Chapter 10
The capos who knew about the “evaluation” came to me one by one.
Most claimed they thought it was harmless.
I asked each the same question.
“Would you tie your own child to the post?”
No.
Every time.
Then:
“Why was mine acceptable?”
Silence.
That silence told me more than excuses.
Because Leo was not a child in their minds.
He was succession.
A symbol.
An unknown future.
Once people turn a child into an institution, cruelty becomes easier to justify.
One capo admitted:
“We wanted to see how you’d react too.”
I stared.
“To what?”
“If Leo struggled.”
There.
Another test.
Not only of my son.
Of me.
Would Vivian choose motherhood over organizational image?
Would she protect him publicly?
Would she look weak?
I almost laughed.
“You thought this was testing my leadership.”
He nodded reluctantly.
I leaned back.
“Then write down the result.”
He looked confused.
“My child comes first when adults manufacture danger for entertainment.”
Silence.
“If that makes you question my leadership, question it somewhere else.”
Three men lost advisory access that week.
Not because they preferred Olivia.
May you like
Because they treated terrorizing a child as useful information.
I did not need advisers that curious.
