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All Chapters of Never Again Beneath the Same Moon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

19 Chapters

Chapter 1

I stopped mid-step and slowly turned around.Several familiar faces came into view.They were my former college classmates.And at the center of them stood the woman they were all crowding around.She wore a tailored suit, elegant and severe, her features cool and composed. There was a chill to her now, the kind that settles on people who have spent years at the top. Five years had passed, but I recognized her instantly.Serena Hart.The lobby went silent for a beat.Then everyone started talking at once."Wait, is that really Adrian Cole? What's with the outfit?""That Rolls-Royce key in his hand has to be fake. No way he can afford one.""Imagine pretending to be rich in front of your ex, then finding out the law firm belongs to her. That's brutal."Laughter spread through the lobby.I was used to it.Back in college, they had always gathered around Serena and laughed at me the same way.Almost everyone on campus knew I was in love with Serena Hart, the brilliant beauty

Chapter 2

For several seconds, nobody spoke.Then Serena gave a quiet scoff, as if I'd told the funniest joke she'd heard all year."Adrian, if you're going to lie, at least make it believable."Do you even believe such a ridiculous lie yourself?"One of our old classmates, now an employee at her firm, immediately joined in."Exactly. Rent a luxury car, put on some knockoff designer clothes, and suddenly you're supposed to be a wealthy heir?"Low laughter broke out again."For a second I thought he'd actually married well.""Probably found some older rich woman with a little money."My hands curled into fists.Before I could answer, a sharp male voice rang out."Adrian Cole!"Fast footsteps crossed the lobby.A fist smashed into my face.My head snapped to the side.Copper filled my mouth.Jason Reed stood in front of me, eyes red, gripping my collar."How do you still have the nerve to come after Serena?"We're engaged!"Why can't you leave her alone?"I raised my arm to hit

Chapter 3

A red handprint appeared across Serena's pale cheek.She barely reacted.Jason lost his mind."Adrian!"He snatched a cup of coffee from a nearby table and hurled it at me.I threw up an arm to shield my face.The scalding liquid drenched my forearm.Pain exploded across my skin.I went white.Jason was shaking with rage."You can hit me if you want!"But how dare you hit my fiancée?"Who do you think you are?"Employees rushed forward."Oh my God. Look what he pushed Jason into doing.""He deserved it. He's the one who hit Serena.""If I were her, I would've called the police already."My whole body trembled from the burn.I stared at Jason."That was assault."I'm calling the police."For a fraction of a second, his expression changed.Then Serena took hold of my hand.She looked at the burn and frowned."Enough."Come to my office. We'll treat your arm."I ripped my hand away."Don't touch me."Her face hardened."Adrian, do you really have to make this

Chapter 4

I raced back to the old neighborhood.Only one thought filled my mind.Grandma had a weak heart.She couldn't handle this.The moment I reached her floor, I saw red paint sprayed across the walls.HOMEWRECKER.SHAMELESS.YOUR WHOLE FAMILY DESERVES TO DIE.Funeral wreaths leaned against the door, shoved there as a threat.Someone had tipped a bag of garbage across the landing.Neighbors stood outside whispering.I pushed through them and ran inside.Corn-and-rib soup was still simmering in the kitchen.The smell was exactly the same as it had been when I was a child.Grandma was lying motionless near the doorway."Grandma!"I dropped beside her.My hands shook so badly I could barely touch her.Her face was colorless.She wasn't conscious.No one outside came in to help.They only watched, and pointed, and kept talking.I clenched my teeth, lifted her onto my back, and carried her downstairs myself.At the hospital, the emergency-room light burned above the doors.

Chapter 5

I sat alone in the hospital corridor for a long time.My loved ones had died one by one.The people responsible were still alive.Still wealthy.Still untouchable.Why?Why them?Grief broke me open.Rage followed.I couldn't take it anymore.I marched toward the VIP room.I wanted answers.Before I reached the door, I heard a man's voice inside.Charles Reed.Jason's father."Serena, you've done so much for our family."If you hadn't stayed by Jason all these years, I don't know what we would've done."Serena answered quietly."Tina died saving me."Jason also developed serious mood problems after losing his sister."Looking after him for the rest of my life is the least I can do."I stopped.So that was it.That was why she protected him no matter what he did.But why did her debt to his sister have to be paid with my family's lives?I was about to kick the door open when Charles spoke again."What are you planning to do about Adrian?"His parents' deaths a

