Chapter 15: Debt
"Debt," said Makima simply. "A significant amount. With people who charge significant interest." She paused. "Someone offered him a business opportunity about six months ago. Told him he could triple his money in three months with minimal risk. Danny believed them. Borrowed money he didn’t have to invest in it."
"It was a scam," said Sean.
"Obviously," said Makima. "But by the time he realized that, he had borrowed one hundred and forty thousand dollars from a private lending company. With interest that compounds weekly." She pressed her lips together. "The original debt is now sitting at two hundred and eighty thousand. And they’ve made it clear that if he doesn’t pay within thirty days, they’ll take legal action. Criminal charges. Danny could go to prison."
The room was quiet.
Sean looked at her carefully. "And the only way you can pay it off is to sell the building."
Makima’s jaw tightened slightly. "The building is the only asset I own that could generate that kind of liquidity quickly." She paused. "And there happens to be a real estate developer who has been very interested in acquiring this property for the past year."
"Who?" said Sean.
"A man named Victor Hale," said Makima. Her voice changed on that name. Barely. But he caught the slight hardness in it. "He’s been making offers on this building since last year. I’ve refused every time. The building belonged to my parents. I’m not interested in selling."
"But now he’s got leverage," said Sean.
Makima said nothing. Which was an answer.
Sean sat forward slowly. "Makima. The lending company your brother borrowed from. Do you know who owns it?"
She looked at him. "Why does that matter?"
"Just tell me."
She hesitated. "I don’t know who owns it directly. It operates under a name. Crestline Financial Solutions."
Sean filed that name in his mind.
"And Victor Hale made his latest offer when?" said Sean.
"Last week," said Makima. "The same week Danny’s debt notice arrived." She stopped. Something shifted in her expression. Like she was doing math she hadn’t done before. "You’re suggesting..."
"I’m not suggesting anything," said Sean. "I’m just asking questions."
But the look on Makima’s face told him she was starting to connect dots she hadn’t connected before.
"That would mean..." She paused. "That would mean Victor Hale deliberately..." She stopped. Shook her head slowly. "That’s an enormous accusation."
"Yeah," said Sean.
She was quiet for a long moment. Outside a car passed on the street. The building settled with a small creak somewhere above them.
"Even if it were true," she said quietly. "Even if Victor organized all of this. I still owe two hundred and eighty thousand dollars. Danny still borrowed the money. The debt is real regardless of who manufactured the situation."
"I know," said Sean.
"And I don’t have two hundred and eighty thousand dollars," said Makima. Her voice was very level. Very controlled. "I have this building. And that’s it."
Sean stood up from the chair.
"I’ll take care of the debt," he said.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Makima stared at him. "Sean."
"I’ll pay it off," he said. "The full two hundred and eighty thousand."
"Sean, that’s—" She stopped. Looked at his suit. At the car she must have seen pull up through her window. Then back at his face. "What happened to you?" she said quietly. "Yesterday morning you were a college student who owed me two months of rent."
"Things changed," said Sean.
"That’s not an explanation."
"I know," said Sean. "But the offer stands. I’ll pay off Danny’s debt. All of it. The thirty-day clock stops."
Makima’s eyes were wide now. The professional composure was cracking at the edges. Not because she was falling apart. But because she was looking at something she hadn’t expected and didn’t know how to process.
"I can’t ask you to do that," she said.
"You didn’t ask," said Sean. "I’m offering."
"Sean—"
"Makima." He looked at her directly. "Let me do this."
She looked at him for a long moment. A complicated series of emotions moved through her face. Pride fighting against exhaustion. Independence fighting against desperation. She was a woman who handled her own problems. Always had. The idea of accepting this kind of help from a college student probably felt wrong in every possible direction.
But she was also a woman who was about to lose her parents’ building because someone had deliberately put her in an impossible position.
"Why?" she said finally. "Why would you do this?"
Sean thought about telling her the truth. About the future he remembered. About watching her building get sold and wondering about it and never asking.
"Because you made sure i always get better when I had a fever," he said instead. "And because you never once treated me like I was behind on rent when I was behind on rent. And because good people shouldn’t lose what matters to them because someone decided to be cruel."
Makima’s throat moved. She blinked once. Carefully.
"That’s a very mature answer for an eighteen-year-old," she said quietly.
"I’ve had a complicated few days," said Sean.
Despite everything, something like a real smile moved across her face. Brief. Human.
"I’ll pay it back," she said.
"You don’t have to," said Sean.
"I will," she said firmly. "Every dollar."
Sean nodded. He wasn’t going to argue with her about that now. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Send me the details of the lending company," he said. "Full account information. I’ll handle it today."
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[Crestline Financial Solutions]
The offices of Crestline Financial Solutions occupied the seventh floor of a glass building in the financial district.
Sean arrived at two in the afternoon wearing the same suit from the night before. James pulled the Rolls Royce up to the building entrance and a security guard who had been about to wave them away changed his mind when he saw the car.
