The next day at the apartment building as Cat confronts the bad super
"you really expect me to break a lease just because you're famous miss Valentine" says Markus Stephen
"no but I have the chief of police on speed dial, I can have him arrest you for drug dealing, that or I Taser you" says Cat
"that's not a threat to hurt me is it" asks Markus
"you've been scamming these people out of rent by charging their bank accounts twice, you don't just get away with that stuff" says Cat as the cops show up to arrest him
"on what charges am I being arrested" asks Markus
"dealing drugs, theft over a hundred grand and dealing in stolen military weapons" says David as he reads Markus his rights
25 minutes later as two of Ella's neighbors walk over to talk to Cat
"he owns the building, you just made us homeless" says Ella's friend Betty
"I'm buying the building and I'm making changes, he had direct links to the human traffickers that brought Macy here from Maine, the feds just didn't know where he lived, you'd have been homeless this month anyway, my contact told me most of you relied on him to give you jobs, he'd stopped offering jobs for money" says Cat
"what changes are being made" asks Betty
"these halls are way too big and the apartments are way too small, I'm making the apartments bigger, including outdoor balcony space, the bathrooms are too big, I'm making them three feet smaller so the hallways in your apartments will be bigger" says Cat
"will it cost us more" asks Betty, knowing most of the people in these apartments are disabled in one way or another
"no increase for those unable to work, however I'm looking for a crew able to clean the outside and a crew to clean up the rodent situation" says Cat
"some of us are teens, like Ella and Macy, we can't legally work" says Betty
"those sixteen and under will not be working outside unless its working on the balconies, I'm well aware that some of you were disowned by your families and have nowhere to go, I will not be evicting any of you" says Cat
"if we work does that affect our rent, because we owe his backers a ton of money" asks Betty remembering Markus said she owed his backers ten grand
"his financial backers had an agreement with him, no illegal activity on his part or the agreement he had was off, I informed them of his crimes and they broke his agreement and sold me the building outright for a hundred grand knowing it needs fixing, as of an hour from now your debt to his backers is no more, any work done will be per contract with me directly and you will either get paid or the money will go towards a discount on your rent" says Cat
"how about the disabled who can't work, a few of them were beat up by him for missing rent this month, most of us pick up trash for money" says Betty
"helping them will grant you food or money, their rooms are priority for size adjustments, you will now be paid by the city to keep all streets this building touches clean, a hundred dollars per bag and you will be getting a rooftop garden, accessible only to apartment renters, a chicken coop will also be set up on the property where all excess eggs can be sold at market rate" says Cat
"Isabella in the first apartment on the main floor already does, she's seventeen and has very high support needs and raising chickens is the only way she can make money, her parents abandoned her five years ago, people absolutely love the chicken eggs she sells, unfortunately her immune system isn't great and if someone coughs on her she is likely hospital bound if she can't afford the meds, she's been stuck in her apartment this week mostly terrified of him because she was sick last month and didn't make full rent" says Betty
"does she have anyone living with her, a boyfriend or girlfriend" asks Cat
"a lady named Melanie comes by once a week to check on her but I don't know if they're dating or not" says Betty
"is she around the same age" asks Cat
"give or take a year" says Brian, Ella's other neighbor
"has she been here recently" asks Cat
"Markus forbade it last month, Melanie hasn't been here in a few weeks, I've been keeping an eye on Isabella for her, though Isabella doesn't really like it, she's not really a people person, especially not men" says Brian
"you look able enough to help with the outside, can someone contact Melanie, I'd like to speak with her" says Cat, recognizing the name from the former agencies modelling list
"I used to specialize in cleaning the outside of apartment buildings but I got laid off last year then let go for no reason which is why I live here, Melanie doesn't have a phone, she lives down the street with her brother, she was fired from that evil modelling agency last year for 'talking to poor people', as if it's some sort of crime to talk to and understand poor people like us, I can shoot her brother a messageā¦.. and like magic she shows up" says Brian as Cat turns around to see Melanie Graham standing before her
"I saw the cop cars and ambulances and got worried, is Izzy ok" asks Melanie only barely recognizing Cat
"Markus no longer has any control here, you're more than welcome to check up on her" says Cat as Naomi shows up
"I tried but the lock was changed" says Melanie
"he felt that Isabella was his to control after banning you, here's the new key" says Brian handing the key to Melanie
"oh God, he didn't hurt her did he" asks Melanie
"no not directly but he did kill a few of her chickens" says Brian
"if he hurt Giselle she might try to kill herself, Giselle is the daughter of her chicken from her family farm, Giselle is the only link she has left to her family" says Melanie
"Giselle is fine, Giselle makes the most money and he wasn't about to kill the prize chicken, I checked up on her this morning, she's throwing up but otherwise fine" says Brian
