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Chapter 3

When Leon finished talking, Brandon's bodyguards, though they kept their cool, were totally freaking out inside.

As Brandon's personal guards, they'd never seen anyone talk to him like that before.

Was this guy nuts?

The two bodyguards shot Leon some serious stink-eye.

But Brandon just waved them off and said, "Chill, this guy's not as simple as he looks."

"But Brandon, he disrespected you," one of the bodyguards protested.

Brandon just shrugged it off with a slight smile and said, "It's no big deal. If he's willing to help the Corleone family, I wouldn't mind if he slapped me twice."

"What?" The two bodyguards couldn't believe their ears.

Could this poor dude really be that powerful?

"The Corleone family is worth hundreds of billions, all thanks to Leon's skills," Brandon explained.

"Seriously?" The bodyguards' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

So, the guy standing in front of them was the legendary Leon!

"Alright, you two can leave now. I need to talk to him alone," Brandon ordered.

Once they left and shut the door, Leon got straight to the point, "Brandon, have you made up your mind?"

Brandon sat up, looking all serious, and said, "Leon, actually, I have another request. I hope you can come back and take charge of the Corleone family again."

Leon didn't hesitate, "Sorry, not interested."

"Okay," Brandon sighed, looking defeated. "Then, I hope you can lend me 20 billion dollars."

Leon was taken aback, "20 billion dollars? Brandon, do you even know how much that is? How can you ask for that?"

Brandon looked embarrassed, "Leon, I get it, but I'm out of options. The Corleone family is in deep trouble. Either you take charge, or lend me 20 billion dollars. If you agree, I'll meet all your demands."

Leon rubbed his nose, feeling pretty helpless, "Brandon, I get what you're saying, but I don't have that kind of money."

"Leon, don't play dumb. I know your offshore accounts have over a hundred billion dollars. For you, 20 billion is pocket change. Do you really want to see the Corleone family go under? Don't forget, your last name is also Corleone," Brandon said, getting emotional.

Leon sneered, "Brandon, now you remember I'm part of the Corleone family? Four years ago, how did you treat me? Need a reminder? I had big plans to make the Corleone family the most powerful in the world. But what did you do? I gave everything to the family, and you kicked me out. Now you come to me, isn't that a joke? I've been living with the Herman family for the past four years, treated worse than their servants. Did anyone from the Corleone family care about me?"

"If the Corleone family wasn't in trouble, you wouldn't have come to me, right?" Leon's voice was icy.

Brandon stayed quiet for a bit, then said, "Leon, I know you're still mad at the Corleone family. But if you help us out this time, I promise to make you the chairman of Corleone Investment Bank. How about that? It's a genuine offer."

Corleone Investment Bank might not be the family's biggest asset, but it had the most potential. It held shares in a bunch of startups, and once those companies went public, the bank's value would skyrocket.

Leon thought it over. If this had been two days ago, he would've said no without a second thought.

But after what happened with Steve, his perspective had shifted.

He realized that without control over wealth, he'd keep running into the same problems.

So finally, Leon agreed.

Steve let out a sigh of relief, "Great. As long as you agree, I'll handle the rest. You need to come to the company tomorrow, and I'll also arrange for the Cullinan you wanted."

If Leon hadn't agreed to help, the Corleone family would've been in deep trouble.

With that settled, Leon got up to leave. He noticed a set of expensive suits hanging on a coat rack and paused, "Brandon, mind if I borrow this suit?"

Leon had a class reunion tonight and planned to buy a decent outfit after meeting Brandon.

Since Brandon had a suit right there, he figured he didn't need to buy one.

"Sure, go ahead. It's a classic Gucci piece, still got the tags on," Brandon said casually, not caring about the suit.

Leon didn't hesitate, changed into the suit, and left.

After leaving the villa, Leon hopped into his pickup truck, excited for the evening's reunion.

He knew Liana Porter, the most popular girl from their class, would be there.

On the way, Leon turned on the radio, grooving to the music.

But then, a loud car horn blared from his left.

Leon hit the brakes, and the car on the left rolled down its window. Caitlin's mom, Samara Herman, stared at him with a blank expression.

Samara was a woman who took great care of herself and lived a healthy lifestyle. Even though she was middle-aged, she looked like she was in her thirties.

Leon greeted her.

Samara looked him up and down, eyeing his suit, and asked, "Leon, where'd you get that suit?"

Leon, usually a bit scared of Samara, answered softly, "This suit? A friend lent it to me."

"Friend?" Samara sneered, "Leon, I know what you did on the yacht. You had the nerve to argue with Steve, how dare you! You useless piece of shit. Don't ruin Caitlin. Pack your things and divorce Caitlin tomorrow. We'll be kind enough to compensate you with some money."

Hearing Samara's words, Leon immediately protested, "Samara, you can't do this. I love Caitlin, and my feelings for her are real."

