We're continuing our story from our last post. The players are a man, Giuseppe, and his second wife, Anna, both immigrants from Italy. There is also Sebastiano, a man who knew Anna in Rome after she married but before she sailed. And, finally, there is a daughter, Sebastiana (nicknamed Nina), born eight months after Anna's arrival in the U.S. We're shifting the focus to Nina: her love for the father who raised her, her questions about her true identity and why she believes she's entitled to half of Sebastiano's $50 million estate in Italy.

Anna and Sebastiano stayed in touch over the years. He visited for Nina's christening. In her letters, she told him of how unhappy she was with her new life and her husband. At one point, she told Nina not to call Giuseppe "daddy."

Anna died in 1957. Giuseppe traveled back to Italy and found a new wife. When she died in 1966, he returned to Italy again, coming home with a fourth wife and her 18-year-old son.

Giuseppe couldn't read. He was a proud man, though, so he studied the newspaper every day. And even though he couldn't read it, Giuseppe always carried a piece of paper in his wallet with Sebastiano's Rome address on it. In case of an emergency, he said.

Though Giuseppe doted on his daughter, she was unhappy with the new situation. She told Sebastiano this in a letter, and he soon arrived at their home. Sebastiano told Giuseppe that Nina should return to Rome with him. "She belongs to me," he said. He returned to Rome without her.

Years later, when she had children of her own, Nina asked her father about Sebastiano. She says now that he put his head down and cried. "Why are you talking about this?" he said. "I never talk about this."

The two remained close, until Giuseppe died in the late 1980's. He was 95. By then, Nina's questions about her identity -- questions she'd asked herself every day of her life -- were begging to be answered.

To be continued ...

Source: New York Times, "New York Paternity Fight May Have Millions of Ripples," William Glaberson and Elisabetta Povoledo, 04j/15/11