Richard: My God... you're standing! You're really standing!
Lily: Look at me, Daddy! I'm walking!
Richard: This is impossible... the doctors said the nerve damage was permanent!
Lily took three steady steps across the marble floor, her face glowing with pure joy. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached out to Leo, who was standing quietly with a tired smile on his dusty face.
Lily: Thank you, Leo! My legs don't hurt anymore!
Leo: You're going to be just fine now, Lily. Your legs are strong.
Richard: Young man... what did you just do? How did you do that?
Leo: I don't really know how to explain it, sir. I've always been able to feel when someone's body is hurt, and I just push the warmth into them.
Richard reached out, his hands trembling as he hugged both Lily and Leo tightly in the center of the sunlit mansion hall.
Richard: I pushed you... I shoved you away and called you names, and you still healed my daughter!
Leo: It's okay, sir. Most people get mad when they see me. I'm used to it.
Richard: It is not okay. I was cruel to you, and you gave me back my daughter's life.
The surrounding guests began to applaud, their earlier shock turning into pure celebration. But in the back of the foyer, a tall woman in an expensive black dress stood watching with a dark, bitter scowl.
Victoria: Richard! What is the meaning of this circus?
Richard: Victoria! Look at Lily! She's walking! She's completely healed!
Victoria: That's absurd. She probably just had a temporary muscle spasm. Don't let this street beggar fool you into giving him a reward!
Lily: Stepmother, it's not a spasm! Look! I can jump!
Victoria: Sit back down in your chair immediately, Lily! You're going to injure yourself further!
Richard: Victoria, stop it! You can clearly see she is cured! Why are you acting like this?
Victoria: Because a dirty street kid sneaking into a private charity gala is a security breach! Guards, take this boy outside immediately!
Leo: I was just delivering the bread from my uncle's bakery...
Richard: Nobody is touching this boy! He is my guest now!
Victoria: Richard, be reasonable! We don't know who he is or where he came from!
Richard: I don't care where he came from, Victoria! He just performed a miracle!
Richard stood up and placed a protective arm around Leo's small shoulders. He looked directly at his wife, sensing for the first time that her reaction was not based on concern, but on something far more sinister.
Richard: Leo, where do you live?
Leo: I live in an old basement room near the docks with my uncle. He works at the bakery.
Richard: You're coming with me to the study. I want to make sure you get a hot meal, and I want to give your family a reward that will change your lives forever.
Victoria: You cannot give estate money to a random stranger, Richard! The trust fund rules strictly prohibit it!
Richard: It's my money, Victoria! And I will spend it however I see fit!