Leo woke to the sound of his mother's voice.He blinked a few times before slowly sitting up in bed, still groggy. It was Sunday—he couldn't understand why she was calling him, but he got up anyway.
"We have to go somewhere later today, love," she said gently.
Leo looked at her, curious."Are you wondering where?" she asked with a smile. He nodded.
"We're going to return that," she said, pointing to the sofa.
Leo followed her gaze. A black coat lay there, neatly folded. His eyes lit up.
They were going to see him.
The morning began like any other: Leo freshened up while his mother prepared breakfast. They ate together in comfortable silence. Afterward, she went to her room, pausing at the door."Get ready, okay?"
Leo usually moved slowly, often unsure of himself—never in a rush, never saying much. But today, he finished his food quickly and walked to his room with purpose.
He opened his cupboard and stared at his clothes. Today, he wanted to wear something nice.
After a few minutes of indecision, he picked out an oversized white shirt and a pair of fitted white pants. They didn't match perfectly, but it felt right.
His hair, soft and always a little messy, wasn't something he usually paid attention to. Not knowing what else to do, he ran his fingers through it roughly, the strands slipping through his hands.
He stepped out of his room just as his mother emerged from hers. She wore a white V-neck blouse tucked into black dress pants—elegant, but this time without her usual blazer.
She picked up the black coat from the sofa, draped it over her arm, and turned to him."Let's go, shall we?" she said, reaching for his hand.
They left the apartment, closing the door behind them. Outside, a taxi was already waiting. They got in, and the car pulled away from the curb.
Leo stared out the window. The sun hung high overhead, and though the car's AC was on, he could still feel the warmth of the day.
Time passed slowly. The scenery shifted—the modest residential buildings giving way to towering skyscrapers. The cars on the road changed too, from yellow taxis to sleek luxury sedans moving in unison.
Leo didn't know much about the world outside, but even he could tell they had entered an elite part of the city. Maybe the most elite.
Eventually, the taxi stopped in front of a gleaming glass building. His mother paid the driver, stepped out, and opened the door for Leo. He followed, and the taxi drove off.
They stood for a moment, staring up at the building. Then his mother walked forward toward the entrance. Just as she approached the door, a security guard stepped in front of her.
"Could you state your name, ma'am?" he asked respectfully.
She answered calmly.
"And what is the purpose of your visit?""I was invited to a meeting," she replied.
"May I ask who you're here to see?"
Without a word, she handed him a black card. He took it, and as his eyes scanned the surface, the color drained from his face.
"One moment, please," he said quickly, turning to his booth.
He picked up the phone and made a brief call, speaking so softly they couldn't hear a word.
A moment later, the elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and a woman stepped out.
She wore a sleek, single-piece dress and moved with a grace that Leo barely registered. Her hair was a silver cascade of white and grey, neatly styled, her age adding to her presence rather than diminishing it.
"Greetings, ma'am," she said with a small nod as she approached them.
"I understand you were invited by sir?" she asked, glancing at Leo's mother, who nodded in confirmation. The woman accepted the black card from the guard and examined it briefly.
"Please follow me."
She turned and led them away—not toward the elevator she had come from, but across the hall to a solitary lift on the opposite side. She pressed her thumb to a biometric scanner, then looked into a retinal monitor. After a brief pause, the elevator doors opened with a refined ding, and they stepped inside.
The elevator was unlike any Leo had seen—dark interior with gold accents, silent and polished, almost too pristine to touch. As it rose, Leo looked around, taking in the luxurious details, feeling the quiet hum of something far removed from his world.
When the elevator doors opened, the woman stepped out first, leading them into a grand interior space.
Leo's eyes widened.
The penthouse was enormous—its walls made entirely of glass, offering a sweeping view of the skyline. The furniture was minimalist and modern: sleek, dark, and impossibly expensive-looking. The entire room was soaked in elegance and restraint, like a museum of wealth.
They were guided to a circular dark sofa in the center of the main hall. A sweeping spiral staircase with dark steps and a glass railing curved above them like a ribbon of smoke. The woman disappeared upstairs.
A few minutes later, she returned—not with a greeting, but with purpose. She moved to the open kitchen at the back of the hall and began to prepare tea.
And then… the food came.
She brought tea, juice, biscuits, cakes, croissants, pretzels—every tea-time delicacy imaginable. One by one, she laid them on the oversized table in front of them, each dish more decadent than the last.
Leo's mother tried to protest more than once."Please, this is too much…"But the woman shook her head firmly each time and continued her work, polite yet unmoved.
By the time she was done, the large round table—easily double the size of any Leo had ever seen—was covered edge to edge. There was hardly an inch left unoccupied.
Before leaving, the woman gestured to a small silver bell on the side table."If you need anything, please ring."
Then she walked away, leaving them in a silence that felt both luxurious and oppressive.
A few minutes passed. Then, behind him, Leo heard footsteps.
He turned.
A man was descending the stairs.
He wore only a fitted black shirt and slim black trousers—effortlessly elegant, like someone who didn't need to try to command attention.
Leo's mother stood immediately."Greetings, sir," she said.
The man waved her off lazily, his tone casual."Relax, will you? We're not here for anything official."
She nodded and slowly sat back down.
"I brought the coat back," she said, her voice quiet. "The woman took it earlier."
He gave a noncommittal nod, then glanced at the table."Why aren't you eating?"
Leo's mother looked momentarily caught off guard."Sir, we had a meal before we came…"
He leaned back, resting an arm over the edge of the sofa."It's just tea and snacks, isn't it?"
His words hung in the air. Leo's mother didn't respond. What he called "snacks" was enough food for an entire week in their home. She wasn't even sure if the spread was meant to be eaten or simply discarded afterward.
Then he looked at Leo.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Leo stared at him for a second, his mind flickering to the memory of the first time they met.
He had wandered off somewhere without thinking, and the man had found him, fed him, and helped him fall asleep.
Of course, Leo had also woken up feeling the man's hand on his chest… and his throat. But he hadn't said anything. At the time, he hadn't known what to say. It had felt—strangely comforting, oddly good and funny in a way that made no sense. He had even wished his mother hadn't come looking for him so soon.
Just thinking about it now made his ears burn with warmth.
He nodded.
"Hungry," he said, almost instinctively, the word falling from his lips before he could stop it.
"See? Don't starve the kid," the man said with a faint smirk.
Leo didn't notice the shock on his mother's face as he reached forward and picked up a biscuit. He popped half of it into his mouth and smiled at the man, feeling a warm twist in his stomach that had little to do with food.