Chapter 20 - THE FINAL CLICK Late that night, Richard tucked Leo into bed.
"Good night, buddy."
"Good night, Dad."
Richard kissed his forehead.
He switched off the lamp.
The door closed softly.
Moonlight spilled across the bedroom.
Leo waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then he reached beneath his mattress.
He pulled out the second recorder.
His small fingers pressed the button.
CLICK.
The voice returned.
"Victoria is taking the fall."
Leo listened.
"She doesn't know I'm still inside the Astor operation."
A pause.
Then:
"By Christmas, the Astor empire will belong to me."
Leo switched off the device.
He sat in darkness.
For the first time, he wasn't afraid.
Not because the danger was gone.
Because he wasn't alone anymore.
He had his father.
He had Anna.
He had a family.
And he had the truth.
Leo walked to the window.
Outside the gates, a black car sat beneath the trees.
Its headlights suddenly came alive.
Leo stared at it.
The car didn't move.
Neither did he.
Then the rear window slowly lowered.
Someone inside looked toward the mansion.
Leo stepped back into the darkness.
His expression was no longer that of a frightened child.
It was the expression of someone who had survived the impossible.
Someone who knew exactly what it meant to be underestimated.
Leo whispered:
"Come find me."
The black car disappeared into the night.
Behind Leo, the bedroom door opened.
Richard stood there.
"Buddy?"
Leo turned.
And smiled.
A real smile.
An innocent smile.
The kind his father needed to see.
"Nothing, Dad."
Richard nodded and closed the door.
But when he was gone, Leo looked once more toward the window.
His smile vanished.
The game was not over.
It had only just begun.
And this time, the boy who had once been trapped behind a wall would not be waiting to be rescued.
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He would be ready.
THE END — FOR NOW.
