Luca pulled up to his dad's office, and that anxious feeling hadn't let up at all. The red brick building was quite a bit smaller than the one he had when they all lived in the city.

As Luca stepped inside, he noted it was also simple in its setup. He walked into a small lobby with leather chairs and a big desk with a young blonde receptionist sitting there. Behind her was an open area with several doors to offices among the walls. In the center of the wide open space sat an employee lounge area.

"Hi! How can I help you?" She asked with a big cheerful smile.

"Just here for a meeting." He walked up to the desk.

"Can I see some ID? I have to scan it in," she asked, and he handed it to her.

"You're Luciano Donato?" She asked as she glanced down at it.

"I go by Luca," he said flatly. His usual charm was lost in his heavy mood.

"Oh, sorry!" His tone didn't phase her as she handed the ID back. "Your name is on our list as one of the shareholders, but no one has ever met you!" She chirped.

"Are you going to start coming in?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"No," he said. "Just here for today."

"Oh," she pouted. "that's too bad. I wouldn't mind seeing you every day."

Her blatant flirting was annoying him today. He just wasn't in the mood. He didn't bother to say anything and started to walk past the desk.

"Hey... what are you doing after the meeting?" She stopped him. "I take lunch at one--" 

"Not you," he cut her off as he continued walking. He heard her make a noise but ignored it as he walked into the office.

It was small and simple; one large oak desk sat near a window, and in the center of the room was a long table that faced a projection screen.

Andre was sitting at the table, and Leonardo was next to him in his wheelchair. A tall, dark-haired man with a hard jawline was seated at the other end. They all looked up at Luca as he walked in and sat down.

"Luca, we are so glad you made it," Leonardo said, a smile folding the crinkles around his eyes even deeper. Luca's gut twisted again at the sight of his dad. His cheeks were sunken in, and his skin was ghastly pale. It looked like his dad had aged twenty years since he last saw him.

"Thank you for coming," Andre added.

"It's good to meet you," the tall man stood and extended his hand, "I'm Richard Mendez, your father's partner."

Luca took his hand and shook it as Richard gave him a nod with a stiff grin that looked forced. 

"I understand you didn't want Andre to give me the documents I asked for, but I assure you it was to expedite this," Richard told him as they sat down.

"I don't see why you'd need to know every detail about every asset," Luca replied.

"I did have a reason for that," Richard explained. "We can get to that, but first, I think we should talk about Luca's shares."

"His shares?" Leonardo questioned. "Why?"

Richard cleared his throat, "I've wanted to broach this subject for some time. Why wouldn't we transfer Luca's shares to Andre? Why would Luca keep shares here if he has no intentions to become a partner or even practice law?"

"Absolutely not," Leonardo said instantly, and Richard looked at him with surprise.

"Leo, I don't understand it, though. It doesn't make sense."

"Luca can have shares without being a partner."

"For what reason? Andre earned his shares, and then some."

"Richard, I appreciate that, but I don't mind my brother having shares here," Andre said.

"I'm just saying it doesn't make sense," Richard pressed.

"It does to me," Leonardo said.

"Leo.." Richard started.

"Richard, you have the majority of the shares anyhow," Leonardo said, "why should this matter?"

"He'll never be able to help the firm, so it doesn't make sense to have a stake in it."

"Luca doesn't have shares to help the firm," Leonardo explained, "it's to protect Andre."

"Protect Andre?" Richard questioned. "I'm talking about giving Andre more stake."

"If I transfer all of Luca's shares to Andre. Luca has no say in the practice. Andre is very young. That's not practical. I need someone with shares that has Andre's interests in mind."

"Are you quite serious right now?" Richards's eyebrows raised.

"I don't give a shit about the practice, but I do care about my brother," Luca spoke up. "I'll watch his back."

"Thank you, Luca," Leonardo said and looked at Richard. "And that is why I won't change that."

"You don't trust me to protect Andre's interests? I've been mentoring him since you fell Ill!" Richard exclaimed with a reddish face.

"Richard, I don't mean to offend you," Leonardo said assuredly. "What Luca just said is exactly why I made this choice. He doesn't care about the practice, so he has no reason not to put Andre's interests first. You, on the other hand, would always choose the practice. "

"I... I mean, of course, I would. Do you not want what's best for the practice?"

"I want what's best for my sons." Leonardo said. "I've realized that's not just business and money."

Luca's eyes nearly popped out of his head at that. What? Who was this guy, and where did his dad go?

"Maybe we should move on?" Andre suggested.

"For now, but I'd like to discuss this again..." Richard said slowly.

