Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
He paused and stared at the shiny dark wood surface of the table. Kairo surprised him by crossing from where he’d been leaning against the doorway from the kitchen to sitting down on the arm of his chair. It was slender and hard, so it couldn’t have been comfortable, but Isidore so very much appreciated his concern.
Kairo placed an arm across his shoulders and gave him a little squeeze. “Just get me the names and any information that you might have. I’ll handle the digging. I promise not to tell you anything you don’t need to know for this case.”
That was the easy part.
“Is there anyone else you can think of outside of work who might target you? Maybe even a business rival.”
Isidore hesitated. Athena reached across from where she was seated on his right and grabbed his hand with both of hers. She flashed him a reassuring smile while her wide eyes filled with worry.
“We promise, Izzie, anything you tell us here will never leave this room,” Soren firmly said. It was enough to get the words flowing again.
“There are also several members of my family who would prefer to see both of us dead,” Isidore admitted.
“How many?”
“All of them,” Athena answered sharply. Isidore instantly squeezed her hands, hating the pain that cut through her words.
“What?” Kairo gasped, though Isidore was sure he’d heard it, and variations echoed through the room.
Hesitantly, Isidore looked up at Kairo, worried that he would see horror or even disgust in the man’s eyes. But Kairo stared down at him with only aching sympathy and heartbreak. He knew what it was like to have family troubles. Just not on this scale.
“Take your time,” Kairo murmured. His right hand wrapped around the back of Isidore’s neck and gently rubbed at tense muscles, working to loosen them one by one.
He turned his attention to the rest of the room and took a deep breath. “My father took over the family business that my great-grandfather started and my grandfather built up. His two younger brothers and sister worked for the company for a bit, but later lost interest and left. They were content to live off the trust funds that had been set up for them.”
“They also thought they’d inherit big later,” Athena added.
“When our grandfather passed about eight years ago, he left controlling interest in the conglomerate to my father.”
“Everything?” Will gasped.
“Mostly,” Isidore corrected before Athena could jump in. “They received some smaller payouts and some property, but they didn’t acquire any new shares. That all went to my father, Christos.”
“And this created the bad blood,” Charlie filled in.
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.