Page 2 of Contract of a Billionaire

“And Branka?” I whispered.

He shrugged. “She’s useless.”

This man was a fucking lunatic. A cruel, sadistic bastard. Just like Branka described him.

“She’s not useless,” I spat at him. “She's an amazing, good person.”

Another inch closer to my son. I just had to grab him and get the fuck away from here. Nurses had been in and out of this room all goddamn night. But now that I wanted one here, they were nowhere to be seen.

“You, Autumn Corbin, and your family are a fucking plague. Stay away from Alessio, or I’ll make you and your family pay. Alessio has other women to fuck.” My heart shattered; pieces of the fragile organ scattered at my feet. Even after all this time, it fucking hurt like hell.

Alessio’s words still rang in my brain. I was just a good fuck to him. Nothing more; nothing less.

His eyes lowered to my son, his lips curving into a cruel smirk. “Andthiswill be a dead bastard if I see you around.”

Before I could blink, he pushed his butt into my baby and a scream shattered through the hospital. Kol’s and mine.

“Get away from him!” I had no idea how or when I threw myself on him, my fists hitting against his back.

He threw me off him easily, my back hitting the cold hospital tile. Black dots swam through my vision. A high-pitched scream from my baby filled the space. The scent of smoke. A cloud filling the air.

Horror tore through me.

This can’t be happening.

The cigarette still burned in my son’s cradle.

Chapter1

Autumn

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

Okay, celebrating your college graduation on top of a bar, dancing and shooting darts wasn’t exactly the most mature way to get recognition for four years of hard work.

Yes, it took us an extra semester. The first year was hard. Both Branka and I failed most of our classes the first semester and never caught up. We weren’t geniuses. Just two average girls with an artistic gene. Or something like that.

But we finally graduated. Yes, summer was behind us, but we had our entire lives ahead of us. Many more summers.

My dreams were finally coming true. I got an offer for an internship withNational Geographicand my first assignment started in a week. A freaking week. I would travel the world taking pictures. My father was always a fan of the old adage “a picture's worth a thousand words.”

I wanted my pictures to make a difference in this world. Hopefully, make the world a better place.

“Another shot for the girls,” someone shouted in the back.

It was amazing what a tight mini-dress could accomplish. Drinks followed, Branka and I danced on top of the bar, moving sensually. Slow, fast, slow. After weeks of packing, studying, and more packing, we deserved to celebrate and unwind.

The loud music pumped through the speakers, vibrating through every surface. The music bounced off the walls, the latest Dua Lipa’s best hits album playing one after another. A few of the girls danced together on the bar, while others were too busy sealing their lips to their boyfriends or men they’d never met.

My gaze traveled over the crowd. It was September yet most girls wore skimpy little summer dresses. But then, this was California. Summer dresses were almost a year round outfit.

The bar was too crowded. Probably over capacity, but nobody had started kicking us out. Our last week here. The last four years had been filled with some seriously wild shit, but we never got in trouble. Branka claimed it was because her brother had connections everywhere.

Alessandro Russo.

He didn’t even remember me or the whole incident on my eighteenth birthday. I was so nervous and excited that day. Branka and I couldn’t wait to get to the University of California, Berkeley. We shared a birthday and celebrated at my parents’ home that day.

The birthday party was still in full swing. The chatter and laughter of guests could be heard from downstairs. My family. Friends. Branka, my best friend. From the moment my parents and I moved to Montréal, the two of us clicked and had been inseparable ever since.