"the only reason she'd be throwing up is if he fed Izzy alcohol, her body has zero tolerance for it, she also doesn't take well to caffeinated drinks of any kind, I'm going to check up on her now, I swear if he made her drink alcohol I'll kill him" says Melanie
"he's in police custody, if he did and did so knowingly you can add it to the list of charges, he won't be released before trial" says Cat
"ok" says Melanie as she skips to Isabella's room
"they're definitely dating" says Cat
"how can you tell" asks Betty
"it's just the way she skips, it's a 'I get to see my girlfriend' kind of skip" says Cat
"did you ever skip like that" asks Betty
"not in public, I was quite shy about it until high school and even then I was never in a serious enough relationship to skip like that" says Cat
"the girl I like lives on the top floor her names Maddy, I've never had the confidence to ask her out, I'm just the forever alone type I guess" says Betty
"is she at least in the same age range as you" asks Cat
"yeah, her parents brought her to LA for a vacation three years ago and left after the vacation without her, the cops tried to get her back with her family but they told the cops that they left her here for a reason" says Betty
"is she high support needs or something" asks Cat
"mega high support needs, she has some sort of memory issue, I convinced her that I'm her food supply person, I get her food every week from the food bank" says Brian
"given the likely age gap I'd like you to stop actually, Betty can be her new food supply person" says Cat
"most days she thinks I'm going to kill her so that won't fly, besides Brian's gay and he has a boyfriend, Maddy trusts him, she's not very trusting of people, I'd honestly rather not put her in a situation where she's forced to trust me, if it happens it happens but I won't force her to let me into her life if she doesn't want it" says Betty
"why do I get the feeling Betty isn't your real name" asks Naomi
"I'm Macy's best friend, my family moved out here when they found out where she was, unfortunately I'm a skateboarding nerd and broke my ankle the first week we were here so they had to move back, they're still paying off the bill" says Betty
"ah so you're Anne, that makes more sense, she wanted you to become a model with her but she doesn't understand why you refused" says Naomi
"I don't do well with people staring at me, especially in situations where I'm elevated above them, I tend to fall, last time I nearly fell to my death was on the Ferris Wheel when my parents were still here, it broke down while I was at the top, which I didn't have a problem with, I like being in high places, I like the view, it was when people started staring at me that things went bad, I fainted and Macy holding onto me is the only reason I didn't fall to my death" says Anne
"is that why you changed your name" asks Naomi
"I changed mine for the same reason you flip flop on yours Brittany, for three months you were Britany then you'd flip flop between Naomi and Britany" says Anne
"so you don't go by Anne anymore because that's all Macy calls you" asks Naomi dodging the whole Britany thing
"only a select group of people can call me Anne, otherwise it's Betty, also you know Macy isn't her legal name right, it's Lizzy" says Anne
"she doesn't like it, it's too British royalty for her" says Cat
"she's freaking British, I always thought it was a compliment" says Anne
"hate to break it to you but she's definitely Italian, her parents actually didn't get a say in naming her, Macy's great great grandmother's name was Elizabeth and it was in her will that Macy's parents name their first born daughter after her, Macy was born in Rome but when Macy was three they moved to Maine full time" says Cat
"wouldn't that make her your great great grandmother too" asks Naomi
"yes but she played favorites, Macy's side of the family had always been her favorite, now with Macy in my sphere of influence, if she wants to keep her distance from certain family members she gets it" says Cat
"is that why you're keeping her family at bay" asks Anne
"if they kept their eyes on her this never would have happened, she was taken during a shopping trip and she was admiring the new candy that the store was offering, then went to the toy section, her parents lost track of her in the candy isle and when left on her own she tends to wander, if they'd just kept her by their side she'd still be in Maine and so would you, as a result of what happened she doesn't trust them to keep an eye on her, hence why she's now living with Ella" says Cat
"no I get that but they feel like it wouldn't happen again, that it was a mistake" says Anne
"Macy was looking for candy or a toy that would make you see her in a more romantic way, a bit ahead of most people her age but then again she's always been ahead of people her age, especially when it came to feelings" says Cat
"well that explains a lot, man I wish a girl liked me" says Anne
"don't let yourself think Maddy isn't an option, she knows you ask about her and she asks about you, she's curious to know more about you but between the memory issues and her family abandoning her she has trust issues with new people, as it is I have to wear the same shirt every time I bring her food or she threatens to call the cops saying the food I'm bringing is poisoned" says Brian
"so a relationship with her would never work anyway, I love changing my outfits up when I can afford to get a new one" says Anne
