PART 2.
Nico stopped directly in front of me.
For one suspended second, the entire ballroom seemed silent.
Then Liam’s father looked into my eyes…
and extended his hand.
Behind him, Liam had gone completely pale.
Amber’s smile vanished.
I looked down at Nico Rossi’s hand.
Strong.
Steady.
Waiting.
This was the moment I had imagined since yesterday morning, when anger had been hotter than grief and revenge had seemed like the only thing capable of keeping me upright.
My plan had been simple.
Ask Nico to dance.
Let Liam watch.
Let Amber understand that if she wanted to play games with my life, I could play too.
But now, standing beneath the chandeliers with half of Manhattan watching us, the plan suddenly felt very small.
Because Nico wasn’t smiling like a man doing me a favor.
He was watching me like he had been waiting for this.
“Dance with me,” he said.
Not a question.
My pulse stumbled.
I placed my hand in his.
Whispers erupted immediately.
Nico led me toward the center of the ballroom as the orchestra shifted into something slow and elegant.
His hand settled at my waist.
Mine rested against his shoulder.
And across the room, Liam looked like someone had punched him in the chest.
Mission accomplished.
At least, that was what I told myself.
“You’re enjoying this,” Nico murmured.
I looked up.
“Enjoying what?”
“The fact that my son looks ready to commit murder.”
I nearly missed a step.
“You noticed?”
“Luna.”
There was faint amusement in his voice.
“I noticed Liam the moment I walked into the room.
I also noticed your sister attached to his arm.”
His gaze drifted briefly toward them.
Then returned to me.
“And I noticed the fact that you arrived alone despite sending me a message this afternoon asking whether I would be attending tonight.”
Heat crawled up my neck.
“I was going to explain that.”
“I assumed you would.”
His hand tightened slightly at my waist as he guided me into a turn.
The movement was effortless.
Nico Rossi did everything as though the world had been designed to move around him.
At fifty-one, he was twenty-five years older than me, silver beginning to thread through his dark hair, his expression controlled enough to make people nervous.
He had built Rossi International from a regional construction company into an empire involving real estate, hotels, shipping, and investments.
He was also Liam’s father.
Which was precisely why I had chosen him.
“I needed a favor,” I admitted.
“I know.”
“You don’t even know what the favor is.”
“I suspect I’m performing it right now.”
I glanced toward Liam.
He was staring openly.
Amber whispered something in his ear.
He didn’t hear her.
A tiny, shameful spark of satisfaction moved through me.
Nico followed my gaze.
“You wanted to make him jealous.”
“Yes.”
“Is it working?”
“Very well.”
“Good.”
I looked at him sharply.
Nico’s mouth curved.
“But you made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You assumed I agreed to this for Liam.”
The music seemed to soften.
Or perhaps everything else simply disappeared.
“What does that mean?”
Before Nico could answer, someone interrupted.
“Nicolas.”
Valentina Rossi stood beside us.
She was beautiful in the terrifying way only extremely wealthy women with excellent surgeons and no tolerance for nonsense could be beautiful.
Diamond earrings sparkled against her dark hair.
Her gaze moved from Nico’s hand at my waist to my face.
Then it cooled by several degrees.
“Valentina.”
Nico sounded bored.
“We need to speak.”
“We divorced twelve years ago.
I’m fairly certain we stopped needing to do anything together.”
Her jaw tightened.
“This is about Liam.”
“Then speak to Liam.”
“He’s upset.”
Nico glanced across the ballroom.
“My son is thirty years old.
He’ll survive disappointment.”
Valentina looked at me.
“What exactly are you doing?”
I removed my hand from Nico’s shoulder.
Before I could answer, he did.
“Dancing.”
“With your son’s ex-girlfriend?”
The word ex-girlfriend traveled farther than it should have.
Several nearby conversations stopped.
Wonderful.
Apparently my humiliation was now officially tonight’s entertainment.
Then Amber approached.
Of course she did.
Liam followed two steps behind.
“Luna,” he said.
His voice had that old softness I once believed belonged only to me.
Now it irritated me.
“I need to talk to you.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Still no.”
Amber crossed her arms.
“You’re making a scene.”
I stared at her.
“I’m making a scene?”
She glanced at Nico.
“This is obviously some desperate attempt to get Liam’s attention.”
Nico’s expression changed.
Very slightly.
But I felt the shift.
So did Amber.
People like Nico didn’t need to raise their voices.
Silence was usually more dangerous.
“You should be careful,” he said.
