Chapter 6 - The Broken Mask
The afternoon sky was heavy with snow as Anna walked through Lincoln Park with Leo and Marcus.
Leo was bundled in a thick navy-blue coat, red mittens, and a matching beanie. He chased the pigeons through the bare trees, his little boots crunching in the light dusting of snow, his laughter ringing out like bells in the quiet park.
Two bodyguards walked twenty yards behind them, blending with the park-goers.
"The shipping contracts are signed," Marcus said, his hands tucked in his overcoat. "The governor approved the new terminal lease. By next month, Vance Maritime will control sixty percent of the container traffic entering the Great Lakes. Moretti’s logistics firm just lost its primary shipping monopoly."
Anna didn't smile. She watched Leo jump over a small puddle of melted ice. "Did Vincent try to block it?"
"No," Marcus said, looking at her sideways. "That's the strange thing. His board of directors submitted an injunction this morning, but Vincent personally overruled them. He withdrew his company’s bid. He practically handed us the terminal on a silver platter."
Anna’s jaw tightened. "Guilt money. He thinks he can buy his way back into my reality."
"Anna, look," Marcus said quietly, stopping in his tracks.
Anna looked up.
Fifty yards away, standing near the frozen edge of the pond, was Vincent.
He wasn't flanked by guards. He wore a simple wool coat, no scarf, his bare hands shoved into his pockets. He looked exhausted, thin, and hollowed-out, like a man who hadn't eaten in days. He wasn't approaching. He was just standing there under an oak tree, watching Leo laugh.
There was no arrogance in his posture. No demand for ownership. Just a raw, bottomless yearning that tore at the air around him.
"Do you want me to have the guards remove him?" Marcus asked gently.
Anna hesitated. Her chest ached with a sudden, vicious tightness. "No. Let him watch. Let him see what he threw away."
At that moment, Leo stopped chasing a pigeon. He turned around, panting, and his eyes caught the tall man standing by the tree.
Children have an uncanny instinct for sorrow. Leo didn't run away. Instead, he tilted his head, looking at Vincent with open curiosity. Then, to Anna’s horror, the little boy took three steps toward him.
"Leo, no," Anna called out, her voice sharpening.
Leo paused, turning to Anna. "Mommy, that's the sad man from the party."
Vincent dropped down to one knee in the snow. He didn't come closer. He kept his hands in his pockets, making himself small, non-threatening. A trembling, watery smile appeared on his lips as he looked at the boy.
"Hello, little man," Vincent said, his voice choked with emotion.
Leo took another tentative step forward, his red mittens held out. "Are you cold? You don't have gloves."
A tear slipped from Vincent’s eye, freezing against his stubbled cheek. He chuckled—a wet, shattered sound. "A little bit, buddy. But I'm okay."
"My mommy says if you don't wear gloves, your fingers turn into popsicles," Leo informed him solemnly.
"Your mommy is very smart," Vincent whispered, his eyes devouring every inch of the boy's face. "The smartest person in the world."
Anna stepped forward quickly, putting a firm hand on Leo’s shoulder and pulling him gently against her legs. She looked down at Vincent, her eyes flashing with defensive fire.
"Don't do this, Vincent," she hissed.
Vincent looked up at her from the snow. He looked so utterly beaten that it shook her.
"I had Sophia arrested this morning," he said quietly.
Anna went rigid. "What?"
"She sabotaged the jet," Vincent said. "She paid off a mechanic to create a mechanical failure. She wanted to force us to cancel the trip. She confessed, Anna. The FBI has her in federal custody. She’s going to prison for thirty years."
Anna stared at him, the world tilting slightly beneath her boots. *Sabotage?* All these years, she had believed it was a cruel twist of mechanical fate that had exposed his betrayal.
"I didn't choose her because I loved her, Anna," Vincent whispered, looking at her with eyes that were entirely stripped of pride. "I chose her because I was a fool. I thought she was fragile, and I knew you were strong. I took your strength for granted. I took your love for granted. And I have spent every second of the last three years dying for that mistake."
He reached into his coat pocket. Marcus instantly shifted his weight, his hand going inside his lapel.
Vincent moved slowly, pulling out a small wooden box. He didn't open it. He simply set it down gently on the snow-covered park bench beside him.
"What is that?" Anna asked, her voice tight.
"Daniel’s wings," Vincent said. "The copilot. I tracked down his mother today. I paid off her mortgage, set up a foundation in his name, and asked her for his reserve flight pins. I gave them to Leo. If anyone is a hero in this family... it was Daniel. Not me."
Vincent stood up slowly, brushing the snow off his knees. He looked at Leo one last time, his gaze lingering on the boy’s dark curls.
"I won't harass you anymore, Anna," Vincent said softly. "I won't contest your shipping contracts. I won't sue for custody. I don't deserve either of you. But I am setting up a trust for Leo—fifty percent of everything Moretti Industries owns. You can manage it. You can burn it. You can throw it into Lake Michigan. But it’s his."
He took a step back, pulling his coat tighter around him.
"I just wanted to see him smile once," Vincent murmured, his voice breaking. "Just once."
He turned and walked away down the snow-covered path, his shoulders hunched against the biting Chicago wind, disappearing into the gray afternoon.
Anna stood frozen, Leo’s small warm hand clutching her trousers.
May you like
She looked at the wooden box resting on the park bench. For the first time in three years, the wall around her heart felt a crack.
***