"it's not that about you that scares her, she thinks you're going to kill her because of what little memory she has of her childhood, her best friend looked a lot like you, down to the way your hair curls, her friend died in a car crash, her friends family was taking her to Disneyland in Anaheim and they got in an accident, Maddy was the only survivor, she knows you aren't her friend but she can't help but draw parallels between you and her childhood best friend Francine, even if the parallels are based purely on looks and nothing else, she's cautious about you, she absolutely needs someone to live with her, she showers twice a day or more because of her memory issues then freaks out when her water bill is in the thousands of dollars because of the drought we're in, she gets financial assistance from a government worker because HE was the one that hit her friends parents car and caused this, he can't financially support that high a water bill, she needs someone to live with and it would be better if it were someone that cares about her than someone who hates her" says Brian
"so my request for Anne to be the food person wasn't a bad idea" asks Cat
"the outright replacement is the problem miss Valentine not that Anne would do a bad job but I've worked hard to gain her trust, to be fair it doesn't help that Markus gave her drugs, mostly weed products and taught her how to abuse it instead of use it to help" says Brian
"certain strains of wee can actually help with problems like hers" says Cat
"you're not wrong but the problem would be how to introduce it in a way that won't set her off, I did all I could to justify rationing the supply he gave her for free, Markus is nuts giving someone like Maddy free access without teaching her to use in moderation" says Brian
"something tells me you've noticed an improvement in her memory when she uses" says Cat suspicious of the whole conversation direction
"not a ton of improvement but enough that she remembers Betty more often then not, unfortunately her supply rations run out today and she's going to be absolutely aggressive when the effects wear off" says Brian
"that sounds more like an addiction thing" says Cat
"Markus got her addicted sure, I won't deny he was absolutely in the wrong there but she's been getting a taste of a bit of normalcy, she hates not being normal, for her liking girls is something normal but an absolutely terrible memory isn't and she hates not remembering my name or Betty's name, the aggressive part isn't because of withdrawal, its because she hates not remembering things, especially people's names, the aggression is the only withdrawal adjacent symptom she has, her doctor says it's a million to one chance that her memory will ever return fully but he also can't recommend medicinal weed without a very good reason and testing, Maddy absolutely hates tests, she says it's like being experimented on and she simply won't do it" says Brian
"I'm going to talk to her, maybe I can get her in for tests, it's not as hard a process as you think but there are stringent rules, her living alone would be a reason not to get her a card even if she does fit all the criteria for getting one, living alone in a doctors eyes IS exclusion criteria" says Cat
"and you expect her to let you take her to the hospital for tests, who do you expect to live with her" asks Anne
"you will be living with her, I'm doing her apartment first as it's the easiest for contractors to get to so she will HAVE to live with you" says Cat as she goes to talk to Maddy
"that's kind of unfair isn't it" asks Anne
"Miss Valentine has a point, the only other person Maddy trusts here is me, if someone like a doctor says she requires living with someone to get a medicinal weed card then she'll put up with you, at least until she gets to really know you, then it could escalate quite quickly, she likes you but it's a matter of anxiety paralysis because of the few memories she has of her childhood" says Brian
"I'm just worried that things will go south really quickly, I don't want to agitate her" says Anne
"first thing you do is let her use your real name Anne, then only do things she asks for, like putting on a tv show she asks for, if she needs space give her the space, she will warm up to you, it just won't be an overnight thing, it took me three months to gain her trust fully" says Brian
"I just don't want her having nightmares about me killing her, because I'd never do that" says Anne
"you have to understand she was raised in the belief that those friends who you live longer than can haunt you for the rest of her life, especially if it's a traumatic death and you're the only survivor, because of how similar you look to Francine she's worried that Francine is directly controlling your actions, until she can prove otherwise, she will be wary of you" says Brian
"what are the chances that Maddy attacks Miss Valentine, I think the odds are pretty high" asks Anne, changing the subject
"depends on your definition of attack, Cat's related to Francine, Francine was her third cousin and one of the family members who she interacted with most, Francine's death was quite a shock to her" says Naomi
"oh then she's definitely getting a black eye" says Brian
"any particular reason you think that" asks Anne
"she's trying to distance herself from her past, someone related to Francine won't go over well" says Brian
"Cat may be small but her family is kind of known for self defense" says Naomi
Meanwhile With Cat and Maddy
"stay away from me" says Naomi as she lunges at Cat but Cat blocks her
"I'm not here to hurt you Maddison Rose" says Cat blocking yet another blow from Maddy
"nobody calls me Maddison anymore, how the hell do you know that name" asks Maddy trying to punch Cat in the face as Cat grabs her wrist, stopping the attacks
"that answer your question Rosie" says Cat
"that was a Valentine wrist block, I'd know that anywhere, my memory may be bad but Francine didn't have any siblings so where'd you learn that" says Maddy, calming down a little