Amber blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“When you insult someone in my presence, make sure you understand whether I consider that person a guest.”
His hand remained lightly at the small of my back.
“Or whether I consider her under my protection.”
Amber’s face drained.
Liam stepped forward.
“Dad, what the hell?”
“Language.”
“You barely know her.”
Nico looked at his son.
“I know enough.”
Something passed between them.
Something I didn’t understand.
Liam’s anger shifted instantly into unease.
Valentina noticed too.
“Nicolas.”
This time her voice carried warning.
Nico ignored her.
Liam looked at me.
“Can we talk privately?”
“No.”
“Luna, I made a mistake.”
Amber turned toward him so fast I almost laughed.
“A mistake?”
He didn’t look at her.
“I ruined three years because I was stupid.”
“Oh, now you’re stupid?”
Amber snapped.
“Amber, not now.”
Her mouth fell open.
I should have enjoyed it.
Yesterday, I would have.
But watching them collapse after barely twenty-four hours wasn’t satisfying.
It was pathetic.
They had destroyed something real for something that apparently couldn’t survive a ballroom.
I looked at Liam.
“You didn’t make a mistake.”
His expression softened hopefully.
“You made a decision,” I continued.
“Several of them, actually.
You invited my sister into my apartment.
You took her into my bedroom.
You let her put on my clothes afterward.
Then both of you expected me to stand there while you explained why betraying me wasn’t technically betrayal.”
His hope disappeared.
“Luna—”
“No.”
My voice remained calm.
“That’s the last time you get to say my name like you still have a claim on me.”
Silence.
Then someone applauded.
One clap.
Slow.
Delighted.
Maya.
She stood near the bar holding champagne.
I stared at her.
She raised her glass.
Sorry, she mouthed.
She was not sorry.
A few guests laughed nervously.
Liam looked humiliated.
Amber looked furious.
Good.
Then Nico leaned toward me.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere without an audience.”
That sounded sensible.
Unfortunately, Liam heard.
“No.”
Nico turned.
Liam stepped closer.
“She’s not going anywhere with you.”
For the first time that evening, Nico smiled at his son.
It wasn’t warm.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“You seem to believe you have voting rights in her decisions.”
Liam clenched his jaw.
Nico looked down at me.
“Would you like to leave the ballroom?”
“Yes.”
He offered his arm.
I took it.
We walked away.
Behind us, Amber started shouting at Liam in a furious whisper.
Maya caught my eye as I passed.
Her expression said only one thing.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
I had absolutely no idea.
Nico led me through a side corridor and onto a private terrace overlooking Manhattan.
The noise disappeared the moment the glass doors closed.
October air swept over my skin.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
Without a word, Nico removed his tuxedo jacket and placed it over my shoulders.
It smelled faintly of cedar and expensive cologne.
“Thank you.”
He leaned against the stone railing.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Below us, Manhattan glittered like spilled diamonds.
Finally, I said, “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“Dragging you into whatever that was.”
“You didn’t drag me anywhere.”
“I asked you to help me make your son jealous.”
“And I agreed.”
“You didn’t know why.”
“No.”
His expression sharpened.
“But now I do.”
My stomach tightened.
“How?”
“Liam told Valentina you two had separated.
He neglected to explain the circumstances.”
“Of course he did.”
“He said you had become incompatible.”
I laughed once.
“Apparently my incompatibility was coming home early.”
Nico almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious again.
“Did he hurt you?”
Something about the question unsettled me.
“No.”
Nico studied my face.
“Not physically.”
“No.”
His shoulders relaxed by a fraction.
I noticed.
So did something dangerous inside me.
“Nico…”
“Yes?”
“What did you mean earlier?”
He knew immediately.
“When?”
“When you said I made a mistake assuming you were doing this because of Liam.”
For the first time since meeting him, Nicolas Rossi appeared to consider his words carefully.
Then he stepped toward me.
“I remember the first night we met.”
The Rossi family dinner.
Six months earlier.
I remembered too.
Liam had spent most of the evening answering business calls.
Amber hadn’t been invited.
Valentina had interrogated me politely about my career.
And Nico had sat at the opposite end of the table saying very little.
I remembered catching him looking at me twice.
I had assumed he was evaluating whether I was good enough for his son.
Now I wondered.
“You argued with Henry Calloway about affordable housing,” Nico said.
I stared.
“You remember that?”
“You were the only person at that table willing to tell a billionaire he sounded ridiculous.”
“He did sound ridiculous.”
“He still does.”
I laughed.
Nico’s eyes warmed.
