As Elis moved closer, Luna instinctively stepped back, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Fear surged through her veins as she stared at him, her mind racing with the impossibility of what she had just seen. The wound was gone completely healed. Who is this man? What is he?
Panic setting in, Luna's hand frantically grabbed a nearby object from her bedside table a small vase. Without thinking, she threw it at Elis, hoping to slow him down or at least create some distance. But before the vase could reach him, something unnatural happened.
It froze mid-air.
Luna's eyes widened in horror as the vase hovered for a moment, suspended as if by an invisible force, before it dropped to the floor with a soft thud. Elis hadn't even flinched.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she took another step back, bumping into the edge of her bed. "What... what did you do with the hairpin I stabbed you with?" she stammered, her voice trembling with disbelief. "How did you stop that vase?"
Her thoughts raced back to the moment she had stabbed him with the hairpin. She had seen the blood, had felt the resistance when the pin pierced his skin. This wasn't possible. She could still remember the sensation of the pin in her hand, the impact as she struck him. Yet, here he stood completely unharmed.
Elis regarded her with a calm, almost disinterested expression as he reached into his pocket. Slowly, he pulled something out and held it up between his fingers. Luna's heart dropped when she saw what it was the hairpin.
"Is this the object you're talking about?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
Luna could barely nod, her throat tight with fear. The very pin she had used to stab him gleamed in the low light, now free of any trace of blood. How did he have it? She clearly remembered leaving it in his side.
Elis studied her, his piercing blue eyes now cold and unblinking. "Where did you get this?" he asked, his voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of something darker—something dangerous.
Luna's mind raced as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She had never paid much attention to the hairpin before. It was just something she'd had with her. Grace had handed it to her at the café. Now, though, the hairpin seemed to carry much more significance than she had ever realized. But why was he so focused on it?
"I... I don't know," Luna stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "It's just... it's just a hairpin. I found it somewhere."
Elis's expression darkened as she mentioned Grace. "This woman doesn't know what she's dealing with," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing. He turned the hairpin over in his hand, inspecting it closely before his gaze returned to Luna.
"This is not just a hairpin," he said coldly, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Where did you get it? And how did it end up with you?"
"I don't know!" Luna's voice cracked, the fear making her feel desperate. "Grace said she found it, that it wasn't some historical artifact like I thought. I don't know where it came from. It's just been with me."
Elis took a step closer, his towering figure looming over her. Luna felt trapped, her back pressed against the bed, with nowhere to run. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, his presence overwhelming. His eyes seemed to pierce straight into her soul, and for a moment, she thought he might lash out at her.
But instead, he simply sighed, his gaze softening ever so slightly. "You really don't know what you've been carrying, do you?"
Luna shook her head, her breath shallow. "What... what is it?"
Luna swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she gripped the edge of the bed behind her.
Elis looked down at her, his blue eyes glinting with something unreadable. "It's not about you," he said after a long pause. "It's about what you've been carrying. And now, whether you like it or not, you're part of this."
Luna's heart raced as the weight of his words sank in.
"What... what do you want from me?" Luna whispered, fear choking her voice.
Elis sighed again, his expression unreadable. "For now, I want answers."
..,.....,...
Vivienne paced back and forth in her study, her mind racing with conflicting emotions. She had just received news that Luna, her stepdaughter and heiress to the Ross estate, was safe and unharmed after what should have been a fatal accident. Her pulse quickened as her disappointment settled in. Vivienne had not wished for Luna's death out of sheer malice, but the idea of her being out of the picture had certainly crossed her mind. A minor injury, a disability that might force Luna to let go of her position as heiress those would have been more than acceptable outcomes. But Luna was perfectly fine, and that fact filled Vivienne with a growing sense of frustration.
"How could this happen?" she muttered under her breath, snapping her fingers in agitation. Her perfect plan had failed, and worse, there was no sign of injury, no reason for Luna to be displaced from her rightful position.
Just as Vivienne began to lose herself in her thoughts, John entered the room. He had a quiet, calculating presence, and though Vivienne often thought she could manipulate him to some extent, there were always moments of hesitation when he was around. John, after all, was no fool. He had his own way of thinking, a methodical mind that often saw through her attempts at subtlety.
"What's on your mind, Vivienne?" John asked, his tone casual, but his eyes sharp, probing her.
Vivienne quickly masked her emotions, offering him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, nothing important," she replied, brushing off his question with a wave of her hand. "Just... thinking about Luna."
