Millionaire Demolished Older Man’s House And Saw His Childhood Photo Among The Ruins

The Ruthless Pursuit of Success

Elliot Morris, a fierce multimillionaire, believed money could buy anything. He demolished a poor older man’s house to build a shopping mall.

Later, when he visited the demolition ruins and saw the place with his own eyes, he found a childhood photo of himself amongst the rubble, and his heart almost stopped. On that fateful July day in 2021, real estate magnate Elliot Morris had his headquarters in Tampa Bay, Florida, an American state.

Elliot was well-known amongst his coworkers for being a man who would do anything to get what he wanted. He was known for passing on his “wisdom” to his young employees during meetings, saying in a loud and clear voice that the secret to his success was always prioritizing his goals over his competitors’ dreams.

“While some cry, others have a full bank account,”

he said with a laugh, to the entertainment of the most fawning employees. Elliot started nurturing this ambition when he was still very young.

As soon as he graduated in economics from the famous and well-regarded Harvard University, he began his career in the financial markets. He made much money during the real estate scandal and the 2008 stock market crash.

Since then, Elliott has been buying homes and other property from people on the verge of bankruptcy, constantly haggling over every penny and getting deals on land well below the actual value. He could do this since the sellers were often on the verge of bankruptcy and had no other source of salvation. Thus his empire and his desire for money grew.

The Obstacle in the Path of Progress

As soon as Elliot moved to Florida, he began to think about his most ambitious project: building a high-end shopping center. On the computer, the entire project was finished, but he needed to find the perfect location before beginning the initial construction phase.

During his search, he came across two large pieces of land that seemed ideal for the project, but there was a catch: an older man named Joe Brooke had built a simple house precisely between the two tracts of land. Joe was a simple pensioner with numerous mortgages to pay, mortgages owned by the fund of which Elliot was the president.

The young millionaire’s eyes lit up at the chance, and Elliot became utterly obsessed with where old Joe’s properties were located. This was not only because that was an excellent place to build his business but especially because Elliot had grown up in that same neighborhood, and the memories of her difficult childhood were still vivid.

“One day, I’ll be rich and own it all, Mama, and I’ll honor our family name.”

Elliot reminded himself of that promise daily, reinforcing his decision to build his new mall there. So, Elliot decided to use his right to buy the poor man’s house and tear it down to clear the land.

Elliot was able to pull this move off because his company acted as if it could really help people who were in debt and had many late loans. They repurchased these people’s debts, who had innocently put their homes up as collateral.

The interest rates were extremely high, and most people could not honor their commitments. Elliot used the clause that let him give his victims a symbolic amount of money as compensation. He then bought their homes for much less than they were really worth.

A Plea for Mercy Ignored

When elderly Joe tried to object and went to the public defender, he said that he couldn’t do anything because Elliot was acting within the law and, thanks to the mortgage agreement, within his rights. Elliot saw him as nothing more than a thorn in his side that was easy to remove.

“Please, please, I don’t have anyone, and this house is the only precious reminder of my late wife I have,”

Joe begged Elliot, who was already there with his men and a bevy of lawyers.

“You evict me. How long do you think I’ll be able to survive on the nonsense you are paying for my house? At my age, I will end up homeless sooner or later.”

Elliot could still hear the elderly Joe say that the land was a wedding gift given by his father-in-law so that he and his late wife could build their first home. Joe’s father-in-law was a former mayor of the city, who got the couple all the subsidies and funding available at the time.

Even so, over the years, the couple’s bills kept piling up over the years until the worst happened: Elliot’s wife fell ill, and they had to mortgage the land to be able to pay for the treatment and buy the necessary medicine. But Elliot didn’t even listen to the poor man’s pleas.

“Look here, old man. The new mayor and I are on the same page; all he wants is for this mall to be completed before the next election. He’s on my side. So I’m going to tear down this thing you call home in two weeks. All you have is 14 days to get your shit together and leave with the money I’m going to pay you as compensation. Is that clear?”

Against the businessman, the older man was stunned into silence. He refused to accept even a penny in exchange for his house, but he could not refute the powerful man with any words or arguments.

The Letter of Memories

Elliot Morris was a pragmatic and ruthless businessman. He turned around one final time before leaving the old man.

“I’ll be back here in two weeks, but this time with bulldozers. You better believe I’m a man of my word.”

Joe could hear the millionaire outside speaking firmly. Old Joe’s despair grew as the days passed.

He didn’t know where else to turn. His wife and father-in-law, the former mayor, had both passed away.

As a last resort, Joe sat down at an old desk and began writing a letter in an attempt to warm the cold millionaire’s heart: Dear Mr. Elliot Morris. I would like to explain why I am unable to accept your payment.

The memories of the great love of my life are embedded in every wall and brick of the home I built myself. Everything you want to knock down to make way for a shopping center has a meaning in my simple story.

My wife and I had dreamed of our children playing in the garden until we learned I lacked that genetic ability. Over the years, you’ve built your empire; I’ve built a house filled with memories.

My wife Claire asked that her ashes be scattered over this plot because it was where she had the happiest memories of her life. I vowed to her that I would keep this house until the day I died, at which point it would be given to an orphanage so it could be a home for children who could play in the backyard.

Please rethink your project and let us make this dream come true. Signed Joe Brooke.

Joe walked around the neighborhood looking for help after the letter was delivered. He went door-to-door in an attempt to gather signatures for a petition.

People did not understand what he wanted at first, and when they realized that the older man was attempting to prevent the mall’s construction on the site, they mocked him and laughed. At that point, he realized his neighbors were looking forward to the mall’s opening. After all, the opulent project would increase the entire region’s real estate value.