"This subject is closed," Leonardo said firmly. His eyes became cold and steely as they looked toward Richard. "I won't have it brought it up again."

"Leo, that's unfair," Richard shot back. "I'm not at all comfortable with this. As majority holder, I should have a say."

"In the day-to-day, but not over the shares I give to my sons," Leonardo countered.

"You might want to think back to when you moved the practice here and how much I did to get it off the ground," Richard said in a gritty voice. 

Luca felt a little like he was watching a tennis match, going back and forth and back and forth.

"You'd do well remembering all the favors I provided you over the years." Leonardo shot back. "Your marriage certainly is intact, thanks to me."

There's the dad Luca remembered...

"How dare you," Richard finally spoke as his face flushed. 

"How dare you question my decisions," Leonardo cut him off. I didn't intend to go there. You left me little choice. Don't assume I'm weak because I'm sick."

"Shall we move on then to the estate?" Leonardo continued.

"I suppose," Richard took a breath and continued. "I wanted to see all the assets because I thought liquifying everything made the most sense. It can then be divvied amongst the two boys and the practice."

"Sell the house!" Andre's eyes widened at that. "But... I love that house!"

"We are not selling the estate," Leonardo said with another steely look at Richard.

"Why would the practice get a share of his assets?" Luca asked with a curious look toward Richard.

"I would assume Leo would want that he built it," Richard stammered. "... and with Andre becoming a partner someday and"-

"I have a sum of money set aside for the practice," Leonardo told him. "It's doing just fine and doesn't need it. However, I do intend to do that and always did. An equal share to what my sons will be getting is a little ridiculous, though, is it not?"

"I'd have thought you'd have wanted to feed the business," Richard looked flustered. "For future generations."

"I want my sons to focus on a lot more than the practice, " Leonardo said briskly.

He started coughing then, and Andre quickly handed him water and rubbed his back. Luca was impressed with how well Andre was taking care of things, but he was realizing how much he'd put on his younger brother's shoulders. He felt a stab of guilt over that.

They waited several moments for Leonardo to catch his breath. His face became red after his coughing fit, and it looked like it tired him a lot.

"We need to hurry this along," Andre said once he'd finished.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Leonardo assured them. "Let's keep this moving along."

"How do they work the estate value out?" Richard, of course, was the first to speak up. "It is worth a lot of money and I assume they won't live in it together."

"Another house could be built on the land with plenty of room," Leonardo countered.

"I won't be living here. Andre can have the house," Luca said casually.

"That wouldn't be fair to you, Luca." Andre protested. "The value of it and all."

"You are both getting a monetary inheritance, stocks, and bonds. You can determine amongst each other what's fair." Leonardo advised.

"Speaking of that, " Luca looked at Leonardo and braced himself. He hoped his dad would not argue this because if he did, Luca would be willing to fight hard for it, but the last thing he wanted to fight with his dad in the shape he was in. "I need a portion of my monetary inheritance set aside in a trust fund. It will need strict restrictions on when it can be pulled out and by who and stuff."

"A trust fund?" Leonardo asked, but his tone was curious and soft, and Luca stared to relax just a little. 

"For Jase Hart," Luca confirmed.

"What?" Andre asked at the same time as Leonardo said, "I see."

"The restrictions will certainly need to be ironclad then," Leonardo nodded, stunning Luca as he agreed so easily. "How much?"

"Twenty-three thousand," Luca said and again his dad did not flinch. 

Richard made a scoffing noise, and Luca shot him a dark look. "You got a problem with me, man?"

"You're being foolish with your fathers's hard-earned assets!"

"Enough!" Leonardo stopped him. "If my son wants to help the Harts, I have no issue with that. However, Luca, I did intend to leave Kit some money." He looked over to Andre. "Carly as well."

"She earned that," Luca said. "That's for her. This is for Jase."

"She's going to be mad at you for this," Andre warned him.

"Then let her be mad while she's spending her own money on her own damn self," Luca snapped. "I don't care."

"You obviously do," Andre shot back.

"Andre, leave it," Leonardo surprised Luca yet again by defending him. "Luca, I will work this out and make it happen."

"Thank you," Luca said quietly.

He felt Richard's glare, but the man had looked away when he went to look. Whatever he intended to happen at this meeting didn't, and he was not happy about that. Luca made a point to stay informed on what was going on with the practice going forward. He didn't trust that guy, and it didn't seem like his dad did that much either.

"So essentially, you're saying the will has to be revised now?" Richard spoke up. "To make these changes?"

"Correct," Leonardo said. "However, I don't need another formal meeting. I'll record myself authorizing the changes."

