CHAPTER 141: The Room

POV: Selene Castellano

Amara arrived first.

Amara had received a call from Selene, who just told her to come to the office right away. James arrived twelve minutes later, and it was like déjà vu - the same phone call, the same reaction, everything was identical.

Selene put the letter on the table and let them read.

Amara read without expression.

James took a moment to read it over, not once but twice. He wanted to get it just right, to really understand what it was saying, so he went slow, reading every word carefully. It was his way of making sure he didn't jump to conclusions or react without thinking. By reading it twice, he could process everything properly and get a clear picture in his mind.

When they finished, nobody spoke for a moment.

Then Amara said: “How long have you known.”

She was looking at Avalon.

“March,” he said.

James set the letter down carefully.

“You built the foundation knowing this,” James said. Not as a question.

“Yes,” Avalon said.

James spoke out, "You gave us the green light to create all of this - I'm talking about Amara's way of governing, the presentations to the board, the big meeting, and all the people who were part of it, like Kevin Walsh and Susan Park." He paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "You let everything move forward, even though you were aware that our company had a hand in creating the very issues we were trying to fix."

“Yes,” Avalon said again.

James looked at the letter.

Then at Selene.

She said nothing.

Amara stood up and went to the whiteboard and started writing.

A list.

“Three neighborhoods,” she said. “ Mission, Tenderloin, Bayview. Three specific communities affected by the displacement bonds. What do we know about the organizations currently operating in those areas that we work with.”

Selene pointed out that nearly half of their community partners, twelve out of twenty, were all based in just three neighborhoods, which was a pretty surprising concentration.

Amara wrote that down.

So, what exactly has the foundation achieved for these communities up until now?

Selene went through it.

Kevin Walsh’s beds. Susan Park’s infrastructure funding. David Torres’s pilot program. Seven other initiatives in various stages.

Amara wrote all of it down.

Amara stepped back, her eyes scanning the room as she spoke. "Pierce Holdings has done a lot of harm to these communities over the past thirteen years," she said, her voice firm. "But the foundation, it's only been around for less than a year and already they're taking steps to fix the problems they created." She looked down at the list in her hand, her brow furrowed in thought. "That doesn't excuse what they did, nothing can make up for the damage they caused. But it does show us how they should be responding to it now, how they can start to make things right." She paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "It's not about forgetting what happened or letting them off the hook, it's about acknowledging the harm they caused and working towards a solution."

“Which is,” James said.

"Total honesty," Amara said, "is what we need to aim for - we have to be open with everyone, from our community partners to the board, and literally every single person involved. We need to get ahead of this before the law firm breaks the news and makes it all public, so we can control the narrative and have a plan in place to make things right in a fair way that reflects the actual harm that's been caused."

“That will cost the foundation credibility,” James said.

"I'm with you, up to a point," Amara said. "But just for a bit. The other way would mean we'd lose everything, and that would be for good."

She looked at Avalon.

"I want to see every record related to community displacement bonds," she stated firmly. "I need everything that Pierce Holdings has, every single document, every piece of information, no matter how small it may seem. I'm not just looking for what the law firm is holding, I want access to all of their files, every note, every email, every conversation that's been had about this. I want to know everything they have, no matter where it's stored or who has it."

“You’ll have it today,” Avalon said.

She was looking for a clear plan to fix the problems that had been caused. "I need to see a detailed budget for repairs," she said, "something that lays out exactly what needs to be done, and how much it will cost, not just a token effort, but real changes that will make a difference." She wanted to know what it would take to make things right, and she wanted to see the numbers to back it up.

“I’ll start tonight,” James said.

Selene watched them work.

Amara already three steps ahead. James already building the framework. The two of them doing what they did, finding the load path, figuring out how to make the structure hold something it hadn’t been built to hold.

James set off at six to begin working on the financial plans.

Amara stayed.

As they stood there, just the three of them, her eyes locked onto Avalon's, a direct and intense gaze that seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words.

She said, "You should have told us back in March."

“I know,” he said.

"It wasn't difficult to figure out, Avalon. The moment you discovered it, you should have shared it with us immediately. I'm talking about all of us, we were all making decisions without having the full picture, and that's not right. We deserved to know the truth from the start, so we could make informed choices, but instead, we were left in the dark, making decisions that might have been different if we had known what you knew."

“I know,” he said again.

"Come on," Amara said, "let's just sort this out, no point in wasting any more time discussing it."

She picked up her laptop and looked at Selene.

“You’re okay,” Amara said. Not as a question.

“I will be,” Selene said.

Amara nodded once and left.

They drove home in silence.

Not the comfortable kind.

The kind that had weight in it.

At a red light Avalon said: “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Selene said.

“I mean it.”

"I can tell you're being genuine," she said, "but that's not really the issue here."

“Then what is.”

She told him, "You always say sorry for the same thing, but it's just a different version. You're still making decisions on your own about what you think I can handle, without even asking me."

He kept his eyes on the road.

He just can't seem to shake it off, no matter how hard he tries. It's like it's a part of him, buried deep down, and it always manages to come back up when things get really tough. "I don't know how to stop doing it completely," he admitted, sounding frustrated and a little helpless. He's trying to overcome it, but it's a constant struggle.

She looked at him.

At least it was honest.

"I know that already," she said, "which is exactly why we're talking about this now, instead of something else."

The light changed and he drove.

At home she sat on the kitchen floor.

He sat across from her.

“Tell me what you need,” he said.

She needed him to be totally there, to be a part of every single thing they were doing on their project. "I want you in every meeting, every conversation, and every decision we make," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't want you to just show up when you feel like it, or when you've had time to think about it," she added. "I need you to be right in the middle of everything, from the very start." Her eyes were serious, and he could tell she really meant it. "Don't wait until you're comfortable, or until you've figured everything out," she said. "Just be there, and be a part of it all, right from the beginning."

“Yes,” he said.

She was tired of hearing empty words, she wanted to see real action. "I need to see it actually happen," she said, her voice steady and firm. "Not something that might happen someday, but something that's real, something I can rely on, something that's a fact."

“Yes,” he said again.

She looked at him for a long moment.

Then she reached across and took his hand.

“We fix this,” she said. “ Together.”

“Together,” he said.