John's expression didn't change, but he wasn't easily deterred. He stepped closer, folding his arms across his chest. "It doesn't seem like nothing," he pressed. "You've been pacing for a while. What's really bothering you?"
Vivienne inwardly cursed his persistence but maintained her composure. She needed to be careful with how much she revealed to John. He wasn't privy to the more sinister parts of her plans.....plans that, had they gone well, would have left Luna either incapacitated or worse. But Vivienne was skilled at spinning stories, and she quickly decided to test the waters, to see how much John knew or suspected.
"You know, I heard something troubling today," she began slowly, watching his reaction carefully. "Apparently, Grace was caught attempting to murder Luna."
John hummed thoughtfully, his face giving little away. Vivienne pressed on, leaning into the story she was weaving. "I was wondering if Grace would really go that far for the Ross estate. After all, she's been ambitious for years, hasn't she?"
John's eyes narrowed slightly, but he gave nothing away. "I've already asked the police to investigate the matter further," he said, his voice calm but with an edge of authority. "It's shameful, really, if anyone within the company is involved in an attempt to kill Luna. It could taint the entire company's reputation."
Vivienne watched him closely, her mind spinning. She had hoped to gauge whether John had any inkling that she herself was behind the plot, but his response was maddeningly vague. It seemed that he was more concerned with the company's image than with Luna's wellbeing.....or perhaps he was just playing his cards close to his chest, as he often did.
She needed to dig deeper, to probe his feelings about the situation. "So... you don't care that your daughter was hurt?" she asked, her tone casual but her eyes sharp, searching for any flicker of emotion.
John hesitated for a moment, his expression shifting ever so slightly. For a brief second, Vivienne thought she saw something was it guilt? Regret? but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. When he spoke again, his voice was steady, controlled.
"It's not a matter of caring or not caring," John said carefully. "Luna is my daughter, and that's a fact that won't change. But feelings... they're not always necessary." He paused, as if choosing his next words with care. "What's important right now is making sure the company's reputation remains intact. This whole incident has caused enough trouble already."
Vivienne frowned. John's words unsettled her, but she wasn't sure why. She had always known that John was more focused on the business than on his personal relationships especially with Luna, who had been born from his first marriage. But hearing him speak so dispassionately about his own daughter made her uneasy. And yet, part of her was relieved. If John didn't care about Luna on a personal level, that meant he might not be too concerned if something were to happen to her in the future.
Still, she couldn't let her guard down just yet. "Of course, I'm happy that Luna is safe," Vivienne said, forcing a smile. "But... it's strange, isn't it? With everything that's happened, why haven't you visited her?" He asked.
John's gaze hardened slightly, and Vivienne could tell that he was growing tired of the conversation. But she wasn't finished. She needed to know how much he was truly invested in Luna's life.
"I was shocked," she continued, her voice trembling just enough to sound sincere. "I felt so guilty for not being there for Luna when she needed me. As her stepmother, I should have done more. I should have been by her side." She lowered her gaze, pretending to wipe away a tear, her shoulders shaking with the effort of her false sobs.
John sighed, clearly uncomfortable with her display of emotion. "Vivienne," he said, his voice softening just slightly. "If you're truly worried about Luna, then you should go and see her. Bring Camille with you, if you like. But visit her. We can't afford any more trouble. This attempt on her life has caused enough damage to our image already."
Vivienne nodded, pretending to compose herself as she wiped away her imaginary tears. "Yes, of course," she said, her voice still trembling. "I'll go to her as soon as I can. I just... I want to make sure she's okay."
John gave a curt nod, then turned and left the room, leaving Vivienne alone with her thoughts. As soon as the door closed behind him, her false smile faded, and her expression darkened. John's words had left her feeling uneasy. She had always known that he wasn't the most caring father, but his indifference toward Luna was unsettling.
Still, there was a silver lining. If John wasn't emotionally invested in Luna's wellbeing, that meant she could continue with her plans, and he might not interfere. But she would need to be careful very careful. John wasn't a man to be underestimated, and she knew that if he ever suspected her of being behind the plot to harm Luna, he would make her pay dearly.
Vivienne took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts. The plan wasn't over yet. Luna might have survived this time, but there would be other opportunities. And as long as John remained focused on the company's image rather than his daughter's safety, Vivienne knew that she still had a chance to achieve what she wanted.
She would visit Luna, play the part of the concerned stepmother, and make sure that everyone believed she had nothing but the best intentions. And in the meantime, she would continue to plan quietly, carefully until the day came when Luna was no longer a threat to her.
As she stood in the quiet of her study, a cold smile spread across her face. This wasn't the end. It was only the beginning.