The morning came quietly over the Miller household.
For the first time since Luna had returned, she felt as though she was slowly getting used to her surroundings when she opened her eyes that morning, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
She couldn’t explain why perhaps it was because the house no longer felt completely unfamiliar.
Or maybe it was because, for a few precious moments, she had managed to sleep without being haunted by disturbing memories.She got out of bed and quietly left her room.
The rest of the family had not come downstairs yet.
Luna walked slowly through the compound, allowing the cool morning air to brush against her face.
She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
She wanted to enjoy the moment.
But even then, one thought refused to leave her mind.
Harrison
Why hadn’t he told her what had happened to her?
Why had he kept her in the dark about the assault?
Luna shook her head.
She didn’t want to think about it anymore.
At least, not now.
She continued walking until something caught her attention.
A woman was standing a few feet away.
She was staring directly at Luna not casually and not curiously.
She was glaring at her with an expression Luna couldn’t understand.
Luna stopped.
Her smile disappeared.
The woman’s eyes looked strange almost frightened, yet filled with pity.
Luna stared back at her.
Why is she looking at me like that?
After a few seconds, Luna decided to approach her.
“Good morning,” she greeted politely.
The woman hesitated before responding.
“Good morning.” Her voice was rough and cracked, almost as though she wanted to say something else but was afraid to.
Luna frowned.
“Are you alright?”
The woman opened her mouth before she could answer, a young girl suddenly appeared behind her.
“Mom!”
The woman immediately turned and before Luna could understand what was happening, Kate rushed toward them.
“Luna!”.
Kate grabbed her arm.
“Come with me.”
Luna looked at her in confusion.
“Mom, wait.
I was just talking to”
“She’s scary,” Kate interrupted quickly.
“Don’t stay around her.”
Luna glanced back at the woman.
The woman was still staring at her but now there was something different in her eyes.
Pity…
almost desperation as if she wanted to tell Luna something,as if she was silently begging her to remember.
“Come on,” Kate insisted, pulling Luna away.
Luna allowed herself to be dragged back toward the house, but she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder.
The woman remained standing there.Watching her.
And for some strange reason, Luna felt that the woman wasn’t trying to hurt her.
She was trying to warn her.
Inside the house, Kate’s breathing became heavier.
She released Luna’s arm and quickly looked toward the door.
Her face was pale and her hands trembled slightly.
She had been terrified that Luna might speak to that woman for too long.
Terrified that she might say something.
Anything.
Brian came downstairs moments later and immediately noticed Kate’s expression.
“What happened?” he asked.
Kate looked at him nervously.
“She was talking to that woman outside.”
Brian’s expression barely changed.
“So?”
“What if she tells Luna something?”
Kate’s voice trembled.
Brian walked closer and lowered his voice.
“Don’t panic.”
“But what if Luna starts remembering?”
Brian glanced toward the staircase.
“Luna has amnesia.
Even if she remembers something, she won’t remember everything at once.”
Kate swallowed hard.
“And if she does?”
Brian leaned closer.
“Then we’ll deal with it.”
His voice became colder.
“We’ll find a way to keep her quiet.”
Kate stared at him.
Brian continued.
“Whatever happens, we can’t let her remember everything.”
Those words sent a chill through Kate.
She lowered her eyes she wasn’t only afraid of Luna remembering the past.
She was afraid of what Luna would think of her as a bad mother.
Kate had been her mother yet she had never protected her.
She had watched Luna suffer.
She had watched her husband and son treat Luna terribly and when Luna needed her most, she had remained silent.
What would happen when Luna finally remembered?Would she still call her mother?
Would she ever forgive her?
Kate’s eyes became wet.
“I didn’t protect her,” she whispered.
Brian looked at her.
“Don’t start this again.”
“But she’s my daughter.”
“And you’re still her mother,” Brian replied.
“So act like one.”
Before Kate could answer, their son walked into the room.He had clearly heard part of their conversation.
He walked over to Kate and hugged her.
“Mom, everything will be fine.”
Kate looked at him.
He smiled reassuringly.
“We’ve handled everything this far.
We can handle this too.”
Kate slowly nodded but the fear inside her didn’t disappear because she knew something they didn’t.
Luna’s memory might be gone…
But it wasn’t gone forever.
However, what none of them realized was that Luna had not gone far.
She was standing quietly at the corner of the staircase.
She had heard everything not every word but enough.Her eyes widened.
Keep me quiet?
Remember everything?
Her heart began beating faster.
What were they talking about?
What were they hiding from her?
And why had her mother looked so frightened when she saw that woman?
Luna slowly stepped away from the staircase before anyone noticed her.
She returned to her room and closed the door behind her.
Her mind was filled with questions.
She walked toward the wardrobe and opened it.
Her eyes fell on the two necklaces.
One was the necklace she had been wearing when Harrison found her.
The other was the necklace she had discovered inside the wardrobe.
Luna picked them both up.
The moment her fingers touched them, something happened.
A sharp pain ran through her head,she gasped.
The room disappeared.
Darkness,rain,an unfinished building.
Three men.
She was struggling trying to get away.
Trying to scream,trying to protect herself.
“Let me go!”
The image flashed again.
Three men surrounding her.
Her body trembling.
Rain pouring down,then another image appeared.
Her brother.
Luna’s eyes widened.
“No…”
She dropped one of the necklaces ther breathing became unsteady.
She saw her brother’s face but the memory was broken,blurred,incomplete and couldn’t hear what he was saying.
She couldn’t understand why he was there.
Then…
A sudden flash.
Her brother was looking at her.
And Luna gasped.
She stumbled backward and pressed a hand against her mouth.
“What happened to me?”
Tears gathered in her eyes.
She desperately tried to hold on to the memory, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Only fragments remained.
The three men,the rain,the unfinished building,her brother’s blurry face and the terrible fear inside her.
Luna looked down at the two necklaces in her trembling hands.
Something connected them,she could feel it.
But she didn’t know what.
She didn’t know who had attacked her.
She didn’t know why.
She didn’t know what her brother had to do with it and now she didn’t know what her parents were hiding from her.
Her gaze hardened.
For the first time since returning to the Miller household, Luna stopped waiting for someone else to give her answers.She was going to find them herself.
Who was behind the attack?
What had really happened to her?
Why was her brother appearing in her memories?
And most importantly…
What secret were her parents desperately trying to keep from her?
Luna slowly tightened her grip around the necklaces.
Whatever the truth was, she was determined to uncover it even if the truth destroyed the family she had just returned to.