"she was my third cousin, her and I were pretty close, we shared a love of mythical animals like unicorns and dragons, we were supposed to go to Disneyland together on the day of the accident, my dad had to stop for gas so we were delayed or we'd have been right behind you guys, Francine's death destroyed the family bond between the different Valentine family lines, we all became isolated from one another" says Cat as Maddy sits down beside her
"Franny's haunting me, I see her everywhere, even a girl my age that lives here looks like her, I'm terrified of people everyone scares me, my memory retention is terrible thanks to that accident so I can't easily remember people or their names" says Maddy
"I own this building now, Markus can't hurt you" says Cat
"and how do you know he was, maybe he wasn't" says Maddy getting defensive
"I didn't know until you said it that way actually, you aren't the first, he hurts those that can't reliably used against him in court, memory issues in his victims is a common thing for him unfortunately, I have to know how you knew though" says Cat
"I have tiny surveillance cameras, Brian installed them after I received three expensive water bills, the guy that hit the car that killed Franny and her family was ordered to pay my bills so long as I have no income by a court several years ago but I couldn't ask him to pay them, it's not his fault that I tended to take several showers a day because of my memory issues, he has a family to take care of too, Markus never raped me, he'd grope and slap me but he never raped me, for him it was more about scaring me than anything" says Maddy
"we need to go to the hospital so you can get tested for a medical weed card, Brian said that the weed helped with your memory, I'm Making these apartments bigger, the hall is way way too big and the apartments are way too small so you'll have to live with Anne until your apartment s done being made bigger, it should take about a month, I'm pouring a ton of money into this, now you're coming with me for that test" says Cat as Maddy follows her knowing she can be trusted
"is Anne the girl who lives here that looks like Franny" asks Maddy
"yes though Anne is her legal name she prefers Betty for some reason, how long do you tend to retain information" says Cat as they get in the elevator
"six or so hours though if I wake up groggy it tends to be less though some information does make it past the memory reset barrier, Betty was Franny's middle name so I don't want to use it, I'd prefer to call her Anne, she's actually quite cute" says Maddy as they exit and pass Anne and Brian talking and head to Cat's car
"wait did she really just call me cute" asks Anne
"don't act all surprised Anne, by the way that's what she called you, that's what you have to use around her" says Brian
"what's the logic there, why can't I just stay as Betty" asks Anne
"Francine's middle name was Beatrice, Maddison calls her Franny Betty Valentine, apparently Francine preferred short form names, linking yourself to her childhood crush won't make things easy, especially if you really want to try a date with her" says Brian
"but I hate the name Anne, that's why I had it changed" says Anne
"then have it changed to something other than Betty because Betty won't get you any closer to Maddy, it can't be Francine, Franny, Betty or Beatrice, if she left with Cat to do the medicinal weed card test she'll be away fir a few days, you need to make a choice" says Brian
"how can I know what the right choice is" asks Anne
"you'll have a few days to sleep on it, Cat's suspending any rent payment requirements until the apartments are enlarged, apparently Markus's backers told him explicitly not to shrink the apartments but he did anyway so its just a matter of reversing what he did but Maddy WILL be living with you until her apartment is finished, whether that be you two being put up in a hotel or in your cramped apartment, it doesn't really matter, Cat will cover the costs either way" says Naomi
"how can miss Valentine afford all this, it seems like a major expense" asks Anne
"she's pretty rich, besides this isn't the only apartment building Markus owned that Cat was sold, there are four others, two in Long Beach, this one here in LA and one in Malibu, the renovations are starting here, part of the renovations is about quake resistifying the building so it takes less damage from quakes" says Naomi
"resistifying isn't a word" says Anne
"Maddy isn't the only one with brain issues, Cat tends to make up words or add extra things onto words, she fainted a lot as a kid, especially in stressful situations, she had a few concussions as a kid, just because her parents were considered rich doesn't mean she had an easy childhood, she fought quite a bit to get where she is" says Naomi
"so her messing up words, that's the brain damage doing that" asks Anne
"to a degree but that's mostly her autism, she's uncomfortable owning apartment buildings but she's doing it for the betterment of struggling people and families, she's investing money into LA and the area around it to help those people, people like you guys, Macy was just her reason for picking this building as one of the four" says Naomi
"how much do you think she'll raise rent, I can't afford it as it is, I owed Markus and his backers ten grand in back rent, he only kept me here because losing a tenant to homelessness, especially one my age would look bad on him" says Anne
"she won't raise rent much and you'll be getting benefits for working with Maddy, even if a relationship works out for you two, you'll still get paid to help Maddy live, things like making sure she showers every day or two and no more than once and making sure she eats three times a day" says Naomi
"just know that if she wants me gone I'm gone, I don't stay where I'm not wanted, this isn't the first place I've lived and it probably won't be the last" says Anne heading to her apartment to cut the conversation off
