Abandoned Luna Now Untouchable (Cecilia) novel Chapter 68

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Back in the quiet mountain village, Esther and her mother sat in silence, the weight of unspoken worries pressing down on them.

“Our Cecilia was bullied so badly, and we could do nothing,” Esther murmured, her fingers tightening around the fish she was gutting.

Her eyes flickered with sudden desperation. “Mom, what if. what if we go to Colorado Springs and tell the Locke Family about Cecilia’s existence? If we can’t protect her, they certainly could.”

The older woman’s grip hardened around the dried fish in her hands. Her eyes, clouded with both age and caution, flashed with alarm.

“Absolutely not,” she said firmly. “When the old madam entrusted Cecilia to me, she begged for only one thing-that the child live safely. Not rich, not powerful. Safe.” But she’s not safe now!” Esther’s eyes reddened, her voice cracking. “I hate the thought âs much as you do. She’s my life. But look at her marriage, look at how they’ve bullied her! We have no background, no influence. If they knew she carried Locke blood, would they dare treat her this way?”

The grandmother shook her head, her voice soft but unyielding. “The Locke family is a nest of daggers. Right now, she suffers hardship, yes. But if she returns to them, she might lose her life.”

Her gaze hardened as she leveled it on Esther. “Do not mention this again. Especially not to Cecilia. Not a single word.”

Esther nodded, but her heart rebelled. To her, Cecilia was brilliant, kind, deserving of so much more than humiliation and abuse. Why should her daughter live in the shadows?

The two women fell into heavy silence, secrets pressing on their chests-truths powerful enough to change everything, or destroy the very person they sought to protect.

Far from the village, Cecilia sat in her car, feigning sleep beneath her mask.

A man across the lot had returned to his vehicle after a phone call, his presence prickling against her instincts. Could it truly be coincidence that for three days in a row, he’d left Denver when she did, only to return at the exact same schedule?

Half an hour ticked by. Neither of them moved. The confirmation was enough.

Her mind raced. Calling the police? Pointless. By the time they arrived, he would vanish.

All she had was a pattern-no hard evidence.

Pack politics often used surveillance before striking. If he hadn’t harmed her yet, perhaps he was only watching.

Decision made, she started her car. His followed. Professional distance, sometimes vanishing completely before reappearing minutes later. Subtle. Deliberate. If she hadn’t been looking, she might never have noticed

Her palms grew stick as the Denver skyline came into view. Only then did she allow herself to exhale.

At the final intersection before her building, she made her move-accelerating hard, ignoring the red light. Her gamble paid off: the gate barrier stopped his car long enough for her to dart inside.

Safe. For now.

In the underground garage, her hands still trembled as she gathered her bags. She dialed Harper.

“I think someone’s been tracking me since | left the village,” she whispered. “Same man, same car, three sightings in a row.”

Harper’s voice rose in alarm. “Are you serious? Did you get a license plate? What did he look like?”

“Average height, tanned skin. Nothing distinct except-” Movement. A shadow flickered in her peripheral vision.

A figure in a black hat, face hidden, closing in with the silence of a predator.

Before Cecilia could react, pain exploded at the base of her skull. Darkness swallowed her vision. Her body crumpled, phone slipping from her grasp as consciousness abandoned her.

-On the other end of the line, Harper’s heart lurched.

“Cecilia? Hello? Can you hear me?”

Only silence. Then the call disconnected

She tried again. The line rang, but there was no answer.

Panic swept over her. Cecilia had just said she was in her garage. Even if she’d dropped the call, she would have picked up again. Something was wrong.

Grabbing her keys, Harper dialed another number-the one she’d boldly secured at the ramen shop. Alpha Sebastian Black, He lived in the same building.

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