Chapter 17: He Found me

Luna returned home with her body trembling beneath the surface. The front doors closed behind her, and the estate’s polished silence swallowed her whole.

She ignored the staff’s greetings, her eyes glazed and focused only on the stairs ahead. She needed space. Stillness. A place to breathe before the fear caught up with her again.

Her steps were light but fast, heels clicking in sharp rhythm until she reached her room and shut the door behind her with a quiet but decisive click.

Safe. At least for now.

Her fingers reached for the zipper at her back, the storm-gray gown sliding down her body like the weight she had carried all day. Her skin was clammy—tension coiled in her shoulders, behind her eyes, in the center of her spine.

She needed the bathtub.

She needed silence.

But even more, she needed to forget what had happened this morning.

---

Flashback – That Morning, Agency Headquarters

Luna had left the estate just after having breakfast with George, but didn't tell him where she was off to, she didn't owe him any explanation though. 

She only told the head maid she had “a meeting.”

But in truth, she had gone to the only place that had ever protected her when her past life bled into the present her agency.

The towering glass building had always offered more than career opportunities. Since the day she signed with them, they’d helped her build not just her brand but a shield. A new name. A new life. One that was intentionally distanced from the man who once made her a prisoner inside her own home.

Sebastian Vance, her first husband.

In her boss’s private office, Luna sat across from the woman who had once smuggled her out of another country, helped her change cities, scrubbed her records.

Grace Henkins—one of the very few people Luna trusted.

She wasn't a perfect person because in her own way she knew exactly how to take advantage of them but then Luna knew she was the only one to help her.

She handed over her phone, her voice low and measured. “I got this last night.”

Grace read the message aloud, slowly.

“Long time, Luna. Imagine my surprise seeing your face in the headlines. Mrs. Hayes now? You never stop running, do you?”

— Sebastian

A pause. Then the final line:

 “We still have unfinished business, my love.”

Luna’s voice cracked just faintly. “He found me again.”

Grace’s expression hardened, her jaw tensing. “We wiped everything. How the hell did he—?”

Luna cut in softly, “The scandal. The headlines. He saw my name. My face. I became visible.”

Grace stood from behind her desk and paced. “You should’ve told me earlier. We can reroute your visibility. I’ll speak to legal, contact the private network, and lock your information tighter. No public appearances without security from now on. He can’t reach you. I won’t let him.”

But Luna shook her head. “No. I’m tired of hiding. If he’s watching, let him see me become untouchable.”

Grace narrowed her eyes. “This is dangerous, Luna.”

“I know.” She swallowed. “But I won't disappear again. I want him to know he doesn’t scare me anymore… even if he does.”

They sat in silence after that, the weight of the past and the storm of the future thick between them.

Grace finally said, “Then we do this smart. Quiet. Strategic. I’ll handle the backend. You go home, act normal. Don’t let anyone, especially George, see you rattled. Understood?”

“Under no circumstances will this jeopardize this contract, we can't pay for the damages Luna, is that clear?" 

Luna nodded.

But even as she agreed, the tremor in her hands betrayed her.

She found her way home back at the estate, she moved toward her vanity, slowly pulling her earrings off as the maid quietly placed her robe nearby.

Her phone buzzed once on the glass surface.

A message from an unknown number.

But this time, not from her ex.

“Confirming your presence as co-host of the ‘Hearts in Business’ Gala this Friday. Statement to the press to be released under your name and Knights Corp. Kindly review attached.”

She opened the file.

Her name Luna Hayes appeared in bold, elegant print beside the company crest.

They were finally introducing her to the world.

Not as a whisper.

As a headline.

As a wife.

As someone real.

She didn’t smile. She didn’t cry.

She just stared at her reflection.

And for the first time in a long time… she was both seen and afraid.

 He knows where I am.

But this time, I won’t run.

Her fingers gently traced the candle’s glass at the edge of the vanity. She lit it, watched the flame flicker and sat in the quiet, letting the heat and light center her again.

If the gala was war, she was ready.

But not for George. Not for the press.

For Sebastian.

And if he was watching…

Let him see her burn brighter than his threats.