Cinderella's New York Christmas. Scarlet Wilson
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sat down on the sofa and was almost swallowed up by it. Leo wanted to laugh out loud, because that’s how he was feeling in general about the visit here.
His eyes caught sight of family pictures on the wall. There was a whole array, obviously taken over years, starting with a young smiling couple with a baby and toddler, going up to four adults all standing with their arms around each other. Love was plainly visible in every picture.
Something gripped in his chest. The family that he should have had. The family he should have been part of.
It was like a million little caterpillars creeping up his spine. He actually thought he might be sick.
He wanted to go over and grab the photos, hold them up to his nose and study his parents. He wanted to see the last thirty-eight years. What they’d been like, how they’d grown, how they’d aged. All things he’d been cheated out of.
He pushed himself up from the impossible sofa. ‘This was a mistake...’
‘What? No.’ Noemi looked instantly stricken.
Something twisted in his chest. He really couldn’t handle this. He wasn’t equipped to deal with this. He’d spent a lifetime devoid of any love. Forming relationships wasn’t his forte. The last woman he’d dated had described him as ‘cold’ and ‘hard’—two things he couldn’t really deny.
Getting that initial letter from his parents had been like a bolt out of the blue. It had taken him two weeks to reply. When he had, he’d been hit by the overload that was his mother, who’d emailed every day, making plans to visit.
Getting the call from Noemi—the sister he’d never met—to tell him that their parents had been killed in a helicopter crash while on their way to visit him in New York had almost taken the air from his lungs.
He so wasn’t ready for any of the emotions attached to having a family. Guilt. Expectation. Judgement.
He’d wanted to see them. Curiosity had made him fly to Switzerland to stand in the same room as his brother and sister and talk to them in the flesh. But now he’d done it.
He had to get out of here. He had to get some air.
A hand came down firmly on his arm. ‘Don’t go.’
Sebastian. His brother.
He could see Sebastian was struggling with this too. ‘Not yet.’ It was almost like he couldn’t quite get the words out.
Sebastian shook his head. ‘You just got here.’ He wasn’t really meeting Leo’s gaze. ‘Take a breath. Take a moment.’
Leo looked to his left. Noemi’s chin was trembling. He couldn’t watch her cry again.
Leo couldn’t work out if Sebastian was doing this for him or for his sister. Their sister. Noemi was their sister. Not just Sebastian’s.
Brain overload. This wasn’t him. Nothing about this was him. All of his life he’d been cool, calm and collected. Those three words were synonymous with how most of his work colleagues described him.
He pulled his arm away from Sebastian’s. He turned to face him. ‘I know I was asked to listen to the reading of the will. But now I’m here, I can see this isn’t appropriate. I don’t want anything from you both. I don’t need anything. I’m not here to take what you think is actually yours.’
A flicker of anger flashed across Sebastian’s eyes. But before he had a chance to respond there was another voice.
‘Ah, Leo, I see you made it. Perfect timing.’
Leo turned to face the figure standing at the now open door. ‘Giovanni Paliotta,’ said the grey-haired, designer-suited man as he closed the door behind him and walked over with his hand outstretched. He tilted his head to the side as he got closer. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re so like your father.’
It was like a kick in the guts.
Giovanni didn’t seem to notice, and waved his hand towards a large table in the corner of the room. ‘Shall we sit?’
Noemi looked at the table, then glanced around the rest of the room, as if she were trying to find another place to sit, but Sebastian moved behind her, putting his arm at her waist and leading her over.
Leo’s gaze flickered. Twelve chairs. Enough for a large family gathering. Was this the table that his mother and father had traditionally sat around at Christmastime? Was this the table that his mother and father had intended for him to sit around with his brother and sister?
Leo had never wanted to bolt from a place so much in his life. He steadied his breathing.
Giovanni settled in one of the chairs and spread his papers in front of him.
Sebastian and Noemi sat down with only a glance at each other. Leo took a few seconds then dragged out one of the heavy chairs too.
Giovanni waited until everyone was settled then gave them all a nod.
‘We all know why we are here.’ He nodded again in particular to Leo. ‘I was your parents’ lawyer for the last thirty years, and I loved them, and miss them, and everything I do today is in accordance with their wishes.’
There was an edge of anxiety in Giovanni’s voice that Leo picked up on. He cast his eyes over his brother and sister again as he shifted in his seat.
Giovanni started reading from the paper in front of him. ‘This is the last will and testament of Salvo and Nicole Cattaneo. Salvo and Nicole were the sole owners of Cattaneo Jewels, currently valued at around seventy billion euros.’
Leo blinked. He knew the jewellery line was famous and international, but he hadn’t realised his parents’ fortune rivalled even his own.
Giovanni kept talking, ‘It was the wish of Salvo and Nicole that in the event of their death, the business should remain with the family.’ Giovanni pressed his lips together for a second, looking decidedly nervous. ‘As such, the controlling stake in Cattaneo Jewels will pass to Leo Baxter, their eldest biological child.’
‘What?’ Sebastian’s chair landed on the floor as he stood up and thumped his hands on the table.
Noemi’s mouth opened, then closed again.
Giovanni cleared his throat, refusing to fix on Sebastian’s red face.
‘No,’ said Leo, shaking his head. ‘I have no interest in the family business. I don’t even know anything about jewels.’ He stood up too. All he wanted was to get out of there.
‘I’ve trained for this my whole life,’ raged Sebastian. ‘Who is he to inherit the business over me?’
‘Your brother,’ snapped Giovanni. For the briefest second Leo realised why Salvo and Nicole had worked with this lawyer for thirty years.
Giovanni held up his hands. ‘Sit down, both of you.’
Leo met his brother’s angry gaze. He got it. He did. And he had absolutely no interest in this business, but his brother’s reaction annoyed him. It didn’t matter that he partially understood it. He couldn’t hide his flare of anger. Sebastian had got to spend a lifetime with his parents—Leo hadn’t even got to meet them.
Giovanni gave a shake of his head and Leo settled back into his chair, staring pointedly at Sebastian until he did the same.
Giovanni continued slowly. ‘There are conditions attached.’
‘What conditions?’ Leo couldn’t help it. He’d been in business too long to get caught out.
‘Leo must hold the controlling stake in the business for a minimum of six months. The shares can’t be sold, or transferred, to any alternative controlling company or family member.’
‘What happens if he does?’ Noemi’s voice was shaky.
Giovanni looked at all