One

Chapter One: Betrayed

Celine’s POV

“Does she really believe you’re going to marry her next month?”

Vanessa’s laughter drifted through the slightly open bedroom door.

I stopped walking.

I had been about to knock, but the sound of my stepsister’s voice made me pause. I hadn’t expected her to be here, especially at this hour.

Then I heard my fiancé’s response.

“Of course not. Why would I marry a woman I no longer need?”

My heart skipped a beat.

Jasper?

I stared at the door, waiting for him to laugh and tell her he was joking. Perhaps I had heard him wrong. Perhaps they were talking about someone else.

But then Vanessa spoke again.

“I’m still surprised she signed the company over to you. That woman has always been suspicious of everyone, yet she trusts you more than she trusts herself.”

Jasper laughed.

“That’s because she’s stupid when it comes to me. I only had to tell her how much I wanted to build our future together, and she signed everything without asking questions.”

My handbag slipped slightly from my shoulder.

No, It couldn’t be true.

Just two hours ago, I had sat in the company lawyer’s office and signed the documents that would give Jasper control of my late mother’s company. I had done it because I wanted to spend more time preparing for our wedding and building a happy home with the man I had loved for ten years.

I had trusted him with my mother’s legacy.

I had trusted him with my future and now, he was calling me stupid behind my back.

“What if she finds out before the wedding?” Vanessa asked.

“She won’t,” Jasper replied confidently. “She’s already dreaming about becoming my wife. Let her buy her wedding dress, send out invitations, and prepare for the big day. The closer we get to the wedding, the more satisfying it will be when I finally destroy her dreams.”

They burst into laughter. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop the sound rising from my throat.

For ten years, I had loved this man.

I had defended him when my father questioned our relationship. I had stood beside him when others doubted him. Whenever he struggled, I had done everything I could to help him? I had believed that no matter what happened, we would face it together.

Yet, while I was busy planning our future, he had been planning my downfall.

“Besides,” Vanessa added, “once the company is completely under your control, we can finally stop pretending. I’m tired of watching you act like that woman is the only one you want.”

My blood ran cold. We?

I pressed my trembling hand against the wall.

How long had they been together? How many times had Vanessa sat beside me, listened to me talk excitedly about my wedding, and secretly laughed at me? How many times had Jasper kissed me goodbye before going straight into her arms?

I wanted to push the door open, I wanted to look him in the eyes and ask how he could do this to me.

But before I could move, Vanessa spoke again.

“There’s just one thing I still don’t understand. Why are we letting her live? My mother got rid of hers years ago. We could have dealt with Celine the same way.”

The world seemed to stop. My mother’s death?

I slowly lowered my hand from my mouth.

For years, I had believed my mother died in a car accident. I remembered my father’s tearful announcement, the funeral, and the unbearable emptiness that followed.

Afterward, my father brought Vanessa and her mother into our home. I had struggled to accept them, but I had never imagined that they could have anything to do with my mother’s death.

Now, Vanessa was talking as though her mother had deliberately killed mine.

And Jasper knew about it.

“Don’t worry,” Jasper said. “Once I get everything I want from Celine, we won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

The man I had planned to marry was working with my stepsister to steal my inheritance. They were hiding secrets about my mother’s death, and they had probably been laughing at me for years.

BOOM!

The windows shattered. “Ah!”

I threw my arms over my head as pieces of glass rained down around me. The floor trembled violently beneath my feet, forcing me to grab the wall to keep from falling.

What was happening?

Another explosion sounded outside, followed by terrified screams.

I rushed toward the nearest window and looked out.

My breath caught in my throat.

The afternoon sky had turned blood-red.

Dark clouds swirled above the buildings, swallowing the sunlight. Cars crashed into one another as people ran desperately through the streets. Some screamed for their loved ones, while others stood frozen, staring at the sky as if the world had come to an end.

Then I saw it.

Something was crawling down the side of a building opposite Jasper’s house.

At first, I thought it was a giant animal. But as it descended, my entire body went cold.

It looked almost like a wolf, except it was far too large. Its limbs were twisted, black veins bulged beneath its rough skin, and its glowing red eyes seemed to burn through everything they looked at.

It landed on a parked car.

The roof collapsed beneath its enormous weight, the  creature raised its head and let out a terrifying roar.

People screamed and scattered in every direction, before  anyone could escape, it sprang toward the crowd.

I stumbled backward, shaking my head in disbelief.

A monstrous figure stood at the end of the driveway, blocking the only path to the gate. It was even larger than the creature I had seen earlier.

Its massive body was covered in dark scales, and its long claws scraped against the ground as it advanced. Its glowing eyes moved from Jasper to Vanessa before finally settling on me.

I stopped breathing.

Why was it looking at me like that?

The creature lowered its head and took another step forward. Jasper grabbed Vanessa and pulled her behind him.

For the first time since I had known him, he looked genuinely terrified.

Then a strange voice suddenly rang inside my head.

[RED MOON APOCALYPSE HAS BEGUN.]

[HUMANITY’S SURVIVAL TRIAL IS NOW ACTIVE.]

[ADAPT, EVOLVE, OR PERISH.]

I staggered and pressed my hands against my ears. “Who’s there?”

The voice didn’t answer.

Instead, the creature opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

My legs trembled. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move.

Then its gaze locked onto mine.

A strange feeling stirred deep inside my body, something I couldn’t explain.

The monster took another step toward me and suddenly, I understood one terrifying thing.

The world I had known was gone.

Jasper had betrayed me. Vanessa had hidden secrets about my mother’s death. And now, creatures I had never imagined existed were hunting humans.

I had lost the man I loved before the apocalypse even began.

But I wasn’t going to let this new world take my life, too.

If I survived, I would uncover the truth about my mother, reclaim everything Jasper had stolen, and make both of them regret ever betraying me.