elena?”
“Yes.”
I went still.
“What was their relationship?”
Gabriel looked toward the window.
“Paul was the last person Elena called before she died.”
My heart accelerated.
“And nobody thought that was suspicious?”
Gabriel's expression darkened.
May you like
“My father made sure nobody asked.”
---
