Chapter 13:
Both her paneista foce when they saw him. Luna barely noticed anything except the hand clamped around her wrist, cold and fight like
o’s energy hit her like a wall. The pressure ansund bin was thick, almost unbearable and she could feel the danger rolling off him an waves. Just toon the way he lookert at her, she knew he know everything ||
Her stomach dropped Panic bubbled up fast, making her legs week and
fingers go numb. If he took her now, she wouldn’t be walking
She jerked back instinctively, her voice cracking as she cried out “Mom! I don’t want to go with him! Dart, please, I know I messed up 11
Her dad looked too. Her mom looked like she was about to fish over and pull her away Hut Joan wasn’t letting go
His grip didn’t loosen for a second and his voice was calm, but sharp enough to cut “Tin asking nicely because of our families. Don’t make inte go another route, wu wouldn’t like it)
Everyone knew the truth, even though the two fanvilies were close, Iha Zaccaro Family al way more power. Il ame down to a fight, the Jourdain Family didn’t stand a chance
Without another word, Jean drogged her outside and shoved her toward one of his bodyguards. “Take herTM
They brought her to some old factory, dumped her in a choir and lied her hands behind her back. It was pitch black. She couldn’t even see her own shadow. Not a sound anywhere.
The silence was thick, pressing down on her chest like a weight. Then, out of nowden
She froze. That sound it sounded just like her cat. The one she used to have. The one that her breath caught in her throat, No. He was doing this on purpose. Trying to get in her heml
Still, she couldn’t stop the memory from Hooding in, the way her cat had died. It had been awful. And then the soft menaw turned into something else Ahsible, broken scream, like the last cry before death.”
Her chest tightened Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her breath humed fast and shaky. “Go away!” she screamed. “Get out of here! You’re dead! Ant stay away!!
She thrashed, tipping over sideways. The chair crashed to the ground with her still
Right then, the lights flicked on, blinding and harsh Liana squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden glare
She didn’t need to see to know someone was coming. She could bear the footsteps.)
When Luna cracked her eyes open, the first thing she saw was a pair of polished black shoes standing inches from her face. Her gaze trailed up slowly, dread pooting in her stomach and there he was, Jean, looking down at her like she was nothing.!!
Her heart thuded. She scrambled to switch tactics fast, pulling on her most pitiful expression, her voice soft and shaky. “Joan… I know! messed up, okay? I only did it becouse felt so insecure. I swear I’ll never do it again. I apologize to my sister, I promise just don’t do
She was clinging to hope, praying for a flicker of the old Jean, the one who used to be gentle, who might’ve cared once. But he didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. His face was a mask of ice. Whatever warmth had ever been there was long gone!! And then, slowly, something worse crept into his eyes. A glint of pure, quiet rage. The kind that didn’t need to shout!
Luna’s voice faltered. She could feel it, this wasn’t working. He wasn’t buying it. Then, out of nowhere, Jean let out a low, humorless chuckle. He lifted his foot and pressed it against the side of her face, pinning her down like she was trash.X
“You want to apologize?” he said, his tone dangerously calm. “To Samira, right?”
Luna clinked up at him, confused. She had no idea Samira was dead, Jean had made sure that information never got out.“!
She latched onto the moment like a lifeline. “Yes, yes! I’ll go to her, I’ll apologize night away. I’ll fix this.”
Jean’s voice didn’t change, but the next words out of his mouth knocked the air out of her. “Samira in dead. If you want to say sony, you’ll have to wait till you’re in the ground“}
Her mouth stayed open, but no sound came out. Her whole body went cold. ‘Dead? No. That can’t be. But Jean never lie.
Which means…”
A twisted kind of relief crept into her chest. Samira was gone. That meant there was no one left standing in her way, no more competition for Jean’s heart or her place in the family
Sure, Jean hated her now. But maybe, just maybe, with Samira gone, she could still spin something. There was no evidence. She could talk, her way out”
She opened her mouth to try, but Jean spoke again, his voice even colder now. “She’s the victim from that dismemberment case. The one all over the news: That was Samira. And it’s because of you“}}
He didn’t need to yell. Every word landed like a punch to the gut. “You humiliated her at the party. Made me turn on her. She left that night in tears because of you”
As he spoke, the pressure on her face increased. Her jaw ached. She thought, for one terrifying second, he might just stomp down and
end it E
But he didn’t. He pulled his foot away at last second. Not because he felt mercy. Because he wasn’t done yet. Jean
Jean wanted her to
“Luna,” Jean said, voice cold and steady, “you’ve been playing me this whole time, dragging me into your lies, making me hurt Samira nght along with you Did it ever cross your mind what would happen if I found out?”|||
734 PM c d
He tilted his head slightly, lips curling into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “I’ll make sure you feel every ounce of pain she went through.. and then some
Without another word, he turned and started walking toward the door. His bodyguards followed silently.
Before he left, he shoved her off the chair and dragged her across the floor, tying her feet to a pillar like she was nothing more than an animal.
A cold wave of fear slammed into her chest. Her breath hitched, her heart thudded painfully in her ribs.
She shouted after him, voice high and shaking. “Where are you going?! What the hell are you planning?! If you
you lay a hand on me, my parents won’t just sit back!”
Jean didn’t even glance over his shoulder. Then, two bodyguards walked in, dragging someone by the arms. They dumped a man on the floor like a sock of trash.X
Luna’s eyes widened. Something was seriously wrong with him, his eyes were vacant, movements jerky, lips muttering nonsense.
And then it clicked. She knew who this was. The killer. The one from the dismemberment case. Her blood turned to ice
“No,” she gasped, shaking her head. “No, no, no. Jean, please don’t. Don’t leave me in here with him. I was wrong, okay? I swear I was wrong! I didn’t mean it!”
She tried to run, tried to get away even though her legs were bound. She dragged herself across the floor, panic fueling every inch she
moved
But the rope snapped tight, yanking her backward. She hit the ground hard, chin scraping against the cold cement
She kicked, screamed, fought, but it didn’t matter. The door was already swinging shut. Jean stood there for a beat, listening to her cries echo behind him,
Someone handed him a handkerchief. He wiped his hands slowly, calmly, like it was just another day. Then he walked out without a single look back