“And afterward,” he continued, “you helped one of the servers when she dropped an entire tray even though everyone else pretended not to notice.”
My smile faded.
“I didn’t know you saw that.”
“I see more than people think.”
The night suddenly felt colder.
Or warmer.
I couldn’t tell.
“Nico…”
“I never acted on anything.”
My heartbeat grew louder.
“Anything?”
His eyes held mine.
“Luna.”
One word.
That was all.
Yet somehow it contained the answer.
I stepped backward.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I wasn’t.
And that was worse.
“You’re Liam’s father.”
“I’m aware.”
“I dated your son for three years.”
“I’m painfully aware.”
“This is insane.”
“Probably.”
“You’re twenty-five years older than me.”
“Twenty-four years and eight months.”
I stared.
He lifted one shoulder.
“I checked.”
A startled laugh escaped me.
Then I covered my mouth.
“This is not funny.”
“No.”
“You’re smiling.”
“So are you.”
I immediately stopped.
Nico’s expression softened.
“I’m not asking you for anything.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because you came here intending to use me as a weapon against Liam.”
My face burned.
“That sounds terrible when you say it like that.”
“It was terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“But I agreed anyway.”
He stepped closer.
“And if we continue pretending tonight is merely theater, sooner or later one of us is going to forget which parts are supposed to be fake.”
I swallowed.
The terrace door opened.
We sprang apart.
Maya stepped outside.
She looked at me.
Then Nico.
Then his jacket around my shoulders.
“Oh.”
I closed my eyes.
“Maya.”
“I was checking whether you had been murdered.”
“I’m fine.”
“Clearly.”
Nico gave her an amused glance.
“You must be Maya.”
Her eyes widened.
“You know who I am?”
“Luna mentioned you at dinner months ago.”
I turned toward him.
“I did?”
“You did.”
Maya slowly grinned.
That grin was dangerous.
“Well,” she said, “this has become significantly more interesting than anticipated.”
“Maya.”
“I’m leaving.”
She opened the door.
Then stopped.
“Oh, Luna?”
“What?”
“Your sister is having what I would professionally classify as a complete meltdown.”
“You don’t have a profession that classifies meltdowns.”
“I do tonight.”
The door shut behind her.
I laughed despite myself.
Nico watched me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I like hearing you laugh.”
The laughter disappeared.
And suddenly the space between us felt much smaller.
He reached up.
For one impossible second I thought he might touch my face.
Instead, his fingers adjusted the collar of his jacket around my shoulders.
“You should go back inside,” he said quietly.
Disappointment hit me before I could stop it.
I hated that.
“Right.”
I started toward the door.
“Luna.”
I turned.
Nico reached into his pocket and pulled out a black card.
Not a credit card.
A business card.
He handed it to me.
His private number was handwritten across the back.
“If you ever need anything.”
“I already have your number.”
“That’s my assistant’s number.”
I looked at the handwritten digits.
“This one rings directly to me.”
Our eyes met.
Then the ballroom doors exploded open.
Liam stormed onto the terrace.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Nico exhaled.
“I thought we discussed interrupting adults when you were six.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“No.”
Liam looked at the jacket around my shoulders.
Then at the card in my hand.
His expression changed.
“Dad.”
Something in his voice made me uneasy.
Not anger.
Fear.
“Tell her.”
Nico became very still.
“Liam.”
“Tell her why you’re really here.”
My fingers tightened around the card.
“What is he talking about?”
Neither man answered.
I looked between them.
“Nico?”
Liam laughed bitterly.
“You really don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Liam,” Nico said sharply.
But Liam had already crossed whatever line his father wanted to protect.
“He didn’t just happen to be at this gala tonight.”
“I knew he was coming.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Nico’s jaw hardened.
“Enough.”
Liam looked directly at me.
“My father owns the Grandon.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“He also owns the company that bought your firm last month.”
The air left my lungs.
“What?”
I worked for Halston & Pierce, a boutique architectural consulting company.
Three weeks ago, we had been informed that an investment group had quietly acquired the controlling stake.
The buyer’s identity had not been publicly disclosed.
My eyes moved toward Nico.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
Nico didn’t.
My stomach dropped.
“You bought my company?”
“A subsidiary did.”
“When?”
“Five weeks ago.”
Before Liam and Amber.
Before the breakup.
Before tonight.
I stared at him.
“Why?”
His silence lasted one second too long.
Liam answered for him.
“Because of you.”
“Shut up, Liam.”
It was the first time I heard Nico genuinely angry.
