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“He can’t be in here. None of us brought someone to hold our hand. Get him out.”
I glance back at Kalo with no expression on my face. He nods and steps back out of the room. He takes a seat in the waiting area, with his eyes on the boardroom. On me.
I take the seat that has been reserved for me near to where the lawyer is going to sit.
The room is full of hushed whispers. There are nine people seated and waiting. Thanks to Kalo, I now know not only their names but their relationships with each other and with my father. Who does business with whom, who interacts and who avoids each other?
I nod toward my cousin, who, despite our previous interactions, which were not pleasant, to say the least, I am now aware, hates his father. He was closer to my father and fed him information under the table about my uncle. My cousin Philip nods back at me.
Blake Maritzio enters the boardroom with high energy and a broad, professional smile.
“Welcome, everyone. I am glad we could all be here. I won’t take up a lot of your time; we can get straight into it unless anyone has something they want to say first?”
“Just get on with it,” Lucas snaps. My uncle is a man of many manners.
Blake sits down, opening a leather folder in front of him. He turns his attention to me.
“Antonio, the covering letter is addressed to you, but I am going to read it out loud for everyone to hear.”
To my only son,
I wish I could have known you.
In my death, I hope you can learn about who I am by living in my life in a small way.
I trust you will find my last wishes for your satisfaction.
Your father, Massimo.
Blake slides a sealed envelope across the table toward me. “This one, he requested you read in private, in your own time.”
I pick up the envelope and slip it into the inside pocket of my suit jacket.
A murmur of comments runs around the table.
My uncle’s eyes are boring into me, so are my other cousins and family members. Lucas is sitting. When his father does glance at him, he sneers as though to support his father’s sour expression.
“Alright, the will is now going to be read. If everyone can, please remain silent until the end. All and any comments are welcome at the end, but please understand that they will be final and can't be contended.”
We sit in tense silence as Blake flips through the pages and then reads.
First, he lists assets. Vehicles, houses, holiday houses, art, jewelry, furniture, bank accounts, investment accounts — the list goes on and on. My father did very well for himself in his life.
Then he moves on to list business assets, cars, and everything linked to businesses in my father’s name.
Around the table, eyes are growing wider and wider. Perhaps they did not know the extent of his wealth. Perhaps he was a secretive man.
The tension increases when Blake turns to the last page and reads the line that everyone has been waiting for.
“I leave all the above to my son, my one and only son.”
I don’t move a muscle.
Lucas leaps from his chair and slams his fists onto the table. I hear shouting, and chaos erupts in the boardroom. I close my eyes for a moment to block it all out. When I open them, my eyes meet Kalo’s. Blake is standing, begging for everyone to take their seats again.
“How the fuck do we even know he is who he says he is? He crawled out of the dirt, arrived in New York, and wants to believe he was the son of the great Massimo Rossi? His name is not even on the will. It just saysmy son.”
“Lucas, please, take your seat. We can address your concerns in a civilized manner.”
