Page 42 of Kairo's Billionaire

Page List


Font:  

Isidore wrinkled his nose. “Some, but not all of it. I’m sure they believed that when my father passed, they would get more. My mother, Eleni, also comes from money, but it is mostly in olives and grapes. Various farms scattered around Greece and even a few in France. Most she inherited from her grandmother, while others she started on her own. My mother dreamed of creating her own wine label. That inheritance did create bad blood with her two older sisters. As they saw it, they got only money. Eleni got land and steady income for the rest of her life.”

“Shit. This is like watching a car crash in slow motion,” Westin swore.

Kairo groaned loudly and covered his face with his free left hand.

Isidore could only flash the sniper a wry smile. His aim was probably better than even he imagined. “My parents died in a car crash four years ago—”

“Fuck!” West slapped both of his hands over his face, seeming as if he wanted to sink under the table. When he lowered his hands to look at Isidore, Isidore stopped his apology with a grin and a shake of his head.

“Don’t. You didn’t know. It’s okay. My parents were cautious. They had a will made up years ago, and they updated it annually.”

Alexei suddenly leaned forward far enough that his slender chest was touching the table. “Tell me this is where your parents fucked over the rest of the family. Please, please, please, tell me that’s what they did.”

Isidore could only nod for a second at the almost gleeful venom oozing from the strange young man. “My parents didn’t leave their siblings anything. Some shares went to Athena in a trust, but the controlling interest in the conglomerate was signed over to me along with the farmland. A lot of money also went to my parents’ favorite charities and other endeavors.”

“And those bastards fought the will!” Athena shouted. “They didn’t like what my parents did and declared it to all be illegal. They wanted to take everything from us! The headstones hadn’t even been set yet, and they were fighting us.”

“The courts threw out all the cases as nonsense and frivolous, but they went on to fight us for the better part of three years. It’s only gotten quiet in the last year,” Isidore continued.

“Except when they send us angry and threatening text messages. Or they make these ugly passive-aggressive comments on social media.” Athena flopped back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. “So the hate for both of us is very real. But if they think they’re inheriting one fucking cent from me if I die, they’re in for a big surprise. I’ve had my will done for three years. Everything I own goes to Izzie or charity. Everything!”

Anger simmered inside of Isidore, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt for Athena. She shouldn’t have been surrounded by a family who was covetous of what she had. They should have been there for her when she was suddenly orphaned. They were supposed to be one big, supportive family, but they only ever wanted what Isidore and Athena had.

“Isidore?” Charlie prompted.

He nodded once. “It’s the same for me. We both had our wills drawn up after the court case was thrown out. We were both so angry at the time and grieving for our parents. Everything goes to Athena or charity. The conglomerate is more complicated, but I’ve made sure it stays out of the hands of the Panopoulos family. I have no doubt that both sides of the family know of the contents of our wills.”

“Which means it makes all the more sense for one or more of them to pursue this kidnapping scheme,” Kairo stated. His fingers continued to knead Isidore’s neck as he talked, helping to get rid of the tension trying to settle there. “Killing you outright gets them nothing. Stealing that encryption token could get them a lot of money in the long run and destroy the company out of spite.”

The room was silent for a moment only to be broken by loud, boisterous laughter from Alexei. The young man with the bright-blond hair and lush red lips rocked back in his chair, laughing. Everyone stopped and stared at him. Isidore was completely confused. This was funny?

Alexei slapped one hand on the table and pointed the other at Isidore and Athena. “We are forming a club!” he shouted when he could catch his breath.

“Wh-what?” Isidore stammered. Was there a lapse in his English? This didn’t make sense to him.

“Yes. We’ll form a club of people whose families wanted to kill them. My grandfather wanted to kill me and my uncle. Your family wants to kill you. We’ll have our own little clique. It’ll be great.”

Isidore was speechless. Was there anything he could say to that?

“Does he still want you dead?” Athena inquired, proving her brain was working better than his.

“Nah.” Isidore’s heart had just begun to climb down out of his throat when Alexei continued. “Uncle Gabriel killed him years ago. Along with several of my uncles and cousins.”

“Wow,” Westin breathed. “Is everything that comes out of your mouth inappropriate?”

With a wide grin, Alexei held up his hand flat toward the sniper and wobbled it from side to side. “It’s about eighty-twenty.”

“Isidore?” Kairo started, tearing his attention from the lipsticked chaos that was Alexei. “I’m sorry, but how many people are we talking?”

“Counting my cousins…twenty-three immediate family members. They would probably be your best place to begin your research,” Isidore admitted softly.

Kairo wrapped him up in a tight embrace, pressing Isidore’s head against his chest so that he could hear Kairo’s racing heart under his ear. One kiss after another was pressed to the top of his head while the man murmured reassurances. At the same time, Athena’s hands grabbed his right one again, squeezing tight.

“Alexei has got people working on researching Vanko and trying to track his possible whereabouts,” Charlie announced. “Kairo will lead the digging into this list of candidates. We’ll support him any way we can. If there’s someone in your inner circle who has betrayed you, we will find them and stop them.”

Isidore squeezed his eyes shut as they burned with unshed tears while a lump formed in his throat. All he could do was nod at Charlie.

For the first time since the death of his parents, he didn’t feel like he and Athena were in this alone.


Tags: Jocelynn Drake Romance