Chapter 5 — The Lie That Stole Her Life

For three days, Luna drifted between sleep and darkness.

Sometimes she heard voices around her. Sometimes she felt someone holding her hand. Other times, she heard Marcus telling her that she needed to wake up.

But whenever she tried to open her eyes, everything slipped away again.

On the fourth morning, Luna finally woke.

Her eyes opened slowly.

A white ceiling came into focus first, followed by white walls and the soft beeping of a machine beside her. For several seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.

Then the pain came.

Her head throbbed, her body felt weak, and when she tried to move her left hand, it barely responded.

She frowned.

"What..."

Her voice came out dry and weak.

She swallowed and tried again.

"Where am I?"

No one answered.

Luna slowly turned her head.The room was empty.Marcus wasn't there.

She tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she could recall was walking home, hearing footsteps behind her, and two men grabbing her.

Then darkness.

A television mounted on the wall suddenly caught her attention.It was playing quietly in the corner.

Luna stared at the screen.Then her heart stopped.

Ethan Blackwood.

Her eyes widened.It was footage from the interview she had watched at the diner, but this time Ethan wasn't alone.

A woman stood beside him.Luna's breath caught.

Aurora.

Her twin sister was wearing an elegant white dress, her hair perfectly styled, and a soft smile rested on her face.

She looked beautiful.Perfect.The kind of woman people wanted to admire. The kind of woman nobody ever called a freak.

Luna stared at the screen, unable to understand what she was seeing.

The reporter smiled.

"After fourteen years of searching, Ethan Blackwood has finally found the mysterious girl who saved his life."

Luna's fingers curled weakly around the bedsheet.

"No..."

The host turned toward Aurora.

"So you're Luna? The girl Ethan has been searching for all these years?"

Aurora lowered her eyes with a shy smile.

"Yes."

Luna's heart seemed to stop.She was claiming to be her.Her own sister was standing on television, wearing her name as though it belonged to her.

"No."

Luna tried to sit up, but pain shot through her body and forced her back against the pillow.

"That's not..."

Her voice broke.She stared helplessly at the screen.

That's not Luna.

I am Luna.

The interview continued.The host turned toward Ethan.

"You knew her name all those years ago?"

Ethan nodded.

"Yes. She told me her name was Luna that night."

Luna's eyes filled with tears.He remembered.He remembered her name.After fourteen years, he still remembered.

The host continued.

"So what made you believe she was the same Luna you met fourteen years ago?"

Ethan looked at Aurora for a moment before answering.

"I didn't recognize her immediately."

Luna stared at him.

"But when I saw her, she told me things only that girl could have known."

Aurora lowered her eyes.

Ethan continued.

"She remembered the rain that night. She remembered that I was bleeding from my side. She remembered that I had been hiding in an alley because I was being chased."

Luna's heart pounded.Every word was true.Every detail belonged to her.She had told them everything that happened that night when she came back home because of the blood saw on her clothes.

Then Ethan's gaze dropped toward Aurora.

"But the thing that convinced me most was the pendant."

Luna's hand immediately moved beneath her hospital gown.Her fingers found the silver pendant resting against her skin.

The real one.

The one Ethan had given her fourteen years ago.Ethan continued.

"I gave Luna that pendant that night. When showed me hers and told me about that night, I knew I'd finally found her."

Luna's lips parted.She stared down at the pendant around her neck.She couldn't understand how Aurora had gotten a copy.But she already knew the answer.

Aurora had planned this.

The memories.The name.The pendant.Everything.

The host smiled.

"So when you saw Aurora for the first time after all these years, you believed she was Luna?"

Ethan nodded.

"I did."

His voice softened.

"I spent fourteen years wondering if she was alive. Wondering where she was. Wondering if she ever remembered me."

He looked at Aurora.

"Then she stood in front of me."

A smile appeared on his face.

"I knew."

Luna felt something inside her break.Aurora reached for Ethan's hand.He allowed her to take it.The sight hurt more than she expected.

For fourteen years, Luna had imagined the moment Ethan would finally find her.She had imagined him looking into her eyes and remembering the girl in the alley.She had imagined hearing him say her name again.

Instead, she was lying in a hospital bed while he held her sister's hand.

The host smiled.

"People have been waiting fourteen years to know what happened to Ethan's mysterious angel. How does it feel to finally be reunited?"

Aurora lowered her eyes.

"I never expected Ethan to remember me after all these years."

Luna's lips trembled.You weren't there.She wanted to scream.She wanted to tell everyone.

She's lying.

I'm Luna.

I'm the girl who saved him.

But her voice refused to come.

She could only watch.

The host turned toward Ethan.

"You've called her your angel. Is that still how you feel?"

Ethan smiled.

"More than ever."

Luna closed her eyes.A tear slipped down her cheek.The television suddenly switched to social media reactions.Comments began appearing across the screen.

She's so beautiful!

Ethan finally found his angel!

What a love story!

Imagine saving a billionaire when you were twelve and finding him again fourteen years later.

She's an actual angel.

Look at how sweet they are together!

Aurora Blackwood sounds like such a kind woman.She deserves every bit of happiness coming her way.

Luna stared at the comments.Her hands trembled.People were praising Aurora for something she had done.Something that had nearly cost Luna her life.

Another comment appeared.

Ethan is lucky to have found a woman like her.

Luna swallowed painfully.She looked down at herself.

A hospital gown.Bruised arms.Bandages.

A scar on her neck.

No beautiful dress.

No expensive jewelry.

No billionaire holding her hand.

Nobody calling her an angel.

She looked back at the television.Aurora was smiling.The same sister who had locked Luna outside.The same sister who had always taken what belonged to her.

Now she had taken this too.The only beautiful memory Luna had carried for fourteen years.

Luna's fingers found the pendant again.She held it tightly.

"You promised..."

Her voice broke.

"I thought you'd remember me."

Another tear slipped down her cheek.On the television, Ethan leaned closer to Aurora as the audience applauded.

The host smiled.

"Congratulations to the two of you."

The applause grew louder.Luna watched silently.Nobody in that room knew she was watching.Nobody knew the real Luna was lying in a hospital bed only miles away.Nobody knew that the woman being praised as Ethan's angel was her twin.

Luna slowly turned her face toward the window.For fourteen years, she had carried one belief in her heart.That somewhere in this world, someone remembered her.

Someone had seen her.Someone had thought she was worth finding.Now she wasn't sure of anything anymore.She pulled the blanket closer to her face and silently cried.

But outside her hospital room, footsteps suddenly stopped.

The door handle moved.

Luna slowly lifted her head.

Someone was coming to see her.

And whoever it was could change everything.