The most prestigious suite at the Evermore Hotel was filled with ladies running around in order to prepare the bride for her big day. Luna Orion sat on the bed and looked giddily at the necklace on her hand, which was a gift from her mom.
This was a special necklace, one of its type. Carefully, she placed the necklace around her neck.
Beep
Right then, Luna received a call from Judy Martins, her soon-to-be mother-in-law, who had insisted on doing her wedding hair personally but was still not here.
Luna picked up the call. "Mom, where are you?" She had a pout. No one was here, not even her parents.
Judy's proud chuckle echoed around the room.
"Dear 'daughter-in-law', did you actually believe that my son was going to marry you today?"
"Mom, what are you saying?" Luna chuckled, she knew her mother-in-law was pulling one of her usual pranks; after all, she loved to play around.
It wasn't long before Luna received a picture sent by Judy; she dropped the phone in horror, her hand over her mouth and eyes filled with fear, as well as disbelief
"This…"
It was a picture of her dog, bloodied and lifeless.
Judy's laughter got louder; she knew Luna must be shattered right now.
"Your family even treated a dog better than my son, he was always running errands for you but you couldn't even save him some face," Judy added with a sigh.
"Mom, what's going on? Today is my wedding and no one treated Seb badly, what's all this?"
"You are so dumb. How could you even for one second think that my son would continue being your puppet? Well, this is my gift to you. Seb has a bigger gift…it involves your parents."
Luna became worried and hastily stood up, bashed out of the hotel room, and drove to her parents' place. A cold breeze gushed over her face. She lifted her wedding gown and walked to the door. On the ground was the lifeless body of her dog, Eric.
She crouched; her eyes became sore.
"How could Mom do this?"
"Luna! Run!" Luna heard her stepfather yell from upstairs. She stood up, and her eyes bulged when her stepdad was pushed off the balcony. His body fell before her. A circle of blood formed around him. He tried to speak, but couldn't. His eyes stayed widely open.
Luna felt her heart was being carved at with a knife as her gaze was stuck on her stepdad.
It felt even more painful when she recognized the person who had pushed her stepfather—it was the man she had been in love with for nearly five years, the man of her dreams, the man she had countless arguments with her parents for.
Sebastian Martins found his way downstairs with a document in his hand.
"I didn't mean to push him; he was so noisy."
Luna's vision was blurred with tears; still, she managed to read the document in his hand.
Transfer agreement
Seb noticed her gaze, and he chuckled, waving the document in the air. "Your dad gave me an early wedding gift; he signed his shares to me."
Luna still hadn't recovered from the scene when an eighteen-year-old girl dragged Luna's mom, Aliyah, by her legs.
"Brother, the old lady couldn't withstand my torture; she is dead." She had an amused look, as if everything happening was a joke to her.
"Soph," Luna stuttered. Sophia Martins was that little sister she wished she had, always clingy and obedient, so how could this little girl kill her mom?
"Don't give me that judgy look; your mom married into this family for money, so is it offensive that we are doing this for wealth as well?" Soph snorted, and Luna broke down in tears.
Soph's words repeatedly pierced her heart like a knife.
Four years ago, they all lived as neighbors at Raven until Aliyah married Paul Orion and moved to Ashwood with Luna.
Luna genuinely helped her boyfriend, Seb, get into Ashwood Preparatory Academy; she even helped him win the chemistry competition. With the prize money, Seb could afford to bring his parents and sister to Ashwood.
Luna thought they were one big family. She had done a lot for them, but they were not appreciative and even did this to her parents.
They were totally evil and shameless. At this moment, Luna wished she could wipe off that mocking smile on their faces, but she couldn't do that if they killed her as well. With her stepdad's last words resounding in her ear, she turned and ran to her car.
"Stop her; she can't escape," Soph scolded.
Luna kept driving with countless cars closing up. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to survive at all costs.
As if the world was against her, her car got bad. She picked up her phone and decided to continue the journey on foot.
Right now, she could think of just one person to call, her stepbrother.
Aiden Orion.
She kept running with her wobbly legs, constantly looking back at the white cars. Holding the hem of her white wedding gown, the black hair locks nearly covered her face. Luna kept dialing Aiden's number, but it went straight to voicemail.
"Aidie, help me please…."
"Nooo…" Luna fell, and her phone sliced off her hand. She stood up but couldn't go any further because of the bridge before her. How she ended up here, she had no idea.
The panic in her body rose to the point that she panted heavily in fright, and the cars stopped.
A man clad in a blue suit with a white tie walked out of the car while holding a gun.
Seb, with a cig in his mouth, raked through his hair, puffing it in the air.
"You can't run from me, my dear Luna doll."
Luna shivered, her face wet with tears.
"How could you do this to me? Daddy was still going to make you the CEO of the company; you didn't have to force him to sign," she lashed out, but her words had no effect on Seb.
He walked forward and pressed her cheek, his playful smile never leaving his lips.
His gaze diverted to the ringing phone next to Luna, then to the deep water below them. He kicked the phone down the bridge.
"You can choose to die right here, baby, or die in your parents' home and be buried together; the choice is yours."
"Kill me if you wish; I will hunt you down till eternity," Luna scolded, and Seb slapped her hard across the face. His smile got replaced with a frown; he gripped her hair and pulled her to the edge of the bridge.
"You think your stepdad would have approved of making me the CEO? He was going to give everything to that psycho stepbrother of yours," he scolded. Luna shook her head in denial. That's not true.
Her stepdad had disowned Aiden and was going to make Seb the CEO.
Seb laughed mockingly. "Tomorrow's headline will be, 'Aliyah Norman and her daughter conspired against the Orion family. It will be easy to make the public believe this; after all, your mom was a famous gold digger."
"You shouldn't have done that; you will wish you hadn't done it," Luna promised him with clenched fists.
Her teeth gritting, she scanned the place and was surrounded by Seb's men; there was no escape.
"Take her," Seb ordered his men. A man approached Luna, but she pushed him and jumped off the bridge with countless gunshots aimed at her.
The once blue water had now turned red.
From this day, it was known that Paul Orion got into an argument with his wife after he discovered she wanted all his assets. Out of anger, he transferred everything to the one he considers a son, Sebastian Martins.
Aliyah got angry and pushed him off the balcony, then fled the country with her daughter.
The hate for the Normans spread across Ashwood and other towns, and the names Aliyah and Luna had become taboo in every household and gathering.Yo