The Silent Luna's Trial (Maple and Finn) novel Chapter 79

**When the Last Candle Sang to the Ocean Wind by Aurelion Kyre Solvane 79**

**Chapter 4**

A wave of absurdity washed over me, and I couldn’t help but point at Isabelle, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the chaotic scene. I burst into laughter, the sound sharp and mocking as I turