Chapter 17 - The Morning Leo Finally Smiled
Three months later, Leo Rossi was almost unrecognizable.
Round cheeks.
Bright eyes.
Strong lungs.
Very strong lungs.
At five in the morning, everyone in Lorenzo's new townhouse learned exactly how strong.
Maya arrived for breakfast and heard Leo screaming from the second floor.
She found Lorenzo walking circles with him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Then why does he sound personally betrayed?"
"He woke up."
"Terrible."
"I agree."
Leo saw Maya.
Stopped crying.
Lorenzo looked offended.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Maya took off her coat.
"I'm lovable."
"Apparently I'm furniture."
Leo smiled.
Maya pointed.
"See?"
"Disloyal child."
Life had changed dramatically.
The mansion was no longer occupied.
Federal teams still reviewed records.
Lorenzo moved into a smaller property in the city.
Smaller, of course, meant four bedrooms and a rooftop terrace.
Maya mocked him relentlessly.
She no longer worked as a maid.
After Matteo's arrest she resigned.
Not because she hated the work.
Because she wanted something that belonged to her.
Using savings, compensation from the estate investigation, and a small victim-support grant, Maya enrolled in a certification program for postpartum family support.
The decision surprised her.
At first she thought being around babies would hurt too much.
Then she realized grief had taught her things textbooks couldn't.
How to sit with frightened parents.
How to listen without filling silence.
How to notice when exhaustion became dangerous.
How to understand that feeding difficulties carried emotional weight far beyond ounces and schedules.
Dr. Grant encouraged her.
"You have good instincts."
"I broke every hospital rule in your head, didn't I?"
"Several."
"Yet here we are."
"Please don't use that as your professional philosophy."
Lorenzo funded nothing.
Maya insisted.
He offered.
Repeatedly.
She refused.
Their relationship developed slowly.
Painfully slowly, according to Sofia.
"You two behave like Victorian characters."
Maya laughed.
"We're friends."
Sofia looked toward Lorenzo bouncing Leo in the kitchen while pretending not to listen.
"Sure."
Maya had kissed him once.
Two weeks earlier.
It happened accidentally.
Or at least that was what they both claimed afterward.
They stood outside after dinner.
Lorenzo thanked her for helping with Leo.
Maya told him to stop thanking her.
He asked how.
She said, "Maybe find another topic."
He said, "Like what?"
Then somehow they were kissing.
Softly.
Briefly.
Both pulled back.
Maya panicked.
Not because she didn't want it.
Because she did.
Lorenzo didn't chase her.
Didn't demand explanation.
Didn't become angry when she avoided him for three days afterward.
When Maya finally called, he answered:
"Are we pretending that didn't happen?"
"For another hour."
"Fine."
"You're not upset?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you get to decide what you're ready for."
That answer did more to change their relationship than the kiss.
Now, three months after the nursery night, Maya watched him prepare Leo's bottle.
He tested the temperature obsessively.
"You know Dr. Grant said your wrist isn't a laboratory instrument."
"He also said warm."
"Warm isn't a legally defined number."
"It should be."
Leo drank easily now.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Each feeding remained miraculous to Lorenzo.
Maya suspected it always would.
Legal matters moved forward.
Matteo remained in custody awaiting trial.
Daniel accepted a plea agreement involving his financial crimes but still faced separate proceedings over Maya's assault.
Maya testified before a grand jury.
She hated every second.
But afterward she walked out without shaking.
Mrs. Bell also remained in custody.
One day Maya received a letter.
She nearly threw it away.
Instead she opened it.
Bell wrote no excuses.
Only an apology.
She described Lily by name.
Not "the baby."
Not "your loss."
Lily.
I treated people as pieces on a board because I believed loyalty justified everything. It did not. Nothing I say can return what my choices helped put in danger. I am sorry, Maya. I will spend whatever time I have left telling the truth.
Maya folded the letter.
She didn't forgive Bell.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
But she kept it.
Because accountability sounded different from excuses.
Lorenzo's own legal situation remained uncertain.
Prosecutors credited his cooperation.
His attorneys expected no prison time on some matters but couldn't guarantee outcomes on everything tied to old businesses.
He stopped pretending he wasn't afraid.
That might have been his biggest change.
One rainy morning, Maya found him staring through the kitchen window.
"Bad news?"
"Meeting tomorrow."
"With prosecutors?"
He nodded.
"Final agreement."
Maya sat beside him.
"What do they want?"
"Admission of responsibility for financial compliance failures. Large penalties. Continued cooperation."
"Prison?"
"They're recommending probation."
Maya exhaled.
Lorenzo looked at her.
"You look relieved."
"I am."
"Why?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Don't become unbearable."
"Too late."
Maya touched his hand.
"Because Leo needs you."
"Only Leo?"
There it was.
She looked at him.
"You're fishing."
"I'm asking."
Maya could lie.
She had become very good at protecting herself with uncertainty.
But Elena's letter stayed inside her.
Judge yourself by the same mercy.
Maya leaned closer.
"I would miss you too."
Lorenzo smiled.
"That's practically a declaration."
"Don't ruin it."
"I wouldn't dare."
Leo made a noise from his high chair.
They looked over.
He was covered in mashed banana.
Lorenzo stared.
"How?"
Maya laughed.
"You gave him the spoon."
"I trusted him."
"That was your first mistake."
Leo slapped the tray.
Banana landed on Lorenzo's shirt.
Maya laughed harder than she had in months.
Lorenzo looked down at himself.
Then at his son.
Then he started laughing too.
The moment was ridiculous.
Ordinary.
Perfect.
Maya suddenly cried.
Lorenzo stopped.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Maya."
She shook her head.
"I'm happy."
He stared.
She hadn't said that word in months.
Maybe longer.
"I'm happy," she repeated.
The tears came harder.
"And I feel guilty."
Lorenzo approached.
He crouched in front of her.
"Because Lily isn't here?"
Maya nodded.
He waited.
Then said quietly, "Being happy doesn't mean you stopped loving her."
Maya covered her face.
"I know."
"Do you?"
"I'm trying."
Lorenzo took her hand.
"Then try here."
She looked at him.
No promises.
No pressure.
Just here.
Maya leaned forward and kissed him.
This time she didn't run afterward.
Leo slapped the tray again.
More banana flew.
They both laughed into the kiss.
Later that morning, sunlight broke through the rain.
Maya carried Leo onto the rooftop terrace.
Lorenzo stood beside her.
Leo looked at the city and squealed.
Maya thought about the night she first heard him cry.
Weak.
Fading.
Almost gone.
Now he seemed determined to announce himself to every building in Chicago.
"He's loud," she said.
"Rossi."
"Unfortunately."
Lorenzo smiled.
Maya looked down at Leo.
"Keep being loud."
Because some cries deserved to be heard.
May you like
And some silences deserved to end.
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