Chapter 5 - The Attack on Leo’s Name
Carmine moved Leo immediately.
Not because Helena said so.
Because Rebecca agreed the threat was credible.
His sister Bianca took Leo to a secure family property outside Columbus.
Two bodyguards went with them.
Helena was not told where.
That enraged her.
“You think I’d hurt him?”
Carmine stared.
“You threatened him with food over a scratched car.”
She looked ashamed for half a second.
Then angry again.
“That was discipline.”
“No.”
One word.
No debate.
Then Rebecca found Marco’s next move.
A paternity challenge.
Helena stared at the document.
“What?”
Someone had prepared a petition questioning whether Leo was biologically Carmine’s son.
Carmine laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Helena looked genuinely shocked.
“He is your son.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Carmine looked at her.
“Because I was there when he was born?”
“I mean legally.”
Rebecca answered.
“Existing acknowledgment, medical records, marriage history—many things. But biological claims can still be used tactically to create delay.”
Helena read further.
The petition alleged Leo’s mother, Sofia, had been involved with another man before her death.
Carmine’s face changed.
Sofia.
His first wife.
Dead when Leo was six months old.
Helena had entered his life afterward.
Rebecca looked at him.
“Was there ever a question?”
“No.”
“Any affair?”
“No.”
Helena interrupted.
“Marco knew Sofia.”
Carmine turned.
“What?”
“They worked together.”
That was new.
Before marriage, Sofia had been an architect.
DeLuca Development used her firm.
Marco supervised several projects.
Carmine’s voice hardened.
“How close?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I assumed you knew.”
He didn’t.
Rebecca requested old company records.
One email stood out.
Marco to Sofia:
If Carmine ever understands what Vittorio is doing with the trust, he’ll hate you too.
Carmine stared.
“What does that mean?”
Another email.
Sofia:
I don’t care about the trust. I care about Leo.
Marco:
Same thing to Vittorio.
The timeline was getting stranger.
Vittorio created the trust shortly after Leo’s birth.
Sofia knew.
Marco resented it.
Why would Carmine hate Sofia?
Then Rebecca found a draft amendment.
Vittorio had originally planned to leave DeLuca Heritage Holdings to Carmine.
Sofia convinced him not to.
Carmine went still.
“What?”
Rebecca showed the memo.
Sofia argued that family assets should remain insulated from adult marital conflict and business pressure.
She wanted Leo protected.
Carmine stared.
“My wife asked Dad not to leave it to me?”
“Yes.”
Helena watched him carefully.
“Why?”
Carmine understood before Rebecca said it.
Because Sofia knew him.
He loved his family.
But he also trusted Marco professionally.
If Carmine controlled everything directly, Marco could influence him.
Sofia wanted a wall.
Leo’s trust became that wall.
Carmine sat down.
For years he thought Vittorio had bypassed him because his father doubted him.
Now he learned Sofia had helped design the protection.
Not against Carmine.
For Leo.
Then Rebecca found the paternity petition’s supporting declaration.
Signed by an alleged former nurse.
She claimed Sofia privately admitted uncertainty about Leo’s father.
Carmine’s face turned cold.
“Who is she?”
Rebecca searched.
The nurse existed.
But she had never worked at Leo’s hospital.
Forgery.
Or identity misuse.
Then Helena’s phone buzzed.
Julian.
She stared at it.
Carmine said:
“Answer.”
She did.
Speaker.
Julian’s voice:
“Did he see the petition?”
Helena closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then tell him to settle.”
Carmine leaned toward the phone.
“Settle what?”
Silence.
Julian realized.
“Carmine.”
“What does Marco want?”
Julian hesitated.
“Voting control.”
“For what?”
“A merger.”
Rebecca looked up.
There it was.
Marco wasn’t chasing trust money directly.
He needed Leo’s voting shares neutralized long enough to force through a merger.
“How much is the merger worth to him?”
Julian answered:
“Personally?”
Pause.
“About twenty million.”
Carmine’s face hardened.
“And Helena?”
Silence.
May you like
Then Julian said something that made her go white.
“She was supposed to get two.”
