Chapter 4 - Debt Paid in Full
When I returned to the marble hallway, Rosa and Camila were still standing near the service entrance. Rosa was sitting on a bench, weeping softly into an apron, while Camila stood beside her, her small hand resting protectively on her mother's shoulder.
When Camila saw me approaching, she straightened her back, her little jaw setting firmly once more.
I didn't say a word. I walked straight up to them, sat down on the bench next to Rosa, and looked her in the eyes.
"Mr. Vance..." Rosa sobbed, wiping her face. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have brought my daughter here. We'll leave right now—"
"You're not going anywhere, Rosa," I said gently.
Thirty minutes later, my assistant Mark arrived carrying a heavy black leather briefcase. He handed it to me with a respectful nod and stepped back.
I set the briefcase on the table in front of Rosa and opened the latches.
Inside were neat, stacked bands of hundred-dollar bills.
Rosa gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Camila’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
"Your salary for the last three months was roughly under ten thousand dollars," I said, pulling out several stacks of cash and placing them directly into Rosa's hands. "This is fifty thousand dollars. Ten thousand is what you are owed. The remaining forty thousand is a small down payment on the pain, terror, and humiliation my house brought upon you and your daughter."
"Mr. Vance... no," Rosa stammered, her voice shaking violently as she stared at the money in her lap. "I can't take this. It's too much. I only want what I worked for."
"You worked for a man who failed to protect you under his own roof," I told her firmly. "Take it, Rosa. Pay your landlord. Buy your daughter whatever she needs. And know that as long as I am alive, you will never have to worry about your job or your home again."
Tears streamed freely down Rosa's cheeks, but this time, they weren't tears of terror. She pulled the money to her chest, whispering prayers of gratitude in Spanish.
I turned to Camila. I knelt down on one knee until I was eye-level with the nine-year-old girl.
"You were right," I told her quietly. "I didn't know what was happening, but that is no excuse. You were braver today than anyone else in this house. You saved your mother."
Camila looked at the cash, then at her mother, and finally back at me. The anger in her young eyes slowly dissolved, replaced by a profound, quiet relief.
"Will my mom really be okay now?" she asked softly.
"She will be more than okay," I promised. "Mark is going to have my personal driver take both of you to your apartment right now. Pay your landlord in cash. Tell him that if he ever speaks to your mother like that again, he will be dealing with my legal team."
Mark stepped forward, offering a warm smile to Rosa and guiding them toward the waiting sedan at the front entrance.
As I stood up, watching the heavy front doors close behind them, the warmth in my chest instantly evaporated, replaced by a cold, sharp focus.
My home was safe. My employee was paid.
May you like
Now it was time to deal with my family.
I turned toward the grand staircase and began walking toward the east wing.
