𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 ── 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. ✔︎

𝟬𝟭𝟲.

AFTER A GRUELING FLIGHT, Ramona and Theodore had just gotten off their flight from Paris, and as she strolled past the Travel shop in Terminal 3 toward the exit, a clerk was placing a stack of the latest Pinnacle onto the magazine rack. There was a man hugging a young boy on the cover, and as Ramona walked by, she glanced at the cover from afar and thought, What a cute kid. Then she stopped, turned around, and headed back to the newsstand. It wasn't often that Pinnacle would publish a cover that didn't involve some overly photo-shopped woman in a ball gown, and she was intrigued to see who these people were. She went up to the magazine rack and gasped in horror.

Staring back at her on the cover of Pinnacle's "Special Fathers and Sons Edition" were her cousin-in-law and her nephew. Theodore peered into the magazine next to her and gasped. Even he was shocked.

MICHAEL & CASSIAN TEO SAIL TO CONQUER, it said on the cover. Michael was pictured at the prow of some megayacht, wearing a striped sailor tee with an electric blue cardigan draped fussily over his shoulders, his arm awkwardly positioned on the railing to show off his vintage Rolex "Paul Newman" Daytona to full advantage. Crouched between his knees was Cassian, dressed in a blue checked shirt and a gold-buttoned navy blazer, with what looked like a gallon of gel in his hair and a hint of rouge on his cheeks.

Oh my God, what have they done to my godson? Ramona grabbed the magazine and began flipping furiously through the five hundred pages of jewelry and watch ads, desperate to find the article. And there it was. The opening spread featured a completely different photo shoot of Michael and Cassian, this time in matching suede Brunello Cucinelli driving jackets and Persol sunglasses, shot from above as they sat in Michael's Ferrari 275 GTB convertible. When the hell did they take these pictures? She wondered wondered. In bold white type, the title of the article ran along the bottom of the picture:

The opening spread featured a completely different photoshoot of Michael and Cassian, this time in matching suede Brunello Cucinelli driving jackets and Persol sunglasses, shot from above as they sat in Michael's Ferrari 275 GTB convertible. When the hell did they take these pictures? Astrid wondered. In bold white type, the title of the article ran along the bottom of the picture:

FATHER OF THE YEAR: MICHAEL TEO

It's hard to imagine someone with more of a charmed life than Michael Teo. The founder of one of Singapore's most visionary companies has a picture-perfect family, a gorgeous house, and a growing collection of classic sports cars. Did we mention that he has the physique of a Calvin Klein underwear model and cheekbones you could cut diamonds on? Olivia Irawidjaya digs a little deeper, and discovers that there's far more to the man than meets the eye...

"Do you know what this is?" Michael Teo asks as he points to an old yellowing document in a simple titanium frame hanging on the wall of his ultramodern dressing room, in between rows of bespoke suits from the likes of Brioni, Caraceni, and Cifonelli. I scrutinize the writing and discover to my astonishment that it's signed "Abraham Lincoln." "This is an original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. There are only seven copies in existence and I own one of them," Teo says proudly. "I've hung it right across from the mirrored wall in my closet so that I can see it every day while I'm putting on my clothes, and be reminded of who I am."

It's only fitting, since Teo is an emancipated man himself-a few years ago, he was a virtual unknown toiling away at his tech start-up in Jurong. This son of schoolteachers grew up "very middle class in Toa Payoh," he shamelessly admits, but through hard work and perseverance gained a place at St. Andrew's School, and from there became a standout commando in the Singapore Armed Forces.

"From the very beginning, Teo proved himself to be one of the bravest cadets of his generation," his former commanding officer Major Dick Teo (no relation) recalls. "His endurance level was almost superhuman, but it was his intelligence that propelled him to the top of military intelligence." Teo won a government scholarship to study computer engineering at the prestigious California Institute of Technology, and after graduating summa cum laude, he returned to work at the Ministry of Defence.