Page 84 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire

Kimberley threw her a disgusted look. “Idiot! Do you really think rich old men would give women like me control over their money just because we share the same name now? If merely having sex with disgusting aging lechers would have made me a millionaire, I’d have done it a thousand times over, but life isn’t that easy.” She spat the words out with undisguised hatred.

Even now, she couldn’t understand how someone like her stupid, provincial daughter was able to land a guy like Alessandro Moretti. She had been so much prettier, so muchsexier and more sophisticated than Kassia when Kimberley was her age! So how had Kassia gotten herself someone young, handsome, and loaded while Kimberley had been forced to service men with wrinkly, shriveling cocks?

Jealousy spurring Kimberley on, she walked to her daughter and slapped her hard in the face without warning.

One side of Kassia’s face flamed with pain, but even now, she knew that what hurt more was how...oddKimberley could be.

Behind her, Mel laughed. “Look at that, darling. You made your daughter cry.”

Kimberley smiled and slapped Kassia again, saying conversationally. “I can get addicted to this. Maybe we should keep her around longer after Alessandro Moretti—-”

Kassia’s blood curdled at the mention of the professor’s name.

Kimberley smiled coldly. “Don’t you have any questions?”

“H-he’s my professor—-” Kimberley cut her words off with another slap, and this time the corner of her lip started bleeding. A second later and her mother yanked her head back by the hair, and a gasp of pain escaped her.

“That will teach you for lying to me,” Kimberley snapped. She raised her hand to hit Kassia again, but this time Mel stopped her, his fingers encircling her wrist and tightening painfully.

“You can play with her later. But for now, we need to make sure you don’t accidentally kill her or all our plans will be for nothing.” Releasing his hold, Mel waited for Kimberley to stalk away from her daughter before turning back to Rocco. “You have her phone?”

Rocco nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir.”

“Then call him. It’s time for us to cross a Moretti off our target list.”

“GET FACIAL RECOGNITIONsoftware to identify him,” Alessandro commanded. He and Domenico Moretti were in the university’s security room, facing a wall of monitors connected to the numerous surveillance cameras installed in the compound.

Last night, Alessandro had deliberately kept himself away from Kassia, wanting to give her time and space to think things through. But when Kassia had sent him her text message this morning, he immediately knew that his brother had interfered. And now Kassia was gone.

Rather, CCTV cameras showed Kassia being assisted inside a limousine by a complete stranger.

“This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered to Domenico.

Before his brother could answer, the security officer exclaimed, “We’ve got a match.” Both Domenico and Alessandro leaned forward to take a closer look at the results.

“A rogue Lyccan,” Domenico gleaned grimly from the report on the screen.

Alessandro’s lips tightened. “He’s working for Kassia’s mother, too.” Briefly, he shared with Domenico what little Kassia had told him about her parent, none of it good.

“She’s had a change of heart?” Domenico asked skeptically.

Alessandro shook his head. “I’m not buying it either.” His phone buzzed in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, his heart slammed against his chest as Kassia’s name and photo appeared on the screen.

“Kassia? Where the hell are you?”

A recorded voice answered him, and the line went dead right after the message had been delivered.

Alessandro looked at his brother. “Her own mother’s kidnapped Kassia. If I want her safe and sound, I’m to deliver myself alone to the address provided.”

“You know that this is a trap, don’t you?” Domenico asked in a dangerously soft voice.

Slowly, Alessandro nodded.

Exactly one hour later, Alessandro reached the warehouse specified in the voice message, unaccompanied. There were several dozen men standing guard outside the warehouse, and their malignant gazes followed him as he stepped inside the darkened place.

His mental countdown started.One, two, three...

A thousand scenarios played in the back of his mind, all of them showing how anything and everything could go wrong.