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

Chapter 62Louisa

Dread filled me as a flashback tried to overtake me—the two of us bloodied and bruised on this very ground.

I ignored it, working on my bindings instead. If I got my hands free, I could snatch Drago’s gun and Kingston would take care of the rest.

“Ivan warned me about you two,” Mother said, her voice fainter than I was used to. Maybe all this torture she ordered on me was exhausting her.

I met my mother’s malicious gaze with my own. “Ivan played you like a fiddle,” I hissed. My goal was to piss her off, but it was Drago who was getting mad, shoving the gun harder into my chest. “You thought he danced to your tune, when really it was you dancing to his all along.”

“How so?” she asked while I scrambled my mind for anything to keep this conversation going, because surely Kingston had a plan.

Somewhere in the broken corners of my mind, I remembered everything that happened the last time we were together in this room. Parts of us died here, yet Kingston’s eyes urged me to be brave.

“He wanted you to arrange the marriage to the Tijuana cartel,” I pointed out, my bindings slowly getting looser. “You fought him, but in the end, you caved. See, he got what he wanted.”

“You think he wanted that?” she scoffed incredulously. “It was all me.”

My brows furrowed. “But⁠—”

“I wanted bigger and better than what Benito King had,” she answered. “They used me to settle the Belles and Mobsters debt, so I kicked off the Marabella Mobsters arrangement.”

My mouth dropped. “Perez⁠—”

She threw her head back. “I used Perez as a puppet, but it was me pulling the strings all along.”

“So you sold Liana?” I wanted to kick myself because a part of me had refused to believe that a mother would do that to her child.

“No, you idiot.” There was something nudging at my mind, but my brain refused to process it. “I sold you.”

A puzzle piece snapped into place as I stared dumbfounded at my mother, no shadow of a doubt that she was telling the truth.

“That’s why you didn’t bother saving me when I was snatched by Santiago,” I whispered.

“Now she gets it.” She flashed me a frigid smile as she approached me, then leaned forward so that her face was level with mine. And the whole time, Kingston’s aim was on Drago. “In my defense, I initially thought they killed you, but then your name was circulating the dark web, so I knew you survived. I snatched Perez’s scrawny daughter and was going to use her to get my real Liana back.”

My head was spinning from all of it. But one thing was clear, if Kingston hadn’t come for me, I’d be at the mercy of some sick fuckers.

“You were always so weak, Louisa. A problem that needed to be handled.”

I spit on her malicious face as fury shot through me. “Narcissistic bitch. Your firstborn would have hated you. I’m glad she was snatched from you.”

“Don’t touch her.” Kingston’s voice was full of fury, but before I could do anything, my mother slapped me so hard my ears rang and I reeled in my chair. My cheek burned and my eyes stung, but in the next breath, a loud explosion shook the ground.

“That’ll be your final mistake,” Kingston gritted, the sound of fighting, bullets, and explosions somewhere in the castle drawing near. “You’ll never touch her again.”

“Just because you brought reinforcements doesn’t mean you won,” Mother snickered with a twisted smile. “You’re not getting her. I stopped you eight years ago, I’ll stop you again.”

Kingston flashed her a cold sneer. “Not this time.”

The fight must have almost reached our cell. Punches, grunts, and cracking of bones could be heard, and it wasn’t long before Mother’s men poured into the cell with more behind them. And then a familiar face.

Alexei Nikolaev.

More bullets sounded in the air.

Everything happened too fast. Blood splattered on my face. My ears rang. My chair fell over and my head hit the stone floor so hard I swore I saw stars.

Ignoring it all, I ripped the loosened bindings, then yanked the chair and swung it at Drago. He roared in pain and dropped his gun, sliding it across the floor.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Kingston, Alexei, and his brothers fighting Sofia’s men.

I stumbled for Drago’s gun, reaching it at the same time as my mother. Then, gripping the gun, I straightened and pointed it at her.

“Tell them all to stop,” I ordered.

“No.” Her eyes roved over the room, pausing on Kingston who had four men rounding up on him. “Ghost won’t last much longer,” she remarked in a bored tone.

I aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting one man between his eyes. “Tell your men to stop or you’ll be the next,” I shouted, my eyes darting between Kingston, his brother, and my mother. If the situation wasn’t so dire, I’d be impressed.

More bodies fell to the ground, the numbers slowly getting even.

“Last warning, Mother,” I said, my chest heaving and rage burning my cheeks. “This problem child won’t hesitate to end you once and for all.”

“Louisa,” Kingston called out, but his voice sounded like he was underwater. “Sunshine, don’t do it.” I looked up, finding him hopping over the dead bodies to get to me. My slender fingers shook around the trigger, needing to end this. For Kingston. For my twin. For Lara.

His big hand wrapped around mine, his body tight, tense, and controlled.

“Let me, sunshine,” he whispered. Alexei was by his side, his brothers eliminating the rest of my mother’s guards. The burning ache in my left wrist registered and my shoulders slumped. “Look away, Lou,” he ordered, his expression deadly and his whole focus on my mother as he told her, “The last faces you see before you die will be ours.”

My fingers wrapped around his forearm and I squeezed, causing him to pause. His gaze darted to me with a raised brow.

“Don’t kill her,” I whispered, looking into his dark eyes. “Quick death… It’s too good for her.”

His shoulders tensed, the hunger for revenge in his dark eyes hard to miss. “You sure?”

“Yes.” I flicked a glance at the woman who destroyed so much. “She wants a quick death. Don’t give her what she wants.”

“Attagirl,” Kingston’s brother Royce said, snapping the last guard’s neck and dumping him onto the ground. “Give that bitch a taste of her own medicine.”

Alexei’s eyes blazed with vengeance. So did Kingston’s brothers’. We’d ended this, once and for all. Their support meant more than I’d ever be able to repay. They’d have my loyalty for the remainder of my days.

Locking eyes with my mother, I breathed, “Let’s see how long you last.”

My mother got her wish. She created monsters.