Trillionaire in Disguise

Chapter 3

Everyone in the room stared at Leo with open mouths. They could not believe what they just heard. How could this man say something so crazy? He had to be drunk.

“You are a fool!” someone shouted.

Mia’s face was full of questions. She knew what Leo had just said was impossible.

Leo wanted to take the risk. If he really was the lost heir, now was the time to find out. The family was going to force him to divorce Mia anyway. He would do it for Lily if he had to. She deserved a better life.

Lady Margaret recovered first. She had been looking for a way to get rid of Leo. He had refused to divorce Mia even after losing his job that morning. This was her chance.

“If you cannot get the thirty percent,” she said, “you will divorce Mia right away and leave this family.”

Faces around the room lit up. Lady Margaret was the strongest person in the Parker family. This was the perfect way to kick Leo out for good.

“Mom, you can’t do that,” Mia said. “Leo is not thinking straight.”

Lady Margaret frowned. “Then tell him to keep quiet. This is not the place for empty promises. If he cannot get the thirty percent contract in twenty-four hours, the divorce happens.”

“Yes, Grandma is right,” another relative said. “How dare he talk nonsense without thinking of the cost?”

Leo stood up again. “Then we have a deal.”

Everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“Mia will get you the contract within twenty-four hours,” Leo said. “Prepare the share papers. We will sign them soon.”

“Is he crazy?” someone whispered.

“Maybe he has gone mad.”

They all looked at each other with the same confused faces. Cousin Ray worked at Sunridge Company and only managed to get them five percent. How could a jobless man like Leo promise thirty percent?

“Deal,” Lady Margaret said. Her voice was firm. With Leo gone, Mia could marry a better man and help the family stand tall in Summerville again.

Mia pulled Leo into their room and blocked the door. Her eyes demanded answers.

“What was that? Why would you say and agree to something like that?”

“I have a friend who works there,” Leo said. He put his hands on her shoulders. “He can do it.”

Mia looked more doubtful. Leo was talking like his friend ran the whole company. He quietly took the other half of his necklace from a drawer.

“I need to go see him,” Leo said. “I will be back later.”

“Okay. I will wait here.”

Mia nodded. Outside, Leo sent a quick message. Soon a black car picked him up. Grant saw it from a window but said nothing.

In the car, Leo handed the second half of the necklace to Mr. Harris, the old man from before. Mr. Harris put the two pieces together. They clicked and turned into a key.

Leo’s heart raced. Could these men be telling the truth? Was he really the son of a trillionaire?

“This way, young master,” Mr. Harris said.

They entered a quiet room. Mr. Harris locked the door. On the table sat a large box with buttons on top. He looked at the number on the key, pressed some buttons, then slid the key into a hole. The box opened.

“This holds records of your father’s businesses,” Mr. Harris said. “In this city, other cities, and even the capital.”

Inside were stacks of papers.

“Look, young master. Other people run these companies for now, including some I manage. But you are the real owner.”

Leo walked closer slowly. The idea scared him. His heart skipped when he reached the box.

Mr. Harris spoke again. “A strange illness took Sir Vance. When you were three, people tried to kidnap you for money. The family guards chased them. The kidnappers lost you and told us where to look, but we never found you. That is how we lost you.”

Leo looked at the man. “An old woman took me in. She was kind. When she said she was not my real mother, I never looked for my family. She died years ago.”

“What matters is that you are back now,” Mr. Harris said. He bowed. “My name is Harris. I am the butler for the Vance family. I will help you step into your place. After that, my job is done.”

The first paper Leo saw was from Sunridge Company. They had just started a big project in Summerville—the same company that canceled the Parker family’s contract that morning. Leo owned Sunridge Company.

He sorted through more papers. His father had six large companies in this city alone. The biggest one in Summerville was worth over five hundred billion dollars. Some in the capital were worth over a trillion.

Tears filled Leo’s eyes. Mia had suffered for years because of him. Now he could make her the strongest person in the Parker family. He and Lily could finally have a better life.

He wiped his face and spoke clearly.

“Cancel every deal Sunridge Company made with the families in Summerville for the Berry estate project.”

“It will be done at once, my lord,” Mr. Harris said.

“I will decide how the shares are given out.”