Liam stepped closer anyway.
“You think Dad suddenly became interested in a twenty-person architecture firm because of its incredible quarterly revenue?”
My hand went cold around the business card.
“Nico?”
He looked at me.
“Yes, the acquisition came to my attention because you worked there.”
The admission landed harder than I expected.
I pulled his jacket off.
“Luna.”
“You bought my workplace because you were interested in me?”
“No.”
“You literally just said—”
“I said the opportunity came to my attention because of you.
I purchased it because the company owns zoning rights connected to a development project I’ve been pursuing for four years.”
“That’s not the whole truth,” Liam said.
Nico’s stare could have frozen water.
Liam smiled humorlessly.
“He moved the acquisition forward the week after that family dinner.”
My chest tightened.
Six months ago.
The night Nico first noticed me.
The night he remembered everything I had said.
“Is that true?”
Nico didn’t answer quickly enough.
I stepped back.
“This was a mistake.”
“Luna.”
“No.”
I handed him the jacket.
“I wanted to make Liam jealous.
That was stupid.
But whatever this is…”
I gestured between us.
“I’m not doing it.”
I turned toward the door.
Then Liam said something that stopped me.
“He knows about Amber.”
I froze.
Slowly, I turned back.
“What?”
Liam looked furious now, but not at me.
At his father.
“He knew before you did.”
Every sound in the city seemed to disappear.
I looked at Nico.
“No.”
His face revealed nothing.
“Nico?”
He didn’t deny it.
My heartbeat slammed against my ribs.
“You knew?”
“Luna—”
“You knew Liam was sleeping with Amber?”
“I had suspicions.”
“How long?”
Silence.
“How long?”
“Eleven days.”
My vision blurred.
Eleven days.
For eleven days, this man had suspected that his son was betraying me with my sister.
And said nothing.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t have proof.”
“You could have warned me.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
I laughed, but it sounded broken.
“Unbelievable.”
“I intended to confirm it first.”
“And then what?”
His eyes held mine.
“I would have told you.”
“When?
After another eleven days?
A month?”
He stepped toward me.
I stepped back.
That stopped him.
Something flickered across his face.
Regret.
“You let me walk into my apartment and find them.”
“I didn’t know that would happen.”
“But you knew enough.”
“Luna—”
“No.”
I was suddenly exhausted.
Liam stood nearby, breathing hard, watching his father’s downfall with grim satisfaction.
And that made something click.
I turned toward him.
“How did you know Nico suspected?”
Liam’s expression changed.
There.
Tiny.
But visible.
I stared at him.
“How did you know?”
“I…”
Nico’s eyes narrowed.
“Good question.”
Liam looked away.
Then the terrace door opened again.
Amber stood there.
But she wasn’t furious anymore.
She looked terrified.
“Liam.”
He stiffened.
She approached him.
“We need to leave.”
“Not now.”
“Yes.
Now.”
“What happened?”
Amber glanced at Nico.
Then at me.
Her face had gone almost gray.
“I got a call.”
“From who?”
She didn’t answer.
Nico watched her carefully.
“Amber.”
She flinched when he said her name.
That was when I realized something.
Amber wasn’t afraid of Liam.
She was afraid of Nico.
And Nico had noticed.
“What call?”
I asked.
Amber swallowed.
“Nothing.”
“Amber.”
She shook her head.
“I said nothing.”
Liam grabbed her wrist.
“Who called you?”
She pulled away.
“Stop.”
Her phone buzzed.
All four of us looked down.
Amber stared at the screen.
Whatever she saw made her hands tremble.
Then her phone slipped from her fingers.
It hit the terrace stone.
The screen remained illuminated.
I was closest.
I bent and picked it up.
Amber lunged toward me.
“Don’t!”
Too late.
A message filled the screen.
There was no name attached.
Only an unknown number.
And a photograph.
My photograph.
The one I had taken yesterday.
Liam and Amber in my bed.
My blood turned cold.
I had never sent that picture to anyone.
Not even Maya.
Beneath it was a message.
YOU WERE TOLD TO WAIT.
I looked at Amber.
“What is this?”
She stared at me.
Then Liam.
Then Nico.
“Give me the phone.”
“Who sent this?”
“Luna.”
“Who sent this?”
Amber’s expression shattered.
And suddenly my confident, vicious sister looked like a frightened little girl.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
My stomach twisted.
“What wasn’t?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“The apartment.”
Liam frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Amber looked at him.
And something in her face made his anger disappear.
“You weren’t supposed to be there when Luna came home.”
