His Secret Child (Slade Security Team Series Book 2) by Leslie North Page B
Authors: Leslie North
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he would simply put them in charge of their own money.
Petrakis shook his head and began to read again. “To my son, Antonio, I leave this world with a heavy heart for the wrongs I have done. There was a time when Antonio found it easy to trust others. But that changed, and I blame myself for that. To make up for this, I leave the rest of my estate to my son, with the exception of the Villa Livia on Kato Antikeri, which goes to Claire Bennett.”
Antonio straightened. His sisters did as well and Eva asked, “Claire who?” She looked at Antonio, but he did not remove his stare from Petrakis. The lawyer put down the will and folded his hands on top of it.
Crossing his arms, Antonio asked, “Tell me what it’s going to take to break this will. I am not allowing my mother’s house—the place where she is buried, the villa named after her, to go to…to an American.”
“You know this Claire?” Alexandra asked.
Antonio ignored her question as well.
Petrakis lifted an eyebrow. “There is one more condition.” He cleared his throat and read, “Everything will be held in trust for my son until he is married. At that time he may do as he pleases, and if he marries by his twenty-fifth birthday, the rest of my inheritance, including the Villa Livia, will go to him.”
Alexandra gave a gasp. “That’s next month! That’s crazy!”
Petrakis put a hand on the document. “Your father was of sound mind. The bequests are all reasonable, if a touch…unusual.”
Antonio gave a snort. “Anything can be broken—overturned. How do we end this farce?”
“If you contest the will, you will forfeit your inheritance—and that of your sisters. Weren’t you listening earlier? That clause is in the first paragraph.”
Jaw clenched tight, Antonio shook his head. But it was Eva who spoke up. “Our mother loved the Villa Livia. How could father leave this to a stranger?”
“Oh, Claire Bennett is not a stranger,” Antonio said. He could still see her face—that perfect face framed by honey-blonde hair, and the sparkling, wicked green eyes. He remembered a tall, skinny girl, with long legs and a too-American pushy attitude. He’d almost fallen for her—but he’d been smart enough to know that a penniless American girl on a scholarship to study art was the type to flirt with, but never to marry. His father was right about one thing—the old man had taught him to be wary.
But it was also just like his father to try and manipulate him this way. His father had always been one to play games with the lives of others. But this was too much, even for the mighty Matthias Rosso.
He knew what his father wanted—but he wasn’t going to play that game. He would find a way out of this. And he would find a way that kept his sisters’ inheritance intact.
Antonio glanced at his sisters. He owed them something of an explanation, so he said, the words clipped, “Claire Bennett is the one person in the world I had hoped to never meet again. Ever.”
Greek Billionaire’s Blackmailed Bride (The Rosso Family Series Book One)
Petrakis shook his head and began to read again. “To my son, Antonio, I leave this world with a heavy heart for the wrongs I have done. There was a time when Antonio found it easy to trust others. But that changed, and I blame myself for that. To make up for this, I leave the rest of my estate to my son, with the exception of the Villa Livia on Kato Antikeri, which goes to Claire Bennett.”
Antonio straightened. His sisters did as well and Eva asked, “Claire who?” She looked at Antonio, but he did not remove his stare from Petrakis. The lawyer put down the will and folded his hands on top of it.
Crossing his arms, Antonio asked, “Tell me what it’s going to take to break this will. I am not allowing my mother’s house—the place where she is buried, the villa named after her, to go to…to an American.”
“You know this Claire?” Alexandra asked.
Antonio ignored her question as well.
Petrakis lifted an eyebrow. “There is one more condition.” He cleared his throat and read, “Everything will be held in trust for my son until he is married. At that time he may do as he pleases, and if he marries by his twenty-fifth birthday, the rest of my inheritance, including the Villa Livia, will go to him.”
Alexandra gave a gasp. “That’s next month! That’s crazy!”
Petrakis put a hand on the document. “Your father was of sound mind. The bequests are all reasonable, if a touch…unusual.”
Antonio gave a snort. “Anything can be broken—overturned. How do we end this farce?”
“If you contest the will, you will forfeit your inheritance—and that of your sisters. Weren’t you listening earlier? That clause is in the first paragraph.”
Jaw clenched tight, Antonio shook his head. But it was Eva who spoke up. “Our mother loved the Villa Livia. How could father leave this to a stranger?”
“Oh, Claire Bennett is not a stranger,” Antonio said. He could still see her face—that perfect face framed by honey-blonde hair, and the sparkling, wicked green eyes. He remembered a tall, skinny girl, with long legs and a too-American pushy attitude. He’d almost fallen for her—but he’d been smart enough to know that a penniless American girl on a scholarship to study art was the type to flirt with, but never to marry. His father was right about one thing—the old man had taught him to be wary.
But it was also just like his father to try and manipulate him this way. His father had always been one to play games with the lives of others. But this was too much, even for the mighty Matthias Rosso.
He knew what his father wanted—but he wasn’t going to play that game. He would find a way out of this. And he would find a way that kept his sisters’ inheritance intact.
Antonio glanced at his sisters. He owed them something of an explanation, so he said, the words clipped, “Claire Bennett is the one person in the world I had hoped to never meet again. Ever.”
Greek Billionaire’s Blackmailed Bride (The Rosso Family Series Book One)
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