Page 111 of Reign of a Billionaire

A heaviness tugged at my chest. Lately my twin had become harder somehow. She was distant, shutting me out constantly. Mother liked it; I didn’t. But she was my sister, a part of me, and I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try.

“She wants to leave,” I said with a certainty I didn’t feel. With my free hand, I traced my finger along his lips, down his chin until I reached the smeared red lipstick that stared back at me. I inhaled a shuddering breath, unable to bury my head in the sand. “I’ll kill her for you one day, Kingston.”

He shook his head.

“No, sunshine. I’ll kill her.” He lifted our interlocked fingers and kissed my knuckles one by one. “I want your hands clean.”

Our eyes locked, and he stroked my cheek.

“Tomorrow night, we run and never look back,” I whispered, and for once, my hopes and dreams felt like physical things I could hold in my hands.

“Tomorrow night, we run.”

I was thrust back to the present, my limbs trembling as I slumped over before Kingston caught me. My breath lodged in my throat as I stared up at him. It wasn’t possible, was it? I was Liana. Right? I gripped my head with both hands, curling my fingers into my hair. My panicked eyes sought out Kingston like he was a lifeline.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, sunshine,” he swore, his voice gravelly but deep and warm. “I never wanted to hurt you like this.” Emboldened by his words, I raised my chin and we locked eyes. “I’ve never stopped loving you. There hasn’t been another woman. You’re it for me, Louisa. My beginning. My middle. My end.”

There was nothing but sincerity and devotion in his expression and his voice. Was everything I thought I knew a lie? A faux reality? What should I believe?

My heart. My instincts.

For the past eight years, I’d lived with things I couldn’t explain. Dreams and gaps in memories. Maybe those were fragments of my old self; my subconsciousness holding on tomyself. And then it occurred to me… It was always there—in my sketches, in my heart, and in my dreams.

“I remember,” I whispered, tears racing down my cheeks. And then the anger hit.

My name was Louisa Volkov, and I intended to murder my mother for what she’d done to me. What she’d done to all of us.

Chapter 53

Louisa, 18 Years Old

Staying here would destroy us. We had to get out of here—all three of us.

“Are you sure?” Liana said. “If Mother’s men catch you two?—”

I knew what she meant, but we couldn’t stay. Not if the man I loved was a prisoner. We weren’t much better. Yes, we were spared rape and beatings—for the most part—but we wouldn’t be for long. The Tijuana cartel had been in negotiations with Ivan to arrange a marriage with one of us—the prized mafia princesses.

We knew that sooner or later, we’d be sold off just like the humans they trafficked.

Liana and I detested what our mother represented. Years of learning about every criminal alliance in the underworld had taught us that she was high up in the food chain and drove a lot of despicable deals.

Yes, she protected us, but at the cost of others. She didn’t care that they were innocent; she let them suffer. She encouraged their punishments. She encouraged the gladiator games. And she encouraged human auctions.

“We have to try. Should we go over the plan again?”

She shook her head, flashing me that smile that usually got her what she wanted. “I’ll meet you two in the agreed-upon spot.” She leaned in and pecked my cheek. “I love you, sestra.”

“Love you too, sestra,” I repeated softly, staring at my twin. We were identical—both of us blonde, with freckles on our noses and golden-brown eyes. Nobody could ever tell us apart, aside from her being right-handed and me left-handed. “This will work,” I whispered. “Then we’ll be free of these walls and chains. Kingston will be free.”

“And if she catches us?” she asked, eyes darting around.

My chest tightened with the knowledge of what would happen if she did. Torture and beating for Kingston. Possibly for us too. Each breath pierced my lungs as foreboding filled my veins.

“If she catches us,” I started calmly, “I will kill her. For her part in what was done to Kingston and all the other innocents.”

Liana smiled. “He makes you brave.”

“I’d kill for him,” I admitted. I’d die for him too, but I didn’t voice that. “He’s it for me, Liana. I hope you find someone who’ll make you feel the same way. I know you’ll understand then.”