Chapter 9 - THE KITCHEN WAS RENOVATED
The mansion kitchen eventually needed renovation.
Matteo asked Leo, now twenty-seven:
“Do you care what happens to old sink?”
Leo looked.
“No.”
“Really?”
“It’s plumbing.”
Good.
No shrine.
They replaced marble floor too? Wear and tear.
Leo did not need preserve or destroy.
Contractor found old camera mount.
“What about this?”
Matteo looked at Leo.
Leo shrugged.
“Trash.”
Then:
“Footage?”
Legal retention period over long ago.
Personal copy had been deleted after case.
Matteo kept no worst-day family movie.
Good.
Then old black jacket?
Matteo still had coat from that night.
Not intentional.
Leo saw in closet once.
“That the one?”
“Yes.”
“Keep it. Nice coat.”
Normal.
Then family history.
Public versions exaggerated.
Some articles claimed Helena “forced billionaire heir into servitude.”
Leo hated.
He once told interviewer as adult:
“I was abused because an adult wanted control. The fact my family was wealthy changed the motive, not the fact I was a child.”
Then declined rest.
No trauma brand.
Then Matteo apologized once more:
“I should have known.”
Leo stopped.
“You’ve said.”
“I know.”
“Then stop asking me to make you feel better.”
Direct.
Matteo nodded.
Therapist had warned years before.
Children should not reassure parents.
Then:
“What do you need from me?”
Leo smiled.
“Dinner.”
Good.
They ate.
No apology loop.
Then Leo asked:
“If I have kids, do they get trust?”
“Yes, probably under terms.”
“Can I change that?”
“With planning.”
He chose trusts with independent management, equal treatment, no “heir” title.
Systems continue.
Then he said:
“I want them to work if they want.”
“Okay.”
“And not know exact money too early.”
“Reasonable.”
Then:
“And no family member gets paid to manage them.”
May you like
“Good.”
Learning.
