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“My mom told me. It was after my father lost the Triton Hotel bid.”
Malcolm won the bid even though Stavros was friends with Nikos. The Sutton-Papadakis rivalry continues, Leo thought with irritation. Nikos would undoubtedly hold this against Leo.
“Did your father have anything to say about me?” he asked, trying to keep his expression neutral, waiting for her answer.
She stirred her drink with the straw and glanced away.
Not a great response.
“He said you were a rich playboy, and Malcolm was the heir apparent.”
He wasn’t going to get off that easy. There had to be more.
“That’s it?” Leo asked.
“He also said you were lazy, and Malcolm was smarter.” She let out a harsh breath. “Why does my father’s opinion matter?” She lifted her eyes to his. “Is that the reason you panicked about who I was?”
“It’s part of it, but first I wanted to give you some context about my background.”
“Okay,” she said in a calm voice. “So why did your mother hide you away from your father?”
“Her name was Gabriela Costa. When she met my father, she was the most successful model in the world. After I was born, my mother and I lived in an expensive condo in New York City. She traveled a lot for photoshoots. I went to a private school and had a live-in nanny. One day, out of nowhere, she told me I would live with an aunt and uncle in Brazil for a while.”
“Why Brazil?” Cassandra asks.
“She was born and raised there. Sending me to Brazil would make it difficult for my father to find me. She got tired of waiting for him to leave his wife and refused to see him anymore. He continued to have more affairs with other women. Their relationship ended, and she met someone else. I was a valuable commodity because she knew he’d fight for me.”
“Why?”
“Because he loved me. I didn’t see him often, but when he was with us, he gave me his undivided attention. As time went on, I saw him less. By the time I was sent away, I hadn’t seen him in years.”
“How old were you when you moved there?”
“Sixteen. I was angry at everything in those days. I got good grades, but I started to get into trouble at school. My mother sent me to live with an aunt and uncle, hoping I would be rehabilitated.”
“Did it make a difference?”
“No, it did not.” He choked back a bitter laugh. “My aunt and uncle are deeply religious. They believed I was the product of a sinful, adulterous relationship and I should be reminded of it every single day. They weren’t physically abusive, but they were cold and distant. I was sent to a Catholic boy’s school. I didn’t know a word of Portuguese, but at least the school was bilingual.”
“Leo, I’m so sorry,” she said with compassion. “Did you make any friends?”
“Not many. I used to spend my weekends exploring. My aunt and uncle weren’t rich, and they lived not too far from a favela.”
“Like the poor neighborhood you showed me?”
“Yeah. I made a friend. Renato Santos brought me into his family. I never went back to my aunt and uncle. The Santos family didn’t have much, but they accepted me. I learned to speak Portuguese. I loved the food, the music, and the freedom.”
“How long did you live there?”
“Almost a year.”
“Didn’t your aunt and uncle report you missing?”
“They did. They knew I had friends in the favela, but it’s easy to hide there. I think they were glad to get rid of me.”
“What about your mother? Didn’t she search for you?”
“No.” Leo pushed his emotions down to finish the most difficult part of his story. “After she sent me to Brazil, she got engaged to a retired tech tycoon. She died in a car crash in the south of France. I didn’t know she died until much later.”
