For nearly a minute after Derek said it, nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Luna remained seated on the edge of the sofa with Adam beside her, one hand locked around his wrist. The adoption records lay open on the coffee table under the warm living-room light, ordinary sheets of paper carrying a truth large enough to rearrange every relationship in the room.<\/p>\n
Adam looked at the line again.<\/p>\n
Biological mother: Rachel Mercer.<\/p>\n
Two female infants.<\/p>\n
Separate custody records.<\/p>\n
One child retained by biological mother.<\/p>\n
One child transferred through private adoption to Victor and Catherine Sterling.<\/p>\n
He stopped reading.<\/p>\n
Luna whispered, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek leaned back slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came here with all this, and you don\u2019t know why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou checked whether it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou checked enough to destroy my entire life, but not enough to understand why they took me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek flinched.<\/p>\n
Adam turned toward Luna.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes snapped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was immediate, almost ashamed.<\/p>\n
She released Adam\u2019s wrist.<\/p>\n
Then reached for the documents again.<\/p>\n
The adoption petition had been sealed.<\/p>\n
The filing attorney had died eleven years earlier.<\/p>\n
The court clerk who signed the order had retired.<\/p>\n
The hospital had since merged twice.<\/p>\n
Nothing about the paperwork suggested a normal private adoption. Dates overlapped strangely. One version of Luna\u2019s birth certificate listed a hospital in Colorado. Another showed Texas.<\/p>\n
Derek had flagged both.<\/p>\n
Adam frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cTexas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked down.<\/p>\n
The hospital listed on the original certificate stood in Houston.<\/p>\n
The same city where Daniel Bennett had hidden Michael Reeves\u2019s records.<\/p>\n
Adam felt a cold thread move through him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek gave the date.<\/p>\n
Adam calculated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen months before Michael died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Rachel had twins then, why did everyone believe Rebecca was born six months after Michael\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Rebecca\u2019s public birth record was changed too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cChanged how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer official date of birth was moved forward by almost two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone falsified both sisters\u2019 records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam did not like that word anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably isn\u2019t enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stood and walked toward the windows.<\/p>\n
Denver glittered below them.<\/p>\n
All the places associated with her life remained exactly where they had been before Derek arrived.<\/p>\n
The company tower.<\/p>\n
The courthouse.<\/p>\n
The streets she had known as Victor Sterling\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
Nothing outside had changed.<\/p>\n
Everything inside had.<\/p>\n
Adam watched her reflection in the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need Rebecca,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Derek did not answer.<\/p>\n
Luna turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nearly midnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet Sarah do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to speak with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Rebecca deserves five minutes to hear this from someone who isn\u2019t standing in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked at him.<\/p>\n
Her expression said she hated the delay.<\/p>\n
Then something softer replaced it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah Holt answered on the second attempt.<\/p>\n
Adam told her only that documents had surfaced regarding Rebecca\u2019s parentage and that the information could significantly affect both sisters.<\/p>\n
Sarah went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Luna there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wait lasted twenty-three minutes.<\/p>\n
Luna stood the entire time.<\/p>\n
Derek poured himself whiskey and forgot to drink it.<\/p>\n
Adam sat near the coffee table, rereading documents until the words lost meaning.<\/p>\n
When Sarah called back, Rebecca was with her.<\/p>\n
Video.<\/p>\n
Adam put the tablet on the table.<\/p>\n
Rebecca appeared wearing an old sweater, her hair loose around her shoulders.<\/p>\n
She looked tired.<\/p>\n
Then she saw Derek.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna sat opposite the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to show you something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna held up the adoption record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
Luna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy biological mother is listed as Rachel Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca did not react at first.<\/p>\n
Then her face emptied.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek slid the twin-birth record into view.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at it through the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are we looking at?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek explained the falsified dates.<\/p>\n
The original Houston hospital records.<\/p>\n
The two female infants.<\/p>\n
The separate custody filings.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stood suddenly and moved out of frame.<\/p>\n
Sarah followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice came from somewhere beyond the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother would have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
Adam heard the echo.<\/p>\n
Mother would have told me.<\/p>\n
The same thing Luna had said about Catherine minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
Sarah returned to the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive her a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked down.<\/p>\n
Adam sat beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to solve this tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
He knew she understood it.<\/p>\n
That did not mean she liked it.<\/p>\n
Rebecca returned.<\/p>\n
Her eyes were red, but her voice was steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the next hour, Derek photographed and transmitted the records through Sarah\u2019s encrypted system.<\/p>\n
Rebecca read silently.<\/p>\n
Her expression shifted from disbelief to anger to something harder.<\/p>\n
