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

“Miss is fine.” I smiled tightly. “We’re here to see the girls.”

The man’s eyes were alight with humor at my not-so-subtle dismissal.

He gave a pointed look down the hallway. “All five of them are together in the last room on the left.”

A door behind him opened and surprise flooded me when I saw a woman, her hands and wrists bound to her bed, children around her.

Kingston’s hand on the small of my back urged me forward. “Let’s go.”

I shared a glance with him, picking up on his warning to stay quiet, and we continued forward. The moment we were out of earshot, I asked under my breath, “What was that?”

“Nothing we want to get involved in.” My steps tripped over the smooth surface, but Kingston caught me by my elbow. “Let’s focus on what we came for,” he warned.

When we reached the last door, we found the women, and my eyes traveled over each of them. They looked like different people. Their faces were clean, they wore new clothes, and color had bloomed on their cheeks. They looked healthy. Until you looked at their eyes.

You could always tell by one’s eyes how much they’d suffered.

My throat felt thick with unshed tears as I said to Kingston, “They’ll open up easier if you’re not here.”

He nodded. “Keep the door ajar.”

I knocked on the doorframe, and five sets of eyes turned to look at me when I entered.

“Hello,” I greeted them softly. “Is it okay if I come in?”

Four of them offered soft smiles, while one set of eyes remained staring out the window.

“Hello, Liana,” the girls greeted me in unison, causing me to wince at the name. How in the hell would I ever explain?

“There’s one empty seat,” Visha said.

I perched down at the little table where the girls were gathered around.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked, regretting that I couldn’t take them with me to the island. Alexei had assured me that they’d be safe here, but it wasn’t the same as having them tucked in our territory.

“Yes,” Delilah answered. “We’ve been well taken care of here.”

I nodded, feeling Kingston’s presence even though he wasn’t in the room.

“I have to tell you something,” I said, bringing both my hands to the table and twisting my left wrist. “And then I’m going to ask you for help, but I want you to know, if it’s too… hard or painful or anything like that, you don’t have to tell me anything.”

Uneasiness permeated the air. The girls smiled, millions of tiny goosebumps breaking over their arms, remaining quiet. They were suddenly nervous and I hated being the source of it.

I lowered my head, my heart racing in my chest.

“First, I guess let me start by saying, I…” I swallowed. “Well, it turns out, my name is Louisa.”

Tension filled the room while I considered the girls. Their expressions were mostly marred with confusion, except for the youngest. Her brown eyes flickered with terror.

“Did you… forget or something?” Mae asked hesitantly, her eyes darting to the girl who had been beaten into thinking her name was Louisa according to the intel Kingston got.

I took a deep breath, twisting my fingers. It made me sick to my stomach to admit the woman who was responsible for their misery was my mother, but there was no way around it.

“I have a twin sister,” I started softly. “Her name’s Liana. I still have some gaps in my memory—” I watched the girl who clung to me when we saved her, hoping she’d hear my sincerity and sorrow in my speech. “My mother’s Sofia Volkov.” The girls gasped and reared back. “There aren’t too many people who know my face, but I owe you this much. Believe me, a week ago, I fully believed I was my twin.”

“But how?” Mae asked, her brows drawn.

“Eight years ago, my sister, me, and m-my—” Unsure what to call Kingston, I stuttered. “And the man I love tried to escape my mother. My sister never made it to our meeting spot, so my boyfriend and I ran alone, but we were caught.” My bottom lip trembled and I sunk my teeth into it, the copper taste of blood flooding my mouth. “M-my mother had me tortured. She showed me the video of my sister’s death and⁠—”

“She tortured you until you were convinced you were your twin,” the brown-eyed girl whispered.

I nodded. “For eight years, I believed I was my twin,” I rasped. “I don’t even know if she’s alive.”

“She’s alive.” The conviction in her voice stole my breath. “I heard them… the men… whispering about Liana, they said her name in the same breath as Sofia’s. That can’t be a coincidence. They sounded scared of her.” I found her almond-shaped eyes on me.

My throat tightened as I stared at her, pain coiling in my belly. God, what in the hell was happening here?

“But how do we know they weren’t talking about you as Liana?” Visha pondered.

I tilted my head to the side, blinking at them, and something heavy settled in my gut.

“I’ve killed human traffickers.” I shot to my feet. I started pacing around, my mind turning over faster than I knew what to do with it. “But it’s no more than what others are doing. Liana though…” I breathed in and out, hand on my chest. “She was… is stronger than me.”