THE RETURN OF THE BILLIONAIRE'S LOST HEIR

Chapter 3

Four months ago, when Leonardo used to work at Kevin's company as a chauffeur, he had crashed the car of one of the company's board of directors when he was tasked with driving the man back to his hotel. 

As expected, the man had burst into fury and demanded that Leonardo fix his car but Leonardo knew he would never be able to raise the huge amount needed to fix the car. 

He was barely making ends meet with his meager pay. His pay was so little that he was certain he would have to save up all his salaries for an entire year before he would be able to fix the car. 

Left with no other options, the company had to fire Leonardo as a way of taking responsibility for his action. But even after Leonardo was fired from the company, he was certain of one thing. 

The car crash wasn't an accident. Someone had tampered with the car and orchestrated the accident to implicate him. But because he had no evidence whatsoever, he couldn't speak up about it and was forced to swallow his suspicions. 

But today, he has confirmed his suspicions. It was Kevin who had planned the whole accident to implicate him and have him fired from the company. 

Leonardo was right, after all. And to think that the culprit was no one else but his best friend who was also sleeping with his wife and got her pregnant behind his back!

“Tell me he is lying. Tell me you are not pregnant for him.” In his weak state, Leonardo shifted his eyes to Sophie and she stared back at him with barely any emotions in her eyes. 

He wondered how he had managed to end up with a devil for a wife. What wrong did he ever do to deserve any of this?

Sophie rolled her eyes tiredly at him and picked at her fingernails. She seemed completely unbothered by the ruckus that she had caused. 

“If you are going to ask me to get rid of the baby, just know I won't.” She answered. “I'm keeping the pregnancy.”

As she said those words, Leonardo's heart broke for the hundredth time like a fragile case, shattered by the words that he never imagined he would ever hear. Much worse, coming from a woman he had been married to for five years. A woman he loved with all of his heart. 

“How could you do this to me, Sophie? How could you do this to me?”

Sophie laughed, her laughter carrying an air of mockery and sarcasm as she dressed before him in a big shirt. 

“I cannot believe you still have the nerves to ask me such dumb question, Leonardo.” She walked towards her desk and pulled out a drawer, searching for something inside. 

“You never held any meaning in my life, Leo. You never added anything valuable to my life. All you did was suck me dry and pretend to be a perfect husband.”

She picked some papers from the drawer and flung them at Leonardo and as his eyes scanned the typewritten content of the papers, his heart sank. They were divorce papers. 

“Because I am a nice person, I am going to help you get out of your misery. Sign the divorce papers and be free from your pathetic state, Leo. Kevin and I plan to be wedded next month.”

Listening to Sophie say such horrible things made Leonardo feel like his whole world was being torn apart. Despair and anger warred inside of him and his nose flared as the feelings of anger won the war inside of him. He lifted his red, angry eyes to stare at Sophie again. 

“You are the devil's spawn.”

She laughed again, evilly before walking towards Kevin. She placed her hand over his shoulder and kissed him on the lips before looking back at Leonardo again. There was a deep look of self satisfaction inside her eyes.

“I agree. Now, sign the paper, Leo, and be free from your misery.”

“Over my dead body!” Leonardo spat on the ground and raised himself back to his feet. He glared hatefully at Sophie. “I'll only agree to this divorce if I am dead!”

And so saying, Leonardo stormed out of the house, banging the door shut angrily behind him. As he descended down the staircase like a storm cloud, he passed Emma who looked surprised to see Leonardo in such an unusual state. 

“Leo…” She tried to call out to him but he had already stormed away. 

As soon as Leonardo walked out of the house and stomped towards his car, he noticed a black, expensive looking jeep parked close to his. 

Confusion etched on his face and his brows furrowed together as he watched two men and a woman, clothed in dark suits alight from the car. They walked towards him and stopped directly in front of him. 

“Leonardo Matteo, am I correct?” The woman stepped forward and extended a handshake to him. Leonardo accepted the handshake with skepticism and puzzlement. 

Who were these people and why were they here? Who were they here to see and most importantly, how did they know his name?

“Y…yes.” He stuttered. “How may I help you?”

“My name is Gracie. I and my men are here for a purpose, Mr. Matteo, or should I say…Mr. Romano.”

“Mr. Romano?” Leonardo's frown deepened. “What do you mean by that?”

“What we are about to tell you might overwhelm you but that is exactly why we are here. To inform you about this. Your surname is not Matteo. Your surname is Romano. Rossi Romano was your father, may his soul rest in peace.”

Leonardo laughed a little ridiculously now, almost forgetting that he was angry just a few seconds ago. 

“What are all these? Are you trying to pull a trick on me? Rossi Romano, the top business mogul in the country? Are you kidding me right now?”

“Fortunately, we are not trying to trick you, Mr. Romano.” The woman had a serious countenance on and it didn't look like she was trying to crack a joke, or anything of that sort.

“A month ago, your father died from a heart attack and two weeks later, his will was read and in that will, he left his company and eighty percent of his properties and assets under your care.” 

She continued to explain. “You can come with us if you still have a hard time believing what I've just told you.”

Leonardo eyed them suspiciously. If they thought he was going to fall for their tricks, then they were dreaming.

“And why should I trust you? I've never even met any of you before. You could be kidnappers, for all I know. ”

A smirk played on the woman's lips this time around. 

“Because, Mr. Romano, we have the key to turning your life overnight and making you one of the most prominent figures in the country.”

She took a step closer to him and stared at him, dead in the eye. 

“So, what do you say, Mr. Romano? Are you coming with us or not?”