Chapter Thirty-Seven
Kelley stewed with the news for two weeks, not saying a word and knowing that Carey wouldn’t say anything either. It was hard to make peace with all the facts that he now knew. He hadn’t touched the money John had given him but he knew what he wanted to do. Jesse had taught him patience, to plan and to make certain of his success before the time. He grinned to himself and pulled his phone out to dial a number.
“Campbell.”
“Hi, it’s Kelley.”
“Hi, Kelley, I’m glad you called. How are you holding up?”
Kelley took a big breath and chuckled. “It’s surreal but I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“Can I buy property through my trust, meaning with the money in the trust?” This one thing was important to him. It was where their first plan had come to fruition.
“Of course you can. Property is seen as an investment. Send me the portfolio of the property and we can talk after I’ve talked to the owner of the building.”
Kelley shifted on his feet. This place didn't have a portfolio and he didn't want John to say no. “It’s a warehouse down by the docks, it’s been empty for years and I don’t know who the owner is.”
John was quiet for a few seconds and Kelley held his breath. “A warehouse? What do you want with a warehouse?”
“It’ll be a base of sorts, it also holds sentimental value for us, for me. I can send you the address.”
“Okay, do that and I’ll try to find the owner and negotiate a deal. If it’s been empty for that long it might go at a good price.”
Relief flooded him because so far John had just been helpful and he wasn't sure what to do if he'd said no. “Thanks, John.”
Kelley ended the call and turned around to find Mason and Lee standing behind him in the empty warehouse. He guiltily pocketed his phone and stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. It wasn't that he actively wanted to keep this from them, he just hadn't really come to terms with it himself.
“What was that all about?” Lee’s face was his usual stoic self and Mason gave him a half smile.
“I’m trying to buy this warehouse.”
“Why and with what money? I know exactly how much you make as a dock worker.”
Kelley then told them about his meeting with John Campbell, everything that he knew about his real father and about Charles. He even told them about the hotel shares and what his plans were once they had finished school.
“Shit, Kelley … that’s a lot. How long have you known about this?”
“Two weeks.”
“So once again you’re the poor, little rich boy.” They all started laughing then and Kelley shook his head at Mason’s words.
“I have a plan. We’ll make this warehouse our home base, the twins can work from here too. We’ll truly be Scelto then. The Elites nobody knows about. This warehouse will only be the beginning for us. The three of us will head a new trust, with salaries and jobs, legit jobs.”
“What will these jobs be?”
“Real estate, construction, IT, whatever we want. We build on our strengths and not our weaknesses, we’ll take over lower Yorkdare Bay and we’ll do it all from this warehouse. I want to pull in your mom too.”
“My mom?”
“Look at what Carey did with your house … we can buy out all the empty houses in the lower district, have Carey remodel them and fix them up. Why does the lower district have to look poor and unkempt? People don’t have money, but if we do it reasonably priced the lower income people of Yorkdare Bay can have decent houses too.”
“You won’t be making money out of that.” Lee’s mind was already working overtime.
“I know, but we’ll make our money doing the same thing in the middle and upper districts where we can charge exorbitant prices for doing the same thing. We don’t buy up the houses there, not in the upper districts but the businesses, office space.”
“Damn, Kelley … where have you been hiding that brain?” Mason's words were meant as a joke but his face was too serious as he said it.
“It makes sense to do it like that and this way we can get the upper hand over the ones that think they’re Elites. If we control Yorkdare Bay, we control them and ultimately what they do too.”
Lee rubbed his hands together. “When do we start?”
“The twins can start now by finding the owner of this warehouse.”
Lee sent a text and Kelley turned towards Mason. “What are you thinking, Mason?”
“I’m thinking this plan could lead to taking down the Elites, one by one. So far it’s been pranks and stupid fights but with a solid business plan, we can actually do some real damage.”
Kelley grinned and nodded his head. “That’s true. It’ll take time but like Jesse once told me, good plans take time to be perfect.”
“Just a thought though … you should buy the warehouse under another trust name, not under your name. It’ll be too easy to find if ever someone goes looking into what you’re doing.”
“Nascosto Scelto. I’ve been thinking about that too. It’s a name that makes sense to us but not to anyone else.”
Lee pocketed his phone and joined them in the three-man huddle they had formed. “Does this mean we work for you now?”
“No. I want us to be partners, equal partners. Without either of you, I wouldn’t be here, the same goes for your mother, Mason. You took me in as family and that’s what we are, the three of us, we’re family.”
“Partners it is.”
It took Blaire and Blain two days to find the owner of the warehouse and Kelley sent his details to John Campbell. He also sent him the new name of the trust and John created shelf companies that hid their names as the owners. John didn’t ask many questions but he guided Kelley in the legalities of what to do and when to do it.
