Chapter 83- SOLE OWNERSHIP

'Oh sorry to disturb this wedding but we have urgent matters that need attending to. We are looking for Carina and Metteo Romano" One of the men in the suite asked, his question leaving everyone to stare at Leonardo's parents.

'Yes it is us" his mother responded, pointing at herself and her husband.

'I've just come to inform you that the document that was signed for the land has been rejected"

'Why has it been rejected?" Signora Carina asked, stunned by what the man in the suite was saying.

'Unfortunately only the true heir of the Russo family is allowed to sign on these papers"

'What do you mean the papers have been rejected? I am the only heir to the Russo fortune and I personally signed those papers not so long ago" Avena stepped forward as everyone stared at her questionably.

'Yes you did but unfortunately you are not the heir" Everyone turned their attention to the Russo family in disbelief and everyone was thrown in a wave of confusion.

'You told me that this is your only child?" Signora Carina walked towards Signora Mia Russo and questioned her best friend.

'Of course of Avena is our only child, yes she is adopted but she is our only child and she is the sole heir to our properties" Offended that anyone would question the legitimacy of her daughter.

'Not so fast" Someone spoke and everyone looked at the entrance of the church and they all stared in horror as they saw Signora Meta and Aurora in the church. Finally Leonardo smiled and looked at his beautiful wife who also looked at him and smiled. Both of them had come a long way and it was finally time to settle all that needed to be settled.

'Traitor! What are you doing here?" Signora Mia pointed her finger and walked towards signora Meta in a threatening manner. For the first time, Aurora watched Signora Meta stand up to Signora Mia and showing no signs of fear for her employer.

'I find it very disrespectful that you are talking down to me, so when you're talking to me from now on, it is best you give me respect as I no longer work for you" She responded bravely.

'You are nothing but a maid in my house and yet you have the nerve to talk back at me" Signora Russo complained to her husband who had chosen to ignore her. Frustrated that her husband had paid no attention to her, she turned back and attempted to slap Signora Meta, who held her wrist stopping signora Russo from slapping her. Signora Meta bravely pushed Signora Mia's hand away from her, so hard that the poor woman was left stunned.

'I will not warn you again. I am no longer working for you and therefore you have no right to attempt to slap me" Signora Meta's warning had rung throughout the interior of the church.

Everyone was left shocked by Signora Meta's reaction and the only two people smiling at her response was Leonardo and Aurora.

'Now that we had established that Leonardo is not a murderer and instead it is that filthy dog, Ricardo who had sold his friend for a bag of cash, it is now time that we get to the more important matters"

'Excuse us but we need to get to the bottom of the this incident, this is the second time that the Romano's have handed us documents which are of fraudulent nature and I am afraid that this kind of behavior is staining this family's image" The lawyer spoke out and the more he spoke, the more Signora Carina was heating up with anger.

'I believe you should speak to the Russo's since they are criminals!" Signora Carina pointed her fingers at her best friend and her husband.

'Oh great! Accuse us all you like but your family is not as innocent as you all appear to be, because if I were to pull out all the things that your family has hidden then all of you would have ended up in jail" Signora Russo threatened.

'Enough!" This is not about both you women, this is about Aurora!" Signora Meta shouted. She slowly stepped away to reveal Aurora, who had hidden behind her. Signora Meta turned her attention to Aurora and smiled at her.

Without hesitation, Aurora walked towards Signor Giovanni and pulled out the locket from her pocket.

'No you cannot do this—" Signora Mia yelled but she was interrupted.

'Keep quiet Mia, let the girl speak!" Signora Meta yelled at her ex employer. Aurora handed her locket to Signor Giovanni who took the locket in his hands, opened it to observe the pictures inside and a tear ran town his face as he looked at her.

'It is still as beautiful as the day I gave it to your mother, you look just as beautiful as your mother, my beautiful daughter" Hearing Giovanni Russo call her his daughter had Aurora breaking down in tears. For years, she had wondered who her father was but here he was, standing before her. She had grown up seeing him every day of her life but she had never known that she was truly his.

If Leonardo had not prompted her to open her locket that day, she would never had seen both pictures of her mother and father side by side of what they looked like in their younger days.
It had also prompted Aurora to demand that Signora Meta tell her the truth about her mother and who her real father was.

