Chapter 10 - THE BOY WHO HAD NO TABLET
“Jonah needs a voice too.”
Rebecca read Ethan's message aloud.
Marcus looked at his son.
“Is Jonah someone from therapy?”
Ethan nodded.
Caroline moved closer.
“Tell us about him, sweetheart.”
The boy began typing.
HE IS ELEVEN.
Then:
HE CAN'T TALK MUCH.
Rebecca remembered another child from Ethan's rehabilitation sessions.
A quiet boy with brown hair who usually wore a blue sweater.
His name was Jonah Torres.
He used gestures and a few spoken words to communicate.
His mother frequently brought him to appointments, but he didn't have a personal communication device.
“Jonah from the therapy center?” Rebecca asked.
Ethan smiled.
YES.
Marcus looked thoughtful.
“Does he need a tablet like yours?”
Ethan nodded.
“Then we'll get him one.”
But Caroline gently touched Marcus's arm.
“Let's talk to his mother first.”
Marcus looked at her.
She smiled faintly.
“Not every problem is solved by buying something.”
He considered that.
Then nodded.
“You're right.”
Two days later, Rebecca accompanied Caroline and Ethan to the rehabilitation center.
Jonah's mother, Elena Torres, was waiting near the therapy room.
She was forty-two, with tired eyes and a practical manner.
When she saw the Calloway family approaching, her expression became guarded.
“Mrs. Calloway?”
“Caroline,” she replied. “Please.”
Elena glanced at Rebecca.
“I heard about what happened to Ethan.”
Caroline nodded.
“We're grateful he's getting better.”
Elena looked toward the wheelchair.
Ethan raised his hand.
Jonah smiled when he recognized him.
The two boys greeted each other with the familiar gestures they had developed during therapy.
Rebecca watched them.
For months, Ethan had struggled to make adults understand him.
Yet somehow, he'd found a friend who understood the meaning of a small smile or a raised eyebrow without needing an explanation.
Caroline sat beside Elena.
“Ethan told us Jonah might benefit from a communication tablet.”
Elena sighed.
“He would.”
“Has his therapist recommended one?”
“Yes. More than once.”
“Then what's preventing him from getting it?”
“Insurance keeps requesting additional evaluations. We can't afford the equipment ourselves.”
Marcus had insisted on coming to the meeting, but he remained near the doorway, allowing the mothers to speak.
Elena glanced toward him.
“I know your family has money, Mr. Calloway.”
He nodded.
“I do.”
“But I don't want Jonah becoming somebody's charity photograph.”
Marcus took that seriously.
“Neither do I.”
Elena looked surprised.
He continued.
“If there's a way to help, we'd like to do it privately. And we'd like to understand why families are struggling to access equipment their children need.”
Elena studied him.
“My husband worked at Pier Nine.”
Marcus went still.
“He was one of the injured workers,” she continued.
“He hurt his back when the loading equipment failed. He hasn't been able to return to the docks.”
Caroline's expression changed.
“Was your family supposed to receive compensation?”
“Yes.”
“Did you?”
“Some of it.”
Elena's voice hardened.
“Every time we called about the rest, someone said there were delays.”
Marcus sat down.
“I know about those payments now.”
Elena looked directly at him.
“You should have known years ago.”
He didn't defend himself.
“You're right.”
She seemed almost disappointed that he wasn't going to argue.
Rebecca glanced toward Ethan.
He was sitting beside Jonah, showing him the paper sailboat Lucy had made.
Jonah laughed softly.
Ethan typed:
LUCY MADE IT.
Jonah pointed to himself.
Then toward the boat.
Ethan understood immediately.
WE CAN MAKE YOU ONE.
Rebecca smiled.
For the first time that afternoon, Elena relaxed.
Later, Caroline spoke with the therapy center about helping families obtain communication equipment without depending on the Calloway family's personal approval.
Marcus proposed creating an independent accessibility fund.
But Elena raised another concern.
“The families don't need another Calloway-controlled account. That's how we got into this situation.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Then the families should control it.”
Elena hesitated.
“You'd agree to that?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward Caroline.
“And I think Rebecca should help us understand what caregivers actually need.”
Rebecca was surprised.
“Me?”
“You've spent seven months making sure Ethan could be heard when everyone else stopped listening.”
Rebecca thought of the night Diana grabbed Ethan's tablet.
Then she nodded.
“I'd be willing to help.”
Over the following weeks, the proposal developed into a worker-led support program.
Families would help decide how money was used.
Independent professionals would oversee medical and accessibility services.
Marcus would provide initial funding without controlling individual decisions.
But as the program moved forward, Elena discovered a problem.
Several injured workers' families lived in housing originally provided through the Calloway shipping company.
Those homes had been used as collateral in the financing arrangements Daniel created.
Now a lender was preparing to enforce its claims.
Elena brought the notices to Marcus.
“My family has lived in that neighborhood for fifteen years.”
Marcus read the documents.
The properties were scheduled for foreclosure proceedings unless the outstanding financing dispute was resolved.
He looked up.
“How many families?”
“Twenty-six.”
Caroline took the papers.
“Some of these people were already injured because of the company.”
Elena nodded.
“And now they're being told they could lose their homes because of money they never borrowed.”
Marcus stared at the notices.
The injured workers had been cheated once.
Now they were facing consequences from the very financial scheme that had stolen their compensation.
Elena placed one final document on the table.
It was an old property agreement bearing the Calloway family crest.
“There's one more thing you should see.”
Marcus examined the signature.
His father's name appeared at the bottom.
Elena's voice trembled.
“Your father promised these homes would eventually belong to the workers.”
Marcus turned the page.
The next paragraph contradicted that promise.
It allowed the company to reclaim the properties at any time.
Elena looked at him.
“Mr. Calloway, your family didn't just fail to pay these people.”
May you like
She pointed toward the agreement.
“Someone made sure they could never truly own the homes they were promised.”