“I thought she wasn’t coming home.”
“I know.”
“You told me she wouldn’t.”
“I know.”
My heart started pounding.
“Amber.”
She closed her eyes.
“When did you decide to sleep with Liam?”
Her answer came barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t.”
Liam stared.
“What?”
She looked at him.
“I mean—I did.
Obviously.
But…”
“But what?”
Amber started crying.
“I was supposed to get close to you.”
Nobody moved.
Liam looked like he hadn’t understood the words.
“Supposed to?”
Amber covered her mouth.
Nico stepped forward.
“Who told you to get close to Liam?”
Her eyes moved toward him.
Fear again.
Real fear.
“I can’t tell you.”
Nico’s voice became frighteningly quiet.
“You can.”
“No.”
“You will.”
She shook her head violently.
“You don’t understand.”
Nico took another step.
Amber backed toward the railing.
“Stay away from me.”
“Amber,” I said.
She looked at me.
For the first time since we were children, I saw my sister without the jealousy, competition, or resentment between us.
She looked terrified for me.
“Luna, you need to leave New York.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Tonight.”
Liam laughed in disbelief.
“Have you lost your mind?”
She ignored him.
“Go to Maya’s.
Pack a bag.
Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”
“Why?”
Amber looked at the phone in my hand.
Another message arrived.
This time, no photograph.
Just six words.
SHE KNOWS TOO MUCH.
FIX IT.
My fingers went numb.
Nico took the phone from me.
His face changed as he read the message.
For the first time all night, the untouchable Nicolas Rossi looked genuinely shaken.
Then he looked at Amber.
“Who is sending these?”
She whispered, “You already know.”
Something dark passed through his expression.
Liam looked between them.
“What the hell is going on?”
Nico pulled out his own phone.
He dialed someone.
“Lock down the building,” he said.
“Nobody leaves.”
Amber gasped.
“No!”
She ran toward the door.
Nico caught her arm.
“Let me go!”
“Who sent the message?”
“You’re making it worse!”
“Who?”
She fought him.
“Nico!”
I grabbed his arm.
He released her instantly.
Amber stumbled backward.
And then the ballroom lights went out.
Everything disappeared.
The music stopped.
Screams rose behind the glass doors.
For three seconds there was total darkness.
Then emergency lights flickered on.
Red.
Dim.
Unnatural.
Nico moved immediately.
He pulled me behind him.
“Stay close.”
Liam reached for Amber.
She was gone.
“Amber?”
He spun around.
“Amber!”
The terrace door was open.
The corridor beyond it was empty.
Liam ran inside.
I followed.
“Nico!”
“Luna, stop.”
But I was already through the door.
Guests were panicking throughout the ballroom.
Security guards rushed toward the exits.
Valentina stood near the stage demanding answers.
Maya spotted me.
“Luna!”
“Have you seen Amber?”
“No!”
Liam pushed through the crowd.
“Amber!”
Nico seized the arm of a security officer.
“Seal every exit.
Check the cameras.”
“The cameras went offline thirty seconds before the power failure.”
Nico went still.
“Every camera?”
“Yes, sir.”
His expression darkened.
Then my phone vibrated.
I pulled it from my purse.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded onto the screen.
Amber.
She was sitting inside a car.
Her face was turned toward the window.
Someone had photographed her from the front seat.
Timestamp: eleven seconds ago.
Beneath it was one sentence.
YOUR SISTER KEPT HER PART.
NOW YOU WILL KEEP YOURS.
My knees nearly gave way.
Nico caught me.
“What?”
I showed him.
He read the message.
Liam reached us seconds later.
“What happened?”
I couldn’t speak.
Nico handed him the phone.
Liam’s face collapsed.
“What does this mean?”
No one answered.
Then a second message appeared.
This one contained an address.
And a time.
MIDNIGHT.
COME ALONE, LUNA.
Nico immediately said, “Absolutely not.”
I barely heard him.
Because another attachment had appeared.
A scanned document.
I enlarged it.
At first I didn’t understand what I was looking at.
Then I saw my mother’s name.
Elena Bennett.
My father’s name.
Daniel Bennett.
And beneath them was a third signature.
Nicolas Rossi.
Dated twenty-seven years ago.
Two years before I was born.
I looked up at Nico.
His face had gone completely white.
“What is this?”
He said nothing.
“Nico.”
Valentina had reached us now.
The moment she saw the document, the champagne glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
That frightened me more than anything else.
Because Valentina Rossi always had something to say.
Now she looked terrified.