When she reached the medical records, she stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy blood type.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAB negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cMine too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek exhaled.<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cThat is rare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at Luna through the screen.<\/p>\n
Their faces were not identical.<\/p>\n
Not obviously.<\/p>\n
But now that Adam knew what to look for, certain similarities seemed impossible to miss.<\/p>\n
The shape of the eyes.<\/p>\n
The line of the jaw.<\/p>\n
The habit of holding tension in stillness rather than movement.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cTwins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s voice came equally quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither smiled.<\/p>\n
Sarah stepped in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need DNA confirmation before anyone treats these records as definitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
Luna nodded.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the adoption petition.<\/p>\n
Then asked the question everyone had avoided.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is our father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Derek answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the timing is accurate, Michael Reeves is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked furious.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my life I was told Michael was my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe probably was,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am done with probably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna watched her.<\/p>\n
Then said, \u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked back at the screen.<\/p>\n
For the first time, something passed between them that was not suspicion.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Luna said, \u201cWe test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cImmediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek said, \u201cThere\u2019s another issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both women looked at him with identical irritation.<\/p>\n
Adam almost laughed despite the situation.<\/p>\n
Derek noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently family resemblance is stronger than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna glared.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n
Then, unexpectedly, Rebecca laughed.<\/p>\n
It lasted less than a second.<\/p>\n
But the room changed.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Luna is Michael\u2019s daughter, her legal position regarding the Reeves shares may change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s expression hardened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause ownership should go where it legally belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounded very Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna flinched.<\/p>\n
Rebecca saw it.<\/p>\n
Immediately regretted the remark.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You\u2019re not wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
The apology surprised them both.<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are sisters, I don\u2019t want the first thing between us to be shares.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
Adam could see how deeply that landed.<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cWe figure out the truth first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
They agreed to DNA testing the next morning.<\/p>\n
Sarah would arrange chain-of-custody samples at separate accredited labs.<\/p>\n
No family doctors.<\/p>\n
No Sterling facilities.<\/p>\n
No possibility of interference.<\/p>\n
Derek stood to leave around two.<\/p>\n
Luna stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you bring this to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have used it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo challenge my identity. My shares. The trust. Anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe three weeks ago I would have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not now?\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced toward Adam.<\/p>\n
Then toward the documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I am tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna waited.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent most of my life thinking if I could beat you, Father would somehow be proven right about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never acted like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That one landed equally.<\/p>\n
Derek moved toward the door.<\/p>\n
Then paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Rachel is your mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna went still.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe worked for Catherine for months. She stood near you. She saw your photograph every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt Luna\u2019s hand close around the edge of the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew who I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop saying maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek lowered his gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He left.<\/p>\n
The penthouse became silent.<\/p>\n
Adam collected the documents.<\/p>\n
Luna remained by the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me to leave you alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He waited.<\/p>\n
She turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I am supposed to feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to feel the correct thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like advice you invented because you don\u2019t know either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him for a long time.<\/p>\n
Then asked, \u201cIf Catherine isn\u2019t my mother, what is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam chose carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman who raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe mostly didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the woman who should explain why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked at the adoption papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man who raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso mostly didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the man who owes you an explanation and cannot give one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mouth twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat.<\/p>\n
Adam joined her.<\/p>\n
After a while, Luna said, \u201cDo you think Michael was my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we wait for the test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is irritatingly sensible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned back.<\/p>\n
Then slowly rested her head against his shoulder.<\/p>\n
Adam did not move.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, he realized she had fallen asleep.<\/p>\n
He stayed exactly where he was until morning.<\/p>\n
The DNA results came forty-eight hours later.<\/p>\n