"You should do so soon," Richard advised. "While your mind is still lucid."

"He's not going to lose his mind!" Andre snapped, looking flustered.

"At some point, I might, son," Leonardo said softly. "The drugs make me confused at times."

"However, I'm not confused about this," he looked at Richard. "What I want for my sons is happy lives. That should be their number one priority, and they won't find happiness in a thriving practice. I never did."

He looked at Andre then. "Do you hear me, Andre?"

"Yes, Father," Andre agreed.

"Luca?" He looked up at a stunned Luca next.

"Yeah.. sure," Luca mumbled.

Leonardo took another sip from his water bottle. He looked exhausted.

"I best get back to my office then," Richard said clipped. "Send the revisions when they are done."

Richard got up and left in a hurry. Obviously unhappy, he let the heavy door slam behind him.

"He's sketchy as hell," Luca commented.

"He's always been nice to me," Andre mumbled.

"He'd still take advantage," Leonardo warned him. "Stay sharp."

"We ought to get you home, Father," Andre looked at him with worry only in his eyes.

"Actually, Luca, maybe we could drive to the lake for our talk? I keep hearing the stories and would sure love to see it." Leonardo asked with a hopeful note in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Luca said with a sigh as he stood up. Andre wheeled Leonardo out, and Luca followed behind them.

They stopped in front of Luca's car, and Leonardo stood up with some help from Andre. Luca hurried over to his passenger side door and opened it. Once Andre had Leonardo settled in, He folded the wheelchair up.

"You okay with him alone?" Andre asked as he handed it to Luca.

"I'll get through it," Luca snapped irritably.

"Okay." Andre had a hopeful look in his eyes.  Luca turned away from that and got in.

****

With high tension in a very quiet car, Luca drove himself and his dad to the lake.

Luca pulled up, parked, and got out to get Leonardo's wheelchair. He opened the car door and took his arm as he helped him out. He was stunned at how skinny his dad's arms had gotten.

He got him situated in the wheelchair, and Leonardo blew a breath once he was settled. "I hate being so helpless."

"You don't walk at all anymore?" Luca asked as he pushed the chair towards the lake.

"I can, but I get fatigued," Leonardo explained, stifling a yawn as he spoke.

"You're exhausted," Luca commented. "That meeting went long and Kit said you usually nap. Are you want to do this right now?"

"I'm sure," Leonardo said firmly. "I don't know when I'll get another chance."

Luca wheeled the chair to the end of the dock where he usually sits. Leonardo's eyes grew misty as he looked out at the lake. Luca stood where he was, feeling it would be too cozy to sit.

"It's beautiful, peaceful," Leonardo commented.

"Yeah, I do like the lake here," Luca admitted. Truth be told, he didn't hate this town as much as he claimed to.

"Kit mentioned you've been fishing?"

"Gives me something to do."

"Of course," Leonardo agreed.

 This was all so weird. He was so polite, nothing like the dad he remembered.

They were silent as the water lapped up against the dock.

"I'm glad you agreed to let me talk to you," Leonardo said softly, "I owe you an apology, and I didn't want to die without doing that."

"I don't know if I can forgive you," Luca admitted. "I know we never got along, and I know I was always a disappointment. But to do that? Did you even care if I was happy, or did you just want your way?"

Leonardo let out a long sad sigh, "First of all, you were never a disappointment to me. Let's get that straight right now."

"Yes, I was, from the time I was a crying kid in mom's closet," Luca saw him cringe at the words. "Apparently, grieving my mother made me weak."

"I would give anything to take that night back," Leonardo said sadly. "I know it's been years since he passed away, but my father, your grandfather, as you might remember, was a very hard man. Growing up, he drilled into my head that a man's worth was what he made for himself, and if he didn't have children take that business over someday, he failed as both a father and a businessman. When I married your mother, she only wanted time; she didn't care about being rich, powerful, or successful. It was a constant battle for me, pleasing my dad or making your mother happy. I tried my best, but it was never as balanced as it should have been."

Leonardo stopped momentarily as another sad sigh escaped his breath, and his eyes looked far away. Luca felt his mood shift further downward as thoughts of his mom and those old days resurfaced.

"Her heart issues and being sick from time to time was all the more reason I should've spent more time at home, yet I didn't. Then she died, and damn it, Luca, I hated myself. I failed her in many ways. I missed her so much that I couldn't breathe at times. I could only function when I was zoned in on work. That night, I was in a bad way. I was very drunk and had been self-hating for hours. When I stepped into that closet and saw you... It wasn't you I was yelling at.I was yelling at myself, but I took it out on you."