I turned the phone toward her.
“You know what this is.”
She stared at Nico.
“You told me those records were destroyed.”
Liam’s head snapped toward his mother.
“What records?”
Nico’s face hardened.
“Valentina, not here.”
My heart thundered.
“What records?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at the document again.
There were legal terms I didn’t understand.
Corporate trusts.
Beneficiary designations.
Transfer provisions.
Then I saw my own last name.
BENNETT FAMILY TRUST.
Below it sat a number.
$487,000,000.
I stopped breathing.
“That can’t be right.”
Liam stared over my shoulder.
“What the hell?”
Valentina closed her eyes.
Nico looked at me.
And suddenly I understood.
The company acquisition.
His interest in where I worked.
Amber’s mysterious messages.
The way he had watched me since that dinner.
Maybe none of it had started with attraction.
Maybe none of it had started with Liam.
Maybe this had begun long before either of us was born.
“What did you do?”
I whispered.
Nico stepped closer.
“Luna, whatever happens next, you need to trust me.”
I laughed.
It sounded almost hysterical.
“You knew my boyfriend was cheating on me.
You bought the company I work for.
My sister has apparently been following somebody’s instructions, and now I’m looking at a document connecting you to my parents and half a billion dollars.”
His eyes didn’t leave mine.
“I know.”
“And you want me to trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His next words silenced everyone around us.
“Because your parents didn’t die in an accident.”
My entire body went cold.
My parents had died when I was eight.
Car accident.
Rain.
A highway outside Albany.
That was the story I had heard my entire life.
“What did you say?”
Nico stepped closer.
“Your father discovered something he was never supposed to find.”
I couldn’t feel my hands.
“What?”
“Evidence.”
“Of what?”
He looked toward the crowded ballroom.
Then toward the security cameras.
Then back at me.
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
He checked the caller ID.
And froze.
I had never seen fear on Nico Rossi’s face.
Not once.
Until then.
“Who is it?”
I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
The phone continued ringing.
Valentina saw the screen.
Her face drained of color.
“No.”
Liam looked at her.
“Mom?”
“No, no, no…”
Nico finally answered.
He said nothing.
We could hear breathing through the speaker.
Then a distorted voice.
Male.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Nicolas.”
Nico’s jaw tightened.
“You should have stayed away from her.”
I stared at him.
The voice continued.
“You were warned twenty-seven years ago.”
Nico looked at me.
Everything in his expression changed.
Not guilt.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“Where is Amber?”
A soft laugh came through the phone.
“Your concern is touching.”
“If you hurt her—”
“She volunteered.”
Liam staggered backward.
“What?”
The voice continued.
“But Luna was always the real objective.”
My blood turned to ice.
Nico stepped in front of me instinctively.
“What do you want?”
“Exactly what Elena refused to give me.”
My mother.
The stranger knew my mother.
I couldn’t breathe.
“What did my mother have?”
I shouted.
Silence followed.
Then the voice spoke directly to me.
“Hello, Luna.”
Nico tightened his grip on the phone.
“Don’t speak to her.”
Another laugh.
“Still protecting her?
After all these years?”
I looked at Nico.
After all these years?
The man continued.
“Ask Nicolas why your middle name is Rose.”
My heart stopped.
Luna Rose Bennett.
I had never questioned it.
My mother loved roses.
That was what Aunt Claire always told me.
But Nico’s expression told me there was another answer.
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Luna—”
“Why is my middle name Rose?”
Before Nico could respond, the ballroom’s main screen flickered alive.
The charity presentation disappeared.
Static filled the enormous display.
Every guest turned toward it.
Then an old photograph appeared.
A woman stood outside a hospital holding a newborn.
My mother.
Much younger.
Beside her stood Nico.
Not casually.
His arm was around her.
And he was looking down at the baby in her arms.
At me.
The ballroom went silent.
My knees weakened.
Liam whispered, “Dad?”
Valentina looked like she might be sick.
Another photograph appeared.
Nico holding me as an infant.
Then another.
My mother asleep in a hospital bed while Nico sat beside her.
Then a final image.
A birth certificate.
Luna Rose Bennett.
Mother: Elena Bennett.
Father:
The screen glitched.
The name was blacked out.
I slowly turned toward Nico.
He looked devastated.
“Nico.”
His eyes met mine.
“Tell me the truth.”
The stranger’s voice filled the ballroom speakers.
“Go ahead, Nicolas.”
A pause.
“Tell her who her father really is.”
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Source: Stories of Destiny · Thao Thao
