Chapter 14 - The House Mateo Built
Aurelio moved into Mateo’s penthouse because the secure residence had become too visible.
He hated it immediately.
“The windows don’t open.”
“They’re designed that way.”
“So rich people pay extra for trapped air?”
Mateo sighed.
“Apparently.”
Aurelio claimed the smallest guest room.
Mateo discovered him sleeping on the floor the first night.
“There is a bed.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you down there?”
“The mattress is too soft.”
Mateo stared.
Aurelio looked embarrassed.
“At the shelter, beds weren’t soft.”
Mateo understood.
He brought blankets.
He did not mention it again.
The next morning a tutor arrived.
So did a social worker appointed by the family court.
Because Aurelio had no legally recognized parent or guardian, Mateo could not simply declare him family and keep him.
He filed for temporary guardianship.
Aurelio resisted.
“I don’t need a guardian.”
“The State of New York disagrees.”
“I’m not five.”
“No. You’re twelve.”
“That’s closer to thirteen.”
“Compelling legal argument.”
Aurelio glared.
The social worker, Denise Harper, watched their exchange.
Later she told Mateo, “He doesn’t trust permanence.”
“I noticed.”
“Don’t buy him things to prove you care.”
Mateo looked toward the hallway where six shopping bags waited.
Denise raised an eyebrow.
Mateo had them returned.
Aurelio found out anyway.
“That was smart.”
“I’m learning.”
“Slow.”
That afternoon Rachel arrived with a more serious problem.
Sebastian and several board members had filed a petition opposing Mateo’s guardianship.
Aurelio stared at the document.
“Why does he care where I live?”
Rachel answered.
“Because if Mateo becomes your guardian, he may gain limited authority to protect your legal interests.”
“So Sebastian wants somebody else?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
A professional fiduciary proposed by Adrian Vale’s former firm.
Aurelio laughed once.
“You people are insane.”
The filing also accused Mateo of exploiting Aurelio to win control of Vargas Meridian.
The newspapers repeated it by evening.
BILLIONAIRE SEEKS CUSTODY OF BILLION-DOLLAR HEIR.
Aurelio threw the paper across the room.
“They make me sound like a bank account.”
Mateo picked it up.
“I know.”
“Do you want my shares?”
“No.”
“You already have shares.”
“Yes.”
“How do I know?”
Mateo thought before answering.
“You don’t.”
Aurelio looked surprised.
Mateo continued.
“You should not trust words because I’m your uncle.”
“What should I trust?”
“Choices.”
Mateo called Rachel.
“Prepare documents.”
“For what?”
“I want every share I received because Aurelio was declared dead placed in an irrevocable trust pending the court’s decision.”
Rachel stared.
“That is worth billions.”
“I know.”
“You could lose control of the company.”
“I know.”
“Sebastian will call it an admission.”
“Let him.”
Aurelio listened from the doorway.
Mateo added, “I also want a public accounting of every distribution from Elena’s estate.”
Rachel nodded slowly.
“That will hurt.”
“It should.”
Aurelio did not speak until she left.
“You’d give it back?”
“It was never mine.”
The boy looked through the sealed window at the city.
“My grandma said rich people always think giving back stolen things makes them generous.”
Mateo smiled sadly.
“Esperanza continues to destroy me from beyond the grave.”
“She’d like that.”
That night Marcus brought troubling news.
Someone had accessed Aurelio’s sealed juvenile social-service file.
“Who?”
“An investigator hired by the Vargas board’s special committee.”
Mateo’s expression darkened.
“What did they find?”
“Shelter reports. School absences. Two shoplifting citations.”
Aurelio went pale.
Mateo looked at him.
“You were arrested?”
“No. Store security caught me.”
“What did you take?”
“Food.”
“When?”
“Last winter.”
Mateo said nothing.
Aurelio’s shame became anger.
“I was hungry.”
“I’m not judging you.”
“You looked at me.”
“I was imagining where I was last winter.”
Aurelio stopped.
Mateo remembered.
Aspen.
A private summit.
A dinner where a bottle of wine cost more than Aurelio had probably eaten in a month.
Aurelio’s anger softened slightly.
The next morning the shoplifting records appeared online.
Some commentators called Aurelio a fraud.
Others called him a delinquent.
Mateo exploded.
“Find who leaked them.”
Marcus already had.
The investigator received payment from a consulting firm.
The consulting firm belonged to Sebastian’s son-in-law.
The family war had moved from murder evidence to public humiliation.
Aurelio read the comments silently.
Then he shut the laptop.
“I want to go outside.”
“For what?”
“To walk.”
“Security—”
“I know.”
They walked along the roof garden.
Aurelio stopped beside the edge.
“Do you regret finding me?”
Mateo stared.
“No.”
“Your company’s falling apart.”
“I had the company before you.”
“Exactly.”
Mateo knelt so they were eye level.
“When you pulled me out of that river, you did not ask what saving me would cost.”
Aurelio’s eyes filled.
Mateo continued.
“I’m trying to learn from you.”
For once, Aurelio had no sharp answer.
Then Marcus stepped onto the roof.
“We found out who leaked the juvenile files.”
Mateo rose.
“Sebastian?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Adrian Vale.”
Aurelio frowned.
“I thought Sebastian was the one we were fighting.”
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Marcus looked grim.
“So did we.”
