The cold Texas wind whipped across the long driveway of the mansion.
Little Leo stood shivering on the frozen grass near the front porch.
His jacket was thin and torn at the sleeve from a sharp hedge branch.
Snow began to fall heavily on his tiny brown shoes.
He held his arms tightly around his chest to keep warm.
Victoria: Get away from the front door right now!
Victoria opened the heavy oak doors and stepped out into the chill.
She wore a bright silk gown made for an expensive holiday banquet.
Her face showed complete disgust as she looked down at the child.
Leo: Please, I made this airplane for my uncle Richard.
Victoria: That cheap piece of pine is a complete eyesore!
She grabbed the carved wooden airplane directly from his small hands.
With a harsh toss, she threw the hand-carved toy into a deep snowdrift.
The toy slid through the ice and came to a sudden stop.
Victoria: Your cheap little gift isn't going near Richard's table!
Leo looked at the toy lying in the dirty frozen slush.
He had spent two weeks carving that pine wood with his small tools.
Tears froze on his red cheeks as he watched her shut the door.
He was only eight years old and had nowhere else to go.
His mother had passed away earlier that spring after a long illness.
His uncle Richard had promised to take care of him for the winter.
Instead, Richard and Victoria treated him like a burden in their mansion.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy tires crunched through the deep driveway snow.
A massive black SUV pulled up right to the front sidewalk.
The driver side door opened with a sudden loud pop.
An older man stepped out into the freezing winter air.
He wore a heavy wool overcoat and carried an old leather cane.
His face was lined with age, but his eyes were sharp and fierce.
He looked toward the porch and saw the boy shivering alone.
Grandfather: Leo! What are you doing outside in this weather?
Leo: Grandfather...
The old man walked quickly across the slippery snowbound yard.
He reached down and lifted the small boy high into his arms.
He wrapped his warm wool coat around the child's shaking shoulders.
Grandfather: Who put you out here in the freezing cold, son?
Leo: Aunt Victoria threw my wooden airplane in the snowdrift.
The grandfather looked toward the snowbank and saw the carved pine plane.
He bent down slowly while holding Leo and picked up the toy.
He brushed the cold ice away from the small wooden wings.
A deep rage grew inside the old man's chest as he turned around.
He marched straight toward the front double doors of the luxury house.