Reign of a Billionaire : A Dark Mafia Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

Chapter 60Louisa

Iblinked against the bright light burning my eyeballs, my whole body registering pain. The stench of death and mold brought back memories, pointing to where I’d been taken, and I almost choked with fear.

My eyes roved over the room, the familiar walls coming into focus. It was the very same basement prison where I’d died eight years ago. It was still filthy, the whispers of all the innocent boys and girls who died here loud. Goosebumps broke over my skin, and I shifted to wrap my arms around me only to stop short. I was bound to a chair.

History was repeating itself.

The only saving grace was that Kingston wasn’t here. Nobody could hurt him.

I looked down at my hands, scratched and bloodied, as memories came flooding in. My heart started to beat faster, my worry for Lara overwhelming, but I immediately shoved it into a corner. They couldn’t have gotten to her.

On the tail end of that thought, the door opened with a loud creak and my mother walked in. Her hair was perfectly styled, and her posture belonged on the catwalk as she sauntered over to me, diamonds glittering around her neck. As if she were about to attend a royal ball, not torture her daughter.

Drago, that sick bastard, strutted behind her like a fucking dog, smiling like he was about to get a bone. A shudder rolled down my spine, realizing that I was probably that bone.

Swallowing down my panic, I straightened my shoulders and narrowed my eyes on the monster that was Sofia Volkov. There were rare moments in our childhood when my twin and I had hoped she’d take us away and give us a normal life. She protected us from Ivan’s men only to use us for her own plans. Whatever they were.

She clucked her tongue. “Liana, Liana, what am I going to do with you?”

“For starters, you can call me Louisa.”

Her eyes flashed with something dark as she took the seat opposite me, crossing her legs elegantly. Jesus, give her a fucking cigarette holder and send her to the opera.

“I should have ended that stronzo.”

My mother’s Italian heritage never came out except for when she was scared and panicked. The knowledge that she was both gave me enough courage to flash her a smile.

“Don’t worry, Mother, that stronzo will finish you.” She scoffed, but the worry on her face remained. There was no hiding it behind the layers of makeup or plastic surgery. “You fucked with the wrong man, now you’ll taste the wrath you’ve been bestowing on others for so long.”

“Let me teach her a lesson,” Drago hissed, looking at my mother with hope as he hopped on his feet like he was in a boxing ring.

She raised her palm and he stopped. Like I said, a dog. When my mother said “Attack,” that lunatic went to town.

“Where is Liana?” I demanded, locking eyes on Sofia.

“Sitting in front of me.”

“Wrong, Sofia,” I snapped. She wasn’t a mother, she’d never been a mother, and it was time to cut ties. “Is. Liana. Alive?”

A heartbeat passed. “Yes, I believe she is.”

“You… you believe?” I stuttered with disbelief, my body filling with adrenaline and so much fury I was scared I’d explode. “Since when?” She watched me as if debating how much to reveal, and I let out a bitter laugh. “You’re going to kill me, so you might as well tell me what I’m dying for.”

She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. “You’re right.”

Fuck, why did it hurt to hear her say it out loud?

I straightened my spine, ignoring these useless emotions. I knew Kingston would rescue me, I just needed to buy time and keep her talking.

“Where’s my twin?” I asked.

“Somewhere in South America.”

“Alive?” I breathed.

“Alive.”

“You haven’t found her,” I said, my voice shaking from my nerves and hoping that maybe—just maybe—I could get her back.

“No, Perez did a good job covering his tracks.” Or maybe my twin was hiding?

My head was a jumbled mess, every lie I’d ever been told scattered around my head. It was a struggle to put all the puzzle pieces together.

“What part did the Tijuana cartel play in all of it?”

Mother took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, Drago instantly jumping to light a match for her.

“Santiago wanted an arranged marriage between you and his son.” She inhaled, then puffed out a cloud of smoke my way. I held my breath, hating the smell of smoke. “I refused, but Ivan went behind my back and arranged it.” Her jaw clenched. “It’s always the fucking men.”

“He was your husband,” I pointed out.

“My second and my last.” A distant look entered her gaze, and I imagined she was probably remembering her first marriage and the daughter it had cost her. “Anyhow, the day you and Ghost tried to escape, Liana got caught by Santiago and his men.” I held my breath, anticipating where this was going. “She lied and told them she was you.”

The searing pain slashed through my chest, and I looked down, certain I was bleeding from it.

“So you see, my weak Louisa,” she stated coldly. “You had to become her.”

I blinked, all the alarm bells ringing in my head. Finally, it made sense. The questions she’d always ask me during my torture sessions. She’d ask me my favorite color, my favorite ice cream flavor, whether I was right-handed or left-handed. For every wrong answer, the torture got more intense.

She was conforming me into my twin.

“Did it ever occur to you that none of this would have happened if you’d just taken us away?” I breathed, my heart drumming in a hard, painful rhythm.

She huffed. “And let all those men get away with taking my firstborn?” My blood chilled. “She was everything to me. The only thing that kept me going in this underworld.”

“And us?” I asked, hating the way my voice cracked. “What were we, Mother? What were Liana and I?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to, because I knew. Deep down, I’d always known. We were pawns in her games. Disposable.

I gave my head a subtle shake, chasing all these feelings away. It wouldn’t do me any good getting all emotional. Not here. Not around her and her pet.

“What is the connection between the Tijuana cartel and Perez Cortes?” I croaked. “I’m assuming you know Perez sold my sister through a Marabella Mobster arrangement?”

“Oh, I know,” she assured. “Why do you think I got my hands on his daughter?” Hate wracked through me like a hurricane. “Of course, then he went after you.”

She tapped her cigarette ashes onto the bloodstained floor.

“Round and round we go,” I said through clenched teeth. “You and your sick friends play, and we pay for your fuckups. Her name’s Lara, not Louisa, you sick bitch.”

She laughed, causing my skin to crawl. “Of course you were fucking with our shipments, costing us millions of dollars.” Her cold eyes found mine. “Didn’t I teach you better, Liana?”

Even now, she insisted on calling me by my twin’s name. This woman was delusional, believing her own lies.

“I have no regrets, you psychotic bitch,” I screamed at the top of my lungs, my breaths heaving. I should be stronger and keep my cool, but instead I was letting her get under my skin.

Mother tilted her head at Drago.

Everything in me stilled. No, I froze as I watched Drago smile that feral dog smile. He pulled out a knife, then made his way toward me.

“M-Mother… No…”

And so began my screams.