"So what?" Samara sneered. "Look at yourself, Leon. You're disgusting. A janitor would be the best you can do. And Caitlin deserves a husband better than you. Plus, Steve just called me. If I let him be with Caitlin, he'll give us a mansion worth 3 million dollars! That's 3 million dollars, do you even know what that means?"

"Steve again," Leon muttered, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

But he wasn't too worried because he was about to take charge of Corleone Investment Bank. Then, he could make Steve go bankrupt anytime he wanted.

"Samara, I will never leave Caitlin. This is my marriage with Caitlin, and you have no right to interfere."

With that, Leon started his pickup truck and drove away.

"Damn it, Leon, you shameless bastard," Samara fumed, wishing she could flip the pickup truck over. But with so many cars on the road, she had to hold back and drove away as well.

After lunch, Caitlin and Steve returned to the company.

As she was about to leave after work, she overheard some employees gossiping.

"Did you hear? Caitlin's husband Leon came today, and he drove a pickup truck. How embarrassing."

"Yeah, Caitlin's husband is such a loser. I feel sorry for her."

"If I were Caitlin, I would've divorced that guy already. Caitlin is so beautiful, and so many people are pursuing her. She doesn't need to worry about finding a husband."

Caitlin heard all these comments and immediately got angry, deliberately coughing to get their attention.

The employees noticed Caitlin behind them and looked flustered.

"Caitlin, we didn't mean to gossip about you. Please don't be mad."

"Shut up. Don't ever talk about this again. If I hear it, I'll kick you out of the company!" Caitlin snapped.

Her eyes turned red, and she was on the verge of tears.

She felt sad for herself because her husband was such a disappointment.

Other people's husbands were outstanding and capable. But Caitlin's husband was just a loser, making her feel ashamed.

At that moment, the receptionist said, "Caitlin, a delivery company just brought something, saying it was specially sent to you."

"Really? Where is it?" Caitlin was puzzled because she didn't remember ordering anything online.

The receptionist handed her a beautifully wrapped gift box, and Caitlin took it.

Looking at the box, the employees were all surprised.

"What a beautiful box. What could be inside?"

"I bet it's something very expensive."

"Caitlin, open it. Do you think it might be from Steve?"

The employees speculated curiously.

Under everyone's gaze, Caitlin was also very curious and opened the gift box.

When they saw what was inside, everyone was stunned.

"Oh my God, it's a diamond necklace!"

"My God, that diamond is huge!"

"I remember now. I saw it on TV. This necklace is called Starlight Symphony with a rare Cullinan diamond, and it's insanely expensive."

Caitlin was stunned, feeling like she was in a dream.

The craftsmanship of the necklace was exquisite, and the diamond on it was as big as a fist. It was clear that the price was off the charts.

She had heard of "Starlight Symphony," a famous piece of jewelry made by several renowned artists, and there was only one in the world. The diamond on it was from South Africa, and because of its special significance, many people wanted to buy it but couldn't.

But now, someone had sent Starlight Symphony directly to Caitlin!

"Who do you think sent Starlight Symphony to Caitlin?"

"Undoubtedly, it must be one of Caitlin's admirers."

"Could it be Steve?"

"It must be him. If not Steve, who else could give such an expensive gift? It certainly can't be Caitlin's husband."

"You're right. That poor guy Leon could never afford something so expensive."

Caitlin was very puzzled and curious about who sent her such an expensive gift.

She didn't think of Leon at all because she knew Leon's financial situation very well, where Caitlin occasionally gave him some cash.

Not to mention Starlight Symphony, Leon couldn't even afford an ordinary diamond necklace.

Could it be that Starlight Symphony was really from Steve?

Thinking this, Caitlin felt very touched and a bit shy.

Meanwhile, Leon arrived at a hotel.

This hotel was very famous locally, and everything inside was super pricey. Usually, the people who spent money here were the local wealthy.

So you could see luxury cars in the hotel parking lot, like Ferraris, Porsches, Rolls-Royces, and so on.

This was also the place where Leon and his classmates were having their reunion.

Leon drove his pickup truck into the parking lot, and just as he parked, he heard a car horn behind him.

"Hey, are you blind? Don't you know this is not a place for pickup trucks?" A Mercedes stopped, and a man got out, speaking rudely to Leon.

Leon rolled down the window and looked at the man. The man was stunned when he saw Leon's face. "Leon?"

"Harold?" The man in front of Leon was his former classmate, Harold Hamilton.

Harold recognized Leon but just sneered and walked into the hotel after parking his Mercedes.

Leon was a bit surprised that Harold was so cold.

Then he also got out of the car and walked into the hotel.

As the door to a banquet hall was pushed open, everyone inside turned to look.

"It's Harold. Harold, it seems you've been doing well these years. You've become a rich man, and you look so handsome!" Someone praised.

At this moment, Harold was wearing an expensive suit, looking very stylish.

Then everyone noticed Leon walking behind Harold, and Leon was also dressed nicely.

A classmate smiled and said, "Leon, it seems you're doing well too. There are two seats left for you guys, come and sit down."

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