Page 32 of Reign of a Billionaire
“You want to tell me why you’re defending that bitch’s daughter?” Dante scoffed. Aurora shifted on her heels, and I nudged her gently in her husband’s direction and out of the line of fire.
“You knew she had a daughter?” Alexei asked, amplifying the tension involuntarily. It was probably what everyone had been wondering.
Shrugging my shoulders, I let the anxiety roll off me and taint the sunny afternoon. It was so quiet, the nearby waves the only sound breaking the silence.
Without a flicker of emotion, I looked at my watch before making my announcement loud and clear.
“Anyone touches Sofia Volkov’s daughter and I’ll have their teeth decorating my mantel.”
“You know we’re on your side?” my brother-in-law stated in an even monotone.
My sister and brother-in-law must have decided a conversation was needed after the incident at their party. They’d changed, probably expecting a long night discussing something that was none of their business. Alexei was in his signature black cargo pants and black dress T-shirt while Aurora wore a modest quarter-sleeved dress that came down to her knees.
I pulled the door open to let them enter.
“Did you lose your kid?” I asked as they walked in.
“He’s with Vasili and Isabella,” Alexei answered as he sized up my latest real estate acquisition. Aside from his wife, there was nobody he trusted more than his half brother and half sister.
Aurora’s radiant face and dark brown eyes studied me, the questions floating at the surface. There was no going back to the person I was before I was kidnapped. That part of me wasn’t just repressed. It was extinguished.
My sister might keep searching for it, but she’d never find it.
“What is it, Rora?”
I rarely used her nickname anymore and her smile faltered for a second, probably reminding her of that fateful day when I was kidnapped. She still blamed herself.
She opened her mouth but remained silent, then shook her head. “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay after… You rushed out of there so fast.”
My attention darted to Alexei, who stood emotionless, his hands tucked in his pockets. He was going to let his wife handle this on her own. He was just here for moral support—hers or mine, I wasn’t sure.
I shut the door and walked toward the kitchen to get a drink. Both followed, taking a seat at the table while I poured myself and Alexei a glass of cognac and a glass of wine for my sister.
“You want to talk about it?” I raised a brow at my sister’s question. “About her daughter.”
I leaned against the counter, sipping my drink. “If I did, I’d go see a shrink.”
Alexei rubbed his jaw tiredly while Aurora bit her bottom lip, peeking up at me from underneath her thick lashes. My sister was a badass, but the whole incident of my kidnapping had scarred her. Well, both of us—just in different ways.
I wanted to tell her that I’d blow the whole fucking world to ashes to keep her protected, but I wasn’t the same person anymore. I wasn’t as articulate. I had to hope she knew.
“How long have you known she has a daughter?” Alexei ended up asking.
I rubbed my jaw tiredly, debating how to answer that question as truthfully as I could without going too deep into the years of my imprisonment.
“I saw them recently in a restaurant.” It was a half-truth. I’d known for a long time that Sofia had twin daughters. It was only a few months ago that I learned one of them was still alive. He nodded, choosing not to push.
“Is she involved in her mother’s operations?” My gaze snapped to my sister, and her shoulders went rigid while her husband growled at me. I internally cursed myself for my sharp movement, and Aurora stared up at me with a wretched expression filled with guilt.
I forced a smile on.
“I’ll deal with Sofia Volkov and her daughter,” I stated calmly.
“Will you be able to kill her daughter if it comes to that?”
“Yes.” No. Maybe.
My sister hesitated. “I don’t like it, Kingston.” My sister had been working at the FBI, her determination in finding my kidnappers and killing Ivan Petrov having led her there. Our brothers encouraged her career, knowing she needed closure,but lately, she’d been focusing her talents on ending human trafficking.