Flashback.

Aurora was too stunned to speak as she looked at Leonardo who was just as shocked as she was.

'What is a picture of Signor Giovanni doing here along with a picture of my mother?" She asked Leonardo but it seemed as though he too had no answer to give to her.

'I honestly do not know, I simply opened it and saw the man in the picture and I realized that it was Avena's father"

Without waiting another second, Aurora ran two doors down to Signora Meta's room with Leonardo running after her. She unlocked her door and allowed herself in without asking for permission. Signora Meta simply stared at her with a stunned expression on her face as Leonardo entered after she did.

'What is the matter?" she asked.

'Please signora, I want the truth and nothing but the truth. I have been lied to my entire life and I think that it is only fair that I hear the truth just this once" Signora Meta as if knowing what was about to come, calmly placed her book onto the bed and nodded her head in agreement. Wasting no time at all, Aurora handed her the locket and she took it into her hands.

'Open it" She urged the older woman who looked at her and smiled but both Leonardo and Aurora could see that the smile was filled with year of pain.

'I won't open it"

'You have to open it to see what is inside"

'I do not have to open anything, I was there when Giovanni gave it to your mother" her words broke off as she remembered that very faithful day.

'What?" Aurora asked, her voice low as a whisper.

'I was there that day, both your mother and father were young. Your father had just found out that your mother was pregnant and he was over the moon. That very next week your mother and I had collected flowers and caught a few fire flies. They were married under a tree that evening in the presence of myself and the priest. It was then that your father gave your mother this locket" Signora Meta confessed. The more she spoke, the quicker Aurora put pieces of the puzzle together.

'So—"

'Giovanni Russo is your biological father, Aurora!" she screamed as though it were her last chance of letting the very last secret go.

'Then why did he not tell me this growing up?"

'Your father was rich and your poor mother was nothing but an orphan. Giovanni's parents were livid after finding out that your father had married your mother after they had already chosen Mia to be his bride"

'Please do not tell me that Signora Mia knew about me?" Without saying anything Aurora knew that she was right, because the intense sadness on Signora Meta's face said it all.

'She was obsessed with your father and the thought of having a poor woman beat her at her own game was unthinkable. Your father had to give up both you and your mother for your own safety. After he married Mia and she could not conceive, they adopted Avena a few years later, I guess it was her way of having a claim on the family wealth"

'That does not make sense, could my father not take care of me and my mother by supporting us financially!"

'He used to but when his family found out, they attempted to take your life but they had failed. The only way your father could protect both you and your mother was by staying away. After your mother's death, I took you in and Mia allowed you to stay under the condition that you would be nothing more than a servant. My dear, I want you to know that your father loves you so much and every day it broke his heart to see you suffering"

'If he loved me then he would not have abandoned me"

'He loved you that is why he shielded you. Mia is not as innocent as she seems and if your father had made one mistake he would not only have lost your mother but you as well, you are your father's pride and joy and I want you to remember that"

Flashback ends.

Aurora looked at the man that she had called Signor Giovanni all her life and not once had she thought to compare their features. The closer she looked, she realized that she looked just like her father. Signor Giovanni blinked his tears away and Aurora hugged her father, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

'I know all that you did was to keep me safe and mom would be so proud of you" Aurora whispered into her father's ear and she could hear the painful sobs from her father. She let the old man go and he smiled at her.

'Thank you my lovely daughter, you are just as kind as your mother was when she was alive and she would be proud of the woman that you have become" hearing her father say such sweet words to her was all that she had dreamed of. She finally had a family of her own.
She turned to look at Signora Mia, who was her stepmother but not once did she smile at Aurora.

'I will never accept you as part of my family" She spat those words at Aurora.

'You do not have to accept my daughter because at the end of the day she has the Russo blood running though her veins and she is the true heiress" her father's confession left everyone in the church lost for words as no one had expected such a turn around.

'And what is her name if I may ask?" One of the lawyer stepped forth and asked.

'My daughter's name is Aurora Florence Russo" Signor Giovanni proudly stated. The lawyer looked through his documents and for a moment, turned towards his partner and both men nodded their heads in agreement to what the other was saying.

'You are right, it say sit here that only Aurora Florence Russo has over seventy percent of your estate"