Chapter 16 - LUCA’S QUESTION
Luca turned thirteen and asked Brandon:
“If Grandpa wanted me as real grandson, does that mean he liked me more than Jamie?”
Brandon did not answer alone.
He invited me and Elise into conversation.
Good.
Victor not initially.
We said:
“No.”
Then Luca:
“Then why me?”
Because Luca had become the symbol of genetic continuity Victor preferred.
But telling a teenager:
Grandpa used you because of bloodline optics
requires care.
Brandon said:
“He thought your biology and family position could help him win an argument about company control.”
Luca stared.
“Did I do anything?”
“No.”
“Did Jamie?”
“No.”
“Then adults are idiots.”
Fair.
Then:
“Did you want me to replace him?”
Brandon cried.
“For a while, I let myself imagine that if Grandpa chose you, it meant he finally chose me too.”
There.
Generational wound.
Luca looked uncomfortable.
“That’s not my job.”
“No.”
Good.
Then Jamie joined later.
Luca apologized.
“For what?”
“Being chair kid.”
Jamie laughed.
“You didn’t even come.”
Exactly.
They moved on.
Then Victor learned Luca asked.
He requested conversation.
Luca refused.
For six months.
Victor accepted.
Good.
Then at fourteen, Luca agreed.
He said:
“Did you use me?”
Victor answered:
“Yes.”
No qualification.
“Why?”
“Because I believed preserving family control was more important than protecting you from an adult conflict.”
Luca nodded.
“Was I better blood?”
Victor closed eyes.
“No.”
“Then why say?”
“Because old rules gave me language that made my preference sound respectable.”
That was perhaps his best sentence.
Then:
“Do you want me to work at Falcone?”
“I would like it.”
“Do I have to?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Luca became a musician.
Eventually conservatory.
Victor attended recital and complained about modern compositions.
Normal grandfather.
Then Jamie at thirteen.
He wanted to know donor information more deeply.
We contacted clinic.
Anonymous agreement from era.
Nonidentifying medical history available.
He read with genetic counselor.
No drama.
Then consumer DNA?
We advised waiting until older because privacy implications.
He agreed.
His identity was not a hole to fill urgently.
Then family business.
Falcon Ridge joint venture performing moderately well.
Automation created productivity gains.
Workforce lower but retraining better than expected.
Victor called sale still best.
Maybe.
No need settle counterfactual.
Then Brandon earned promotion to vice president after independent board vote.
Not CEO.
He accepted.
I recused.
Good.
Then Jamie asked:
“Will Uncle Brandon be boss after you?”
“Maybe not. A board decides company roles.”
“Will I?”
“If you earn something and want it.”
“I don’t.”
He wanted architecture.
Later changed mind twice.
Good.
No succession programming.
Then I remembered Claire saying:
The family should prove it deserves access to him.
May you like
At thirteen, Jamie had access to family without being trapped by it.
That was enough.
