Chapter 9: The Ledger of Second Chances
Kane stared at the bag. "I used to run multi-million-dollar funds. Now I can't even get a call back for entry-level bookkeeping. Your dad made sure of that."
"My dad didn't break your fund, Mr. Kane," Leo replied, his young hazel eyes steady and devoid of malice. "He just stopped letting you break other people's lives to keep it going."
Kane looked toward the door. Marcus hadn't approached. He wasn't lording his victory; he was simply giving his son the room to act.
"What's in the bag?" Kane asked, his voice cracking.
"Blueprints and financial audits," Leo said. "The Utica Foundry is converting to green energy next month. They need an on-site cost controller who knows how to spot waste, but the job pays forty-two thousand dollars a year and requires you to live in a studio apartment behind the mill."
Kane stared at the ten-year-old in utter disbelief. "A factory cost controller? That’s an insult."
"No," Leo said honestly. "It’s a job where real people will look at you every day. If you do your work well, four hundred families keep their heat on in the winter. If you don't, everyone sees you fail."
May you like
Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal object, setting it beside the bag. It was an old spoke wrench from his repaired bicycle.
"My dad taught me that a wheel only works when every spoke shares the weight," Leo said. "You’ve spent your whole life trying to be the whole wheel. Maybe it's time to just be a spoke."
