All Chapters of Rejected Luna: Rise of an Omega Queen: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The envelope sat on the table between us.Neither of us touched it.For some reason, opening it felt more frightening than everything that had happened before.It wasn't just a letter.It was my mother's handwriting.Her final words.Maybe the answers I'd spent years searching for were inside.Maybe the truth would hurt more than the lie.Liana sat across from me.“You don't have to open it tonight.”I stared at the envelope.“I know.”“Then don't.”I shook my head.“No. I need to.”She didn't argue.She simply moved the envelope closer to me.I ran my thumb over the edge.The seal was old and slightly cracked.My mother's name was written across the front.Evelyn Whitmoor.I took a deep breath and opened it.Inside was a single folded sheet of paper.I unfolded it carefully.The handwriting was unmistakable.For a moment, I couldn't read the words.My eyes blurred.I blinked several times.Then I began.If you are reading this, then something has gone terribly wrong.My breath caught

The drive back was silent.Not peaceful.Silent in the way a room becomes silent after someone says something that cannot be taken back.Cecilia.Elias had said her name with such certainty that I couldn't stop hearing it.I stared out the window while the trees blurred past.Liana kept both hands on the steering wheel.“You're thinking about her.”“Yes.”“You shouldn't confront her yet.”“I know.”“You don't sound convinced.”“I don't know what I'm convinced about anymore.”That was the truth.Every time I thought I understood my family, another secret appeared.My father had lied.Cecilia had lied.Victor had disappeared.Elias had been hiding for years.And my mother had apparently known that someone close to her was betraying her.I closed my eyes.“What if Elias was lying?”“Then we'll find out.”“What if he wasn't?”Liana didn't answer immediately.“Then you'll have to decide what Cecilia's truth is.”I looked at her.“What does that mean?”“Knowing what someone did isn't always

The note was still in my hand.If you want Cecilia alive, stop looking for the truth.I read it again, hoping the words would somehow change.They didn't.My father reached for the paper.“Give me that.”I pulled it away.“No.”“Nina.”“You've lied to me for years. I'm not handing you anything until you tell me what's going on.”His jaw tightened.“I don't have time for this.”“Neither do I.”Liana stepped between us.“Both of you, stop.”My father looked at her.“We need to find Cecilia.”“And we will,” Liana said. “But rushing into this without thinking is exactly what whoever took her wants.”I looked at the note.“Then what do we do?”Liana took a breath.“We figure out how they knew she would be alone.”My father went quiet.I noticed.“Dad?”He looked away.“You know something.”“No.”“Don't lie.”He rubbed his forehead.“I received a message before I came here.”“What message?”“That Cecilia had left the pack.”“From who?”“I don't know.”“Then how did you know where to find us

“You were never supposed to be called Nina.”My father's words echoed through the chapel.I stared at him.“What was my name?”He looked at the floor.For the first time in my life, my father looked like a man who had run out of places to hide.“Your name was Amara.”I blinked.“Amara?”He nodded.“Amara Evelyn Whitmoor.”I waited for something to happen.A memory.A feeling.Anything.Nothing came.“Why did you change it?”“Because we needed to hide you.”“From who?”“The Black Crescent.”My hands went cold.Liana stepped closer.“Why would changing her name protect her?”My father looked at her.“Because they were searching for a child.”“What child?”He looked at me.“You.”I shook my head.“Why?”“Because of your mother.”I felt frustration rising inside me.“Everyone keeps talking about my mother. I need answers, Dad. Not another mystery.”He took a slow breath.“Your mother discovered that the Black Crescent wasn't simply interested in power.”I crossed my arms.“You said that a

The silver key was warm in my palm.I stared at the old estate through the windshield.It didn't look abandoned.It looked like it had been waiting.Waiting for someone.Waiting for me.“We should go back,” my father said.I turned toward him.“You're the one who brought us here.”“I brought your mother here twenty years ago. That doesn't mean I want you walking into the same place.”“Why?”He didn't answer.Liana looked at him through the rear-view mirror.“You're hiding something again.”My father sighed.“I don't know what's inside.”“But you know enough to be afraid.”He looked at me.“Yes.”I opened the car door.“Then I'm going.”“Nina—”“Amara.”The word slipped out before I could think.Everyone went silent.I looked at my father.“If that's who I really am, maybe it's time I stopped running from it.”His expression softened.“You'll always be Nina to me.”I smiled faintly.“Maybe.”Then I stepped out.---The estate was surrounded by tall trees.The closer we got, the quieter