Chapter 4 - The City Solomon Built
By sunset, Nia was no longer at Maple Street.
Elijah moved her to a secured estate outside Baltimore owned by one of Solomon's trusts.
Camille came too.
Not because Elijah had forgiven her.
Because Nia refused to let go of her mother's hand.
The estate looked less like a mansion than a government building disguised as one.
Security gates.
Stone walls.
Cameras hidden beneath the eaves.
Camille stared through the SUV window.
"Your father owned this?"
Mara answered.
"Technically, you do now, Mr. Brooks."
Elijah grimaced.
"Stop saying that."
Mara almost smiled.
"You'll eventually get used to it."
"I hope not."
Inside, Nia discovered an enormous library and immediately asked whether she could color in the books.
For the first time all day, Elijah laughed.
"No, bug."
"Why?"
"Because some of them are older than Grandpa."
"Grandpa was old."
Camille covered a smile.
That tiny family moment lasted less than thirty seconds.
Then six executives entered.
Each treated Elijah differently than anyone ever had at his maintenance job.
They stood when he entered.
"Sit down," Elijah said.
Nobody did.
"Seriously."
They sat.
Mara projected a corporate map.
Brooks Meridian Holdings touched nearly every major infrastructure system in the region.
Warehouses.
Telecommunications corridors.
Rail freight.
Commercial cooling systems.
Hospital power contracts.
Real estate.
Port facilities.
Elijah stared.
"Why was he living in motels?"
Mara replied, "Because your father believed visible wealth made people stupid."
Camille almost laughed at the irony.
Mara continued.
"He spent decades buying distressed infrastructure through intermediaries. By the time competitors realized the companies were connected, Solomon controlled essential assets from Baltimore to Philadelphia."
One executive cleared his throat.
"There's an immediate issue."
"What?"
"Cole Development."
The screen changed.
Adrien's company appeared in red.
"They've defaulted on three credit facilities ultimately held by Brooks Meridian."
Elijah leaned back.
"So I own their debt."
"Enough to force restructuring."
Camille understood.
"Adrien knew."
Mara nodded.
"He knew Solomon was sick. He did not know the inheritance structure."
Elijah looked at Camille.
"He thought if we divorced before probate closed—"
"He could influence you independently," Mara said.
Camille's face burned.
"So he didn't want me."
Nobody answered.
That was answer enough.
Later that evening, Camille found Elijah in the kitchen making grilled cheese.
The mansion had two chefs.
He had sent them home.
"You could have someone do that."
"So could you."
She looked down.
"Fair."
He cut Nia's sandwich diagonally.
Camille whispered, "I'm sorry."
Elijah kept working.
"I know."
"No. You don't."
He finally looked at her.
"I believed him because he told me what I wanted to hear."
"That doesn't make what he did okay."
"It doesn't make what I did okay either."
Silence.
"I called you a man without ambition."
"You did."
"I made you feel small."
Elijah put down the knife.
"You didn't make me feel small."
That hurt worse.
"You made me realize you thought I was."
Camille wiped at her eyes.
"I'm not asking you to forgive me."
"Good."
She nodded.
"I deserved that."
"No, Camille. This isn't about deserving pain."
His voice remained quiet.
"It's about consequences."
Before she could respond, the security alarm sounded.
Not loud.
Three sharp tones.
Mara entered immediately.
"Perimeter breach."
Elijah moved toward Nia.
"Where?"
"North gate."
A security monitor activated.
A black sedan waited outside.
An elderly man stepped from it.
Camille recognized him from business magazines.
Malcolm Cole.
Adrien's father.
He stood beneath the security camera and lifted both hands.
Then he spoke toward the intercom.
"Elijah."
Elijah pressed the button.
"Why were you asking about my daughter?"
Malcolm looked directly into the camera.
"I wasn't."
Mara frowned.
Elijah said, "Your name was used."
"That's why I'm here."
"Explain."
Malcolm reached into his coat slowly.
Security guards raised weapons.
He removed an envelope.
"My son has lost control."
Camille stared.
Malcolm continued.
"Adrien believes Solomon destroyed our family."
"Did he?"
"No."
Malcolm's face seemed to age.
"I did."
Elijah's jaw tightened.
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
That answer surprised everyone.
Malcolm held up the envelope.
"But you should read this."
Mara sent a guard to retrieve it.
Inside were bank records.
Wire transfers from Cole Development.
Payments to private investigators.
Payments to Camille's former coworker.
Payments to the charity foundation where she first met Adrien.
Then another payment.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Recipient:
JARED PHELPS.
Elijah frowned.
"Who is Jared Phelps?"
Camille stopped breathing.
Elijah turned.
"You know him."
She whispered, "He was the contractor who inspected our house before we bought it."
Elijah looked confused.
"What does our house have to do with anything?"
Malcolm's voice came through the intercom.
"Everything."
Elijah returned to the screen.
Malcolm said, "Your father didn't let you buy 412 Maple Street by accident."
"What are you talking about?"
"Before it became your home, the property belonged to Solomon."
Elijah stared.
"No."
"Look beneath the basement stairs."
Elijah's face changed.
Malcolm continued.
"There's a wall you repaired three years ago."
Elijah remembered.
Water damage.
Rotten framing.
A section that sounded strangely hollow.
"What is behind it?"
May you like
Malcolm's eyes lifted toward the camera.
"The reason Solomon Brooks spent thirty years pretending to be poor."