Luca was silent for a moment as he took this all in. "Why'd you throw away her gowns after that night?"

"I didn't," he said softly, "I had them moved into a storage facility. I couldn't look at them anymore. It was another reminder that she'd never wear them again."

"If I could go back, I'd have done it all different. I let my dad convince me that the best thing I could do for you two was build my own practice; that's when we branched mine off of his. I didn't even fathom the number of hours it would take away from you. I simply buried myself in it."

"It felt like you did it to avoid us," Luca said. "Especially me. You couldn't even look at me sometimes."

"That's not entirely wrong," Leonardo admitted. "It was hard to come home, knowing she wasn't there. It was harder to still look into your eyes, Luca, because they are so much like hers. In them, I'd see disappointment and sadness. I knew I was failing you but continued on anyway."

"Why was it so bad that I didn't want to be a lawyer? Why did it anger you so much?" Luca asked.

"It all went back to my dad telling me I'd be a failure if my sons didn't take over the business," He sighed softly. "I already felt like I failed so much; I dug my heels in on this one thing and couldn't let it go. Then it became some horrible battle of wills between the two of us. I'm ashamed of how I treated you as a teenager and mortified for what I did to you as a young adult."

"Why? Why did you do that?" Luca asked as his eyes filled with tears. "I could've forgiven everything else, but fuck, Dad. I felt so alone for so long, and Mandi came out of nowhere, saying all the right things, making me feel like I mattered, and it was all a stupid lie."

"There's no excuse I can give; it's unforgivable," Leonardo said, his eyes also filled with tears.

"I still want to hear the story," Luca demanded.

"Her father was a client; we were having drinks at his place one night, I was venting and raving. You,and I had just fought. Then Amanda comes downstairs and introduces herself. She said she overheard and maybe she could convince you to go to law school. It seemed like a joke at first, and soon we started speaking about arranged marriages and how well they can work out. the next thing I know, she needs money to fact-find and ensure her interests.... it all happened so fast." Leonardo spoke slowly and carefully, but each word felt like a stab in the heart to Luca.

"But days and even months later, you kept quiet," Luca cried out.

"You seemed happy," Leonardo sighed. "But I know that doesn't make it okay."

"She was a lie," Luca shook his head. "You had to know at some point her façade would slip, then what?"

"I wish I had a magical excuse that makes sense, but I never will. It was an awful betrayal. I will never ask you to forgive what I did, and you shouldn't. All I can ask is, please believe me when I say I am deeply sorry and regret what I did with every fiber of my being."

"I do believe you are sorry," Luca spoke quietly.

"You were so much like your mom, and you still are. You have the capacity to love someone with your whole heart, just like she did. Don't let what I did scare you off of love. Don't let me take that away from you, I beg you." Leonardo said softly as a tear dripped down his face.

"I wish you didn't do it," Luca said miserably, his stomach knotted up. He wanted to move past it, but it was such a heinous thing to do, to hijack his life like that. Every time Luca recalled that day, finding out the truth, it killed him over again.

"Me too," Leonardo's voice broke as more tears slipped out. "The worst part for me is now I die and leave you with rotten memories."

"There were a few decent ones." Luca looked up at the older man. "We'll always have fishing."

"I wish we could go one more time, but I don't deserve even this much of your time."

Luca stood then and took a long breath, "We'll go again, okay? We'll fish, and we'll not talk about any of this, and it'll be a good day."

Leonardo's lip trembled as he nodded. "So you'll stay.. and we'll go fishing?"

"I can't breathe, Dad," Luca said, pushing his hair from his face. "I've been on the verge of breaking down since I woke up. I need a minute."

"It's a lot to take in at once. I know I'm hard to look at." Leonardo looked down at his frail hands in his lap.

"Seeing you made it all very real," Luca admitted, "talking about all this brings back a lot of shit, and then there's... it's so much. This town is --- I need to breathe." 

"This isn't just about me?" Leonardo guessed.

"No," Luca breathed out. "It's not."

"You need to get out of town and clear your head?"

"yeah... I can't think with everyone on me."

"But you'll come back?"

"Yeah," Luca agreed. "I'll come back."

"Okay, that's far more than I could have asked for," Leonardo reached his hand out, and Luca took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't wait too long to come back. I know you're overwhelmed, but let her be there for you. It'll help."

"Of all people to give me advice..."

"That wasn't just advice," Leonardo said gravely. "It's also a feeling,"

"A feeling?" Luca glanced at him.

"I don't think I have much time left, son." 

I just couldn't split this chap up, so I apologize that it's so long. I will be starting the next one soon!