THAT EVENING
Knock!
Knock!
Leo Hale was sitting in the living space of his large suite, working on his laptop, an IV drip quietly hanging on a nearby pole.
“Levi!” Leo said, trying to stand up when Levi walked in.
He couldn’t manage it and instead began a fit of weak coughing.
Levi rushed forward, handing him a glass of water from the side table.
“Sorry to bother you, I was just checking in,” Levi said.
“Ah, don’t mind me,” Leo joked, pointing to the IV drip.
“They say these things are effective, but I hardly feel different.”
“I thought they said you needed rest?” Levi asked.
“I think I’ve had enough rest.
I just need to check some documents, that’s all,” Leo replied, returning to his typing.
Levi walked over to the large glass window that let in the soft natural light.
After a long moment of quiet thought, he turned.
“What if I make you a deal?”
Leo smiled, still focused on his laptop.
“Okay.”
“I heard there’s a treatment for your sickness, but it seems you don’t have an interest in getting better,” Levi stated, his voice firm.
“I thought since we are newly united, you might feel the need to live for your son.
But I guess I thought wrong.”
Leo immediately raised his head, the laptop forgotten.
“So, as two serious people, here’s my deal for you,” Levi continued.
“It seems the work is too much, which is why you feel tired and have no will to fight.
So, I will succeed you.”
Leo’s eyes widened, shocked.
“No, you…
you don’t have to,” he stammered.
“I’m not just going to do it for free.
That’s why it’s a deal, an agreement,” Levi clarified.
“I will succeed you.
Alex said I have to complete school, learn all the family’s rules, and every other stressful thing he mentioned.
I will do all of that, only if—”
Levi looked Leo directly in the eye, the first time he had truly held the gaze of his powerful father.
“Only if you have the surgery, get the treatment, and get better.”
Leo was utterly stunned by the motivation.
“What?”
“My mom died.
My adopted grandmother died.
People have left and betrayed me,” Levi said, his voice hard but holding a plea.
“So I’m not going to let my dad leave just like that.
You should at least make up for the years you spent not knowing me.
Leo cut him off, his eyes shining with unshed tears and a sudden, fierce happiness.
“I will!
I’ll do it.
I’ll accept this deal.
Whether it’s in paper, blood, or just words, I accept.” It was as if Levi calling him ‘my dad’ had instantly given him the will to live.
That same day during dinner, Leo, looking noticeably stronger, announced the deal to the family, promising to fulfill his part.
Everyone was overjoyed, and preparations for both Leo’s hospital visit and Levi’s intensive schooling began immediately.
But first, the most important thing the Hales had to do was travel to L.A.
to meet the Morenos, Tess’s parents.
LOS ANGELES
The Moreno family were also wealthy, though not on the monumental scale of the families in Silver Leaf Heights.
Being in-laws with the Hales had certainly boossted their status, but the two families had been estranged since Tess’s disappearance.
Now, seeing Levi and hearing the final, tragic news of their daughter’s passing, everything changed.
They were seated in the Moreno’s elegant, but slightly less ostentatious, living room.
Tess had an older sister, Sara, who broke down upon hearing the news.
The entire family was consumed by sorrow.
“We are so sorry we couldn’t find her sooner.
We are at fault,” William said, his words sounding genuinely heartfelt.
“But we found her son, and we just had to tell you,” Kaitlin added, her voice choked with emotion.
“She might be gone, but a part of her still lives.”
“I am so sorry for everything,” Leo said, forcing himself to speak, despite a weak cough.
The family was too sad to speak, tears streaming down their faces, until Sara, Levi’s aunt, slowly walked toward him.
“…You might look a lot like your dad, but you have little features of her,” Sara said, trying to smile through her grief.
“I’m Sara.
Nice to meet you, Levi.”
Levi stood, nervously.
“Hi!
I’m sorry for your loss—”
Sara and her parents, Ethan and Sophia, couldn’t help but let out a small, painful laugh.
“Hmm, I like him already,” Ethan chuckled.
Sophia, who bore a clear, painful resemblance to her late daughter, came up to Levi.
“Oh, love, it is our loss.
But from now on, I think it’s more of a blessing, having you in our family to remind us of her, and bring our families together again.” She gently hugged him.
“I hope you know, now you have to deal with us and them,” she teased, and they all shared a collective, healing laugh.
Levi smiled.
It was the first time in a long while he had truly smiled, and it was because he finally felt accepted in a place where he belonged.
They reconciled their differences and shared a meal together.
The remaining weeks were a whirlwind of serious planning.
“How long is a while, and where are you going?” Luke asked, bewildered.
“I don’t know yet.
My dad and grandfather are handling where I’ll be schooling, but it isn’t in America,” Levi stated.
“I can’t believe you guys waited this long to tell me!” Teyana said, shocked by the revelation of Levi’s identity.
“In our defense, Tey, Alex—the COO—said we shouldn’t tell anyone,” Luke argued.
“Levi has become a major asset, and we couldn’t go around telling people about it.”
“Even if!
And Levi, have you always known, or was it pure coincidence you came here?” she asked, sitting close to him.
“I think when I was seven, my grandmother, Martha, unknowingly mentioned my mom came from California, and a ‘San something’,” Levi explained.
“But I was too distracted to remember which ‘San’ it was, so I just came here.
So yeah, pure coincidence.”
“That is crazy, Hale!” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“So, what happens next for us?” Luke asked, cutting to the chase.
Levi sat up, exhaling.
“I asked.
And my dad is offering both of you work at any of the Hale companies in San Francisco, in a field you are confident about.
Really confident, because Alex says employees of Hale are very competitive.”
Luke and Teyana exchanged wide-eyed glances.
“And if you still want to live here, this building has been bought—”
“What!” Luke choked, grabbing his water glass.
“They bought the building, so you can stay here as long as you want and act as the landlord on my behalf, or they could buy you a house,” Levi finished.
Both of them froze, utterly shocked by the extravagant offer.
Levi snapped his fingers, bringing them back to reality.
“What do you say?” he repeated.
Luke stood up to gulp down water.
“What do I say?
I can’t decide!
I mean, I like it here, and being the landlord would be great, but a house of my own would also be great!
But won’t that be asking too much, considering I’ll be accepting the job offer?”
Levi shook his head, instantly solving the puzzle with Hale-like efficiency.
“Okay.
So that means you both are taking the job.
And Luke will accept the house while still acting as the landlord for this building, and Teyana can stay here when you move out, to assist you in looking after the building.
That’s great!”
Once again, they were frozen by his quick, decisive thinking.
“I can do that?” Luke asked, even shocked.
“How did you even think it like that?” Teyana asked, dumbfounded.
Levi smiled, a genuine, powerful smile this time.
“I’ll let Vennesa know.”
He had promised to repay their kindness, and this was only the beginning.
Weeks later, Levi was packed.
He insisted on trying one normal, civilian thing before plunging into his new life, so he took a first-class flight to London, ready to begin the education that would prepare him to command the world.