His father humi:liated him and made him sit with the chauffeurs for being “a failure,” but he was stunned when the most powerful man in the country walked into the wedding just to greet him.

“Clothes don’t make the person, Dad. I just came to offer my congratulations,” Leo replied with a calmness that irritated the old man even more.

“Congratulations?” Don Arnulfo took a step forward, invading his personal space. “Don’t fool yourself. You probably came because you heard about the magnitude of the event and you need money. I always knew you’d come crawling back when you realized that playing the hero doesn’t pay the bills. ‘Serving the country’… Bah! That’s not the future, that’s mediocrity.”

Leo clenched his jaw slightly, but maintained his composure. He had weathered storms at sea and hostile negotiations in conflict zones; the insults of a man embittered by greed were not going to break him.

—I don’t want your money, sir. Not a single penny.