Chapter 13: Leo's Choice
Leo stood up from his chair. Lily reached out, squeezing his fingers tightly before letting go.
With quiet dignity, Leo walked up to the judge’s bench. He didn't look at Marcus, whose eyes were boring into the side of his head with silent threats.
"Leo," Judge Thomas said gently, leaning forward. "You are ten years old, and the law requires me to consider your safety and your wishes. Do you know who that man over there is?"
"He's my father," Leo said quietly.
"Did he take care of you after your mother passed away?"
Leo looked down at his shoes—the polished leather shoes Arthur had bought him. "He locked me in a boarding school room when the men came for his money. Then he left in the night and never came back. I starved for three days before the school matron broke the lock."
A murmur swept through the gallery. Marcus’s lawyer tried to object, but Judge Thomas silenced him with a sharp hand gesture.
"And how do you feel about Mr. Sterling?" the judge asked.
Leo looked back toward the defense table. His eyes softened as he looked at Arthur and Lily.
"Mr. Sterling gave me a bed, a home, and respect," Leo said, his voice clear and resonant. "But more than that... he let me keep my promise to Mrs. Eleanor. My father taught me that people are only useful until you run out of money. Mr. Sterling taught me that family is what you hold onto when everything else breaks."
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Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out the old silver pocket watch Marcus had left behind years ago. He walked over to Marcus’s table and placed it softly on the wood in front of his father.
"You can have this back," Leo whispered. "I don't need your name anymore."
