Part5
Arthur walked out of the interrogation room,
feeling like a man who had just woken up from a long,
terrible nightmare.
The bright fluorescent lights of the police precinct buzzed softly,
casting long shadows across the linoleum floor.
He found Leo sitting on a plastic bench,
swinging his legs slowly,
staring at a comic book a kind officer had given him.
Arthur sat down beside the boy,
letting out a long,
exhausted sigh.
"Are you okay,
Uncle Arthur?"
Leo asked,
looking up with those bright green eyes,
so much like his father's.
Hearing the word 'Uncle' made Arthur's heart ache,
a bittersweet mixture of pain,
and incredible joy.
"I am going to be okay,
Leo,"
Arthur smiled,
putting a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Because of you,
I am still here,
and I cannot thank you enough."
Leo shrugged,
a modest,
shy gesture that made him look even smaller.
"My dad told me you were a good man,"
Leo said softly,
looking back down at his comic book.
"He told me that he made a lot of mistakes,
but that you always tried to do the right thing,
no matter how hard it was."
Arthur felt a lump form in his throat,
thinking of David,
and the years they had lost to stubborn pride,
and foolish arguments.
"How long were you following me,
Leo?"
Arthur asked,
curious about how the boy had ended up at the restaurant.
"Three days,"
Leo admitted,
fiddling with the corner of the page.
"I found your office building,
but the security guards wouldn't let me inside,
they said I looked like a beggar."
Arthur felt a flash of anger at his own security team,
but pushed it down,
focusing on the child.
"So I waited outside,"
Leo continued,
"and I followed your car to the restaurant today.
I just wanted to talk to you,
but I was scared you wouldn't believe who I was."
"I was watching through the window,"
Leo explained,
"trying to find the courage to walk inside,
when I saw the lady put the poison in your food."
It was a miracle,
a twist of fate so profound,
that Arthur could hardly comprehend it.
If David had not told his son to find him,
if Leo had not been so brave,
if the security guards had let him in earlier,
Arthur would be dead right now.
"Leo,"
Arthur said,
his voice firm,
filled with absolute certainty.
"You never have to sleep on the streets again,
do you understand me?"
Leo looked up,
his eyes wide,
brimming with unshed tears.
"You are coming home with me,"
Arthur promised,
pulling the boy into a tight,
warm embrace.
"You are family,
and family takes care of each other,
always,
no matter what."
For the first time since his father passed,
Leo wrapped his arms around someone,
and cried softly into Arthur's expensive coat,
finally feeling safe.
"I promise you,"
Arthur whispered,
May you like
"that everything is going to change for us,
starting right now."
