Chapter 18 - VITTORIO BEFORE POWER
My father was born into chaos.
That did not excuse him.
It explained what he called order.
His father—my grandfather—drank.
Badly.
Family business survived through people competing.
Uncles undermined one another.
Relatives used children as messengers.
Dinner arguments became weeks-long feuds.
At twenty-six, Vittorio took control of a small company during a crisis.
He imposed rules.
Written agendas.
No interruptions.
Hierarchy.
Clear chain.
It worked.
Business stabilized.
Family conflict became quieter.
People praised him.
He learned:
Order saves.
Then he applied the lesson everywhere.
Where people sit.
Who speaks.
Children upstairs.
Staff command.
Marriage.
Grief.
Retirement.
Rules had once protected him from chaos.
Later, rules protected him from feeling unnecessary.
That was the shift he could not see.
Dr. Bell told me:
“The most dangerous family rules often begin as solutions to something real.”
I thought of Sophie’s staircase.
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A rule meant to keep children away from sensitive meetings became a test of authority.
Solutions can outlive their problem and become somebody else’s harm.
