LOGIN“Because your father made copies of the documents. We believe those copies still exist.”“And you think I have them?”“We think you may know where they are.”I shake my head.“I don't.”“Then you are of no use to us.”He turns toward the man standing near the door.“Take her mother away.”“No!” I shout.The man near the door moves toward my mother.I rush forward, but someone catches me from behind.I struggle, kicking and twisting, but the grip around my arms is too strong.“Stop!” I scream. “Leave her alone!”My mother begins crying out my name.The older man raises one hand.“Enough.”Everyone stops.He looks at me.“I will ask you one last time. Where are the documents?”“I don't know!”He studies my face, apparently trying to decide whether I am lying.Then he takes out his phone and shows me a photograph.My blood runs cold.It is a picture of my baby.He is lying in his cot, wrapped in the blanket I used that morning.I stare at the screen, unable to breathe.“How did you get t
“Be careful, Luna. You are making accusations you cannot prove.”I want to scream at him.Instead, I take a slow breath.“Then why have you brought me here? Why are you threatening my mother?”“Because your father made copies of the documents. We believe those copies still exist.”“And you think I have them?”“We think you may know where they are.”I shake my head.“I don't.”“Then you are of no use to us.”He turns toward the man standing near the door.“Take her mother away.”“No!” I shout.The man near the door moves toward my mother.I rush forward, but someone catches me from behind.I struggle, kicking and twisting, but the grip around my arms is too strong.“Stop!” I scream. “Leave her alone!”My mother begins crying out my name.The older man raises one hand.“Enough.”Everyone stops.He looks at me.“I will ask you one last time. Where are the documents?”“I don't know!”He studies my face, apparently trying to decide whether I am lying.Then he takes out his phone and shows
I stare at the photograph on my phone until my eyes begin to hurt.My mother is tied to a chair, her face pale and frightened. There is a bruise on her forehead, and her eyes look swollen from crying.“Very well.”My mother begins shaking her head.“Luna, don't listen to him.”The man turns toward her.“Quiet.”She immediately falls silent.I feel rage rising inside me.“Don't speak to her like that!”He turns back to me.“You have courage. Your father had courage too. Unfortunately, courage did not save him.”I take a step forward.“Did you kill my father?”The smile disappears from his face.“Your father made a mistake.”“What mistake?”“He believed that doing the right thing would protect him. He thought he could expose powerful people and walk away without consequences.”I stare at him.“You killed him because he discovered something about your business?”The man says nothing.His silence tells me enough to make my stomach twist.My mother begins to cry again.“I tried to warn him
I barely sleep that night.Every time I close my eyes, I hear my mother's voice.Your father did not die because of the accident. He was trying to protect you.Those words follow me everywhere. They sit heavily in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I keep wondering what my father discovered, why he was afraid, and who wanted him dead.Most of all, I wonder what my mother was about to tell me before someone took the phone away from her.Who was she warning me against?Edward?Celine?Or Elliot?I turn my head toward the cot beside my bed. My son is sleeping peacefully, his tiny fingers curled around the edge of his blanket.I reach out and touch his cheek.Whatever happened to my father, I refuse to let the same thing happen to my child.I have to be stronger now. I cannot allow fear to control me, and I cannot keep running away from the people who have made my life miserable.Tomorrow, I will face Edward.I will look him in the eyes and ask him what he knows about my father's d
The police arrive twenty minutes after Elliot makes the call.By then, I have searched my mother's house twice, hoping that I somehow missed her the first time. I check every room, open every cupboard, and even look behind the curtains like a missing person could disappear into a small space.But my mother is gone.I stand in the middle of the sitting room, holding her gold bracelet so tightly that its edges press into my palm.A female police officer approaches me.“Madam, I need you to calm down so I can ask you a few questions.”“How am I supposed to calm down when my mother has disappeared?” I ask, struggling to control my voice. “Someone entered her house, destroyed everything, and took her away. What is there to be calm about?”The officer gives me a sympathetic look.“I understand that you are worried. We need to know exactly what happened before we can begin looking for her.”I tell her about the phone call, the strange message, and the sound of something breaking before the l
For several minutes, I cannot move.I sit on the edge of the bed with my phone in my hand, staring at the photograph of my father, Elliot, and Celine.My father looks younger in the picture. He is smiling, with one hand resting on Elliot's shoulder. Celine stands beside them, dressed in a white suit, her lips curved into a smile that now makes my skin crawl.How could they all have known one another?Why did nobody tell me?And why would someone claim that my father's death was not an accident?I look toward the door again.Elliot is still outside.“Luna, please open the door,” he says.I close my eyes.I want to believe him. A part of me still wants to run into his arms and ask him to tell me that everything is a misunderstanding. I want him to explain that the photograph means nothing and that the message is just another attempt to frighten me.But I know better than to trust words without proof.“Go away, Elliot.”“Not until you talk to me.”“I have nothing to say to you.”“You don







