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“I think what you are about to hear next is a little more shocking,” he said, a calmness in his tone that Olivia didn’t share. What was going on here?

“Andrei Rusu is the owner of the Rusu fast-food chain. You have heard of it, I suppose?”

Olivia straightened and blinked rapidly. “The Rusu fast-food chain?” The cogs in her head turned. Rusu? Slowly the images formed, pictures flashing in her mind. “Yes, I’ve heard of it. They’re big in Europe and recently opened a few restaurants here as well.”

“Quite right. Rusu Corporation is rather large. A multi-billion-dollar industry, to be exact.” Mr. Stanley had a satisfied smile on his face. “I’ve had the pleasure of being Andrei Rusu’s personal lawyer for almost all his life.” Olivia looked at him in confusion. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, to get to the point, Andrei Rusu has recently passed away and named you his heir to his estate, including the Rusu cooperation, all personal assets, and his real estate.”

Olivia’s mouth fell open. Mr. Stanley was still rambling on. “Well some of the real estate is rather outdated, the castles at least, but there is a nice mansion just outside of town that he occupied whenever—”

“I amwhat?!” Olivia interrupted him, realizing too late that she had yelled. The folder shook in her trembling hands. Mr. Stanley gave her a moment.

“Yes, of course, this must be rather unexpected for you. My apologies. Let me repeat that once more. You are the sole heir to the Rusu fortune.”

Olivia leaned back in her seat. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Her hands were still trembling as her fingers turned white from her grip on the folder.

“A m-mistake,” she said, her voice foreign to her.

“Oh, there’s no mistake. Andrei has been very clear about this, both through my own personal conversations with him as well as in his notarized will.”

Olivia shook her head, mouth still wide open. “A-a joke then? Hidden camera?” She scanned the office for a camera crew. This was ridiculous. A secret first husband and a Romanian billionaire leaving her everything? Come on!

Mr. Stanley analyzed her, then sighed. “Let me clarify further.”

She nodded, her head moving in slow motion.

“Andrei Rusu loved your mother very much,” Mr. Stanley explained. “To him, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime sort of things, you see. He never loved again after your mother, and he spoke of her often, even to me. He had no children, so there has always been the issue of his vast fortune and who would inherit it. That’s where you come in; he chose you, the child of his only true love, to inherit it all.”

Olivia crossed her arms in front of her. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Mm-hmm. Millions of dollars just like that, huh? To his old love’s only child?” She raised her eyebrows.

“No. Not millions. His estate is worth well over a billion. But yes, to his love’s only child.”

“So there was no one else? Didn’t he have any other relatives? He didn’t even know me.”

Mr. Stanley shrugged. “This has nothing to do with what you or I think, only what is legal in the eyes of the law. Although—” He paused and straightened his tie. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him.Here we go.

“Although what?”

“Andrei Rusu does have a sister and a niece in Romania.”

“And they’re alive?” Olivia asked.

“Very much so, yes. But they didn’t inherit anything. Everything went to you.”

Olivia frowned. “Why?”

Mr. Stanley shrugged once more but this time he seemed uneasy. “Something about an argument, but Andrei never spoke much of them to me and he didn’t pay me to stick my nose in matters he wanted to keep to himself. In the eyes of the law, remember?” He leaned back in his chair. “He could have left it to the homeless if it pleased him. It was his money.” Mr. Stanley cleared his throat. “Well, anyway, I need a few signatures from you so we can start the whole process. You don’t mind, do you?”

Olivia stared at him in dead silence, the mixture of shock, disbelief, and skepticism paralyzing her. She was to be the sole heiress of the Rusu food corporation? Her? Olivia Carter, the quiet, lonely accountant from Boston that most would describe as boring?

“Good, I’m glad you don’t mind,” Mr. Stanley rumbled, putting a pen into her limp hand. “Now sign here, here, there, here, there, here, here, here, aaaaand here too.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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