Chapter 6

Serena stared at me. Something I couldn't read was moving behind her eyes."What did you just say?"My chest heaved."I said Charles Reed had me abducted."He had people inject me with illegal drugs to control me."Panic flashed across Charles's face.Serena only frowned."Enough, Adrian."Mr. Reed has always been an honorable man."The Reed family has never been involved in criminal activity."Stop making accusations."Pain went through me like a knife.Of course. Even now, she didn't believe me.Why would she?She had never once stood on my side.Tears blurred my vision."Of course you don't believe me."In your eyes, Jason is always innocent and the Reeds are always clean."And I'm always the lunatic who makes scenes and can't control himself."I took a breath."But it doesn't matter."One day I'll get justice for myself."Serena stared at me without answering.Charles had gone pale."Security. What are you standing there for?"Get this lunatic out of here."

Chapter 7

Her security team took control of the garage within seconds.She rushed to me and pulled me upright.Her perfume was familiar.Safe.The panic that had been crushing my chest finally loosened."Honey..."I held her tightly.My eyes burned.She saw the burn on my arm.Pain crossed her face."I'm sorry. I'm late."A cold female voice came from behind us."What happened?"Serena hurried into the garage.She stopped when she saw me in my wife's arms.Evelyn looked at Serena and Charles."You kidnapped my husband."Then tried to force him into psychiatric confinement."Would anyone like to explain?"Charles laughed."Explain?"Who are you that I owe you anything?"Serena's face changed.She recognized her.Evelyn Pierce.The only daughter of the Pierce Capital family.Top ten on the Forbes list.The client Serena's firm had spent years trying and failing to reach.What Serena could not possibly have expected was that Evelyn would be standing in this garage.Call

Chapter 8

Adrian never looked back.Not once.He wrapped an arm around Evelyn's shoulders and said hoarsely:"Honey, I'm exhausted."I want to go home."Evelyn looked up at him.The terrifying coldness in her face vanished."Okay."We're going home."She rose onto her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth.Then her gaze fell to his swollen cheek and burned arm.Her eyes darkened again."I already called the best doctor I could find."You won't scar."After we treat the injuries, I'll make your favorite Italian-style soup."Adrian buried his face against her neck.The way he leaned into her said everything.Serena stood frozen.Honey.Adrian had really called another woman that.And that woman was Evelyn Pierce.For the first time, Serena understood that everything Adrian had said at the firm was true.He hadn't lied.He hadn't been performing.He hadn't come there to chase her.He was married.And he'd married someone far more remarkable than anyone had imagined.Ser

Chapter 9

In the end, Charles Reed took responsibility for everything, the way a father does when he loves his son too much.The Reed Group's share price collapsed.Partners terminated contracts.Within two days, a family that had once seemed untouchable was on the edge of bankruptcy.Jason was released while the investigation continued.The first thing he did was call Serena."Serena, please save my father."Save our family."I'm begging you."Serena hung up without answering.She stood at the windows of her office and watched students leaving a nearby high school.It brought back a memory.When Serena was in high school, a group of local thugs cornered her in an alley.She never even knew what she'd done to anger them.They hit her.Insulted her.One of them raised a steel pipe.Serena had believed she might die.Then Tina Reed, her closest friend, threw herself in front of the blow.There was blood everywhere, and then Tina was simply gone.Serena had sworn from that day f

Chapter 10

The police finally tracked Jason down.I was standing by the windows at home when Evelyn told me.The sky outside was darkening, almost exactly like the evening my mother died.Evelyn wrapped her arms around my waist from behind and rested her cheek between my shoulder blades."It was Serena. She turned the evidence from Jason's drunk-driving case over to the police."For a long time, I said nothing.Then I asked:"How much time will he get?"Evelyn's hold tightened."He tried to run when they moved to arrest him."He went into traffic and a car hit him."They say there was blood all over the road. Call it what he had coming."I stared out the window for a long while without answering.Jason was dead.The man who killed my mother, who drove my father to his death, who was the reason my grandmother was gone.Finally dead.I had my revenge, and I knew I was supposed to feel some kind of release.Instead, I only felt grief.The years he took from me weren't coming back.

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