Adam stood with Luna in Sarah Holt\u2019s office while Rebecca sat across from them.<\/p>\n
Two sealed reports lay on the table.<\/p>\n
Sarah opened the first.<\/p>\n
She read.<\/p>\n
Then the second.<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
Rebecca gripped the chair.<\/p>\n
Luna stood perfectly still.<\/p>\n
Sarah looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sibling probability exceeds 99.99 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither woman spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdentical?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFraternal twins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Luna looked at her.<\/p>\n
Sister.<\/p>\n
Real.<\/p>\n
Confirmed.<\/p>\n
Then Sarah turned another page.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also obtained a preserved biological sample from Michael Reeves\u2019s autopsy record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s hand found Adam\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Sarah read silently.<\/p>\n
Then looked at both women.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael Reeves was your biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca began crying.<\/p>\n
Quietly.<\/p>\n
Luna did not.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
She simply stood there holding Adam\u2019s hand as if it were the only fixed object in the room.<\/p>\n
Then Rebecca crossed the space between them.<\/p>\n
Luna stiffened.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped.<\/p>\n
For one uncertain second, neither knew what sisters were supposed to do.<\/p>\n
Then Luna stepped forward.<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrapped her arms around her.<\/p>\n
Luna broke.<\/p>\n
The sound was small.<\/p>\n
One breath.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Adam looked away.<\/p>\n
Some moments did not need witnesses.<\/p>\n
When the sisters finally separated, Rebecca wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one person left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
They arranged to meet her under supervision that afternoon.<\/p>\n
Rachel sat on the far side of a secure interview table.<\/p>\n
When Luna entered beside Rebecca, Rachel\u2019s face collapsed before either woman spoke.<\/p>\n
Not surprise.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Luna stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at both daughters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stood in my mother\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me walk past you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou heard her call me her daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel began to cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had already lost you once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stepped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel wiped her face.<\/p>\n
After Michael died, Victor came to her.<\/p>\n
He knew about the twins.<\/p>\n
He knew Rachel had records Michael intended to use against him.<\/p>\n
Victor offered a bargain.<\/p>\n
One child would remain safely with Rachel.<\/p>\n
The other would be raised inside the Sterling family.<\/p>\n
Rachel laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called it protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt sick.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave her away?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel shook her head violently.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
Rachel continued through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor had people tell me you died.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Luna.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said there were complications. They showed me paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Rachel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths later I learned you were alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you come for me?\u201d Luna asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hired an attorney. He withdrew. I went to police. They found no record matching my claim. Victor had changed everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you stopped?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked destroyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did I never know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor threatened Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent me photographs of her at school. At the park. Sleeping in our apartment through a window.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca went pale.<\/p>\n
Rachel whispered, \u201cHe said I could keep one daughter or lose both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna sat down.<\/p>\n
Adam had never hated a dead man before.<\/p>\n
Now he understood how.<\/p>\n
Rachel reached toward Luna but stopped before touching her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched from far away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Catherine know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found out later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you were sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stood.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cLuna.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stepped away from the table.<\/p>\n
Catherine had known.<\/p>\n
Not from birth.<\/p>\n
Not all along.<\/p>\n
But since Luna was sixteen.<\/p>\n
And never told her.<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted Sterling destroyed because of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor took my daughter and made her love him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Rachel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted everything with his name erased.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would erase mine too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel froze.<\/p>\n
The sentence changed something.<\/p>\n
For twenty-eight years Rachel had imagined Luna as stolen proof of Victor\u2019s cruelty.<\/p>\n
Not a person who had built a life inside the name he gave her.<\/p>\n
Luna whispered, \u201cYou were trying to avenge me without knowing me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone keeps doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam understood.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Catherine.<\/p>\n
Eleanor.<\/p>\n
Rachel.<\/p>\n
All of them had made decisions for the next generation in the language of protection.<\/p>\n
Luna looked toward Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Then Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not inherit your revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
For nearly a minute after Derek said it, nobody moved. Luna remained seated on the edge of the sofa with Adam beside her, one hand locked around his wrist. The … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6586"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6616,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586\/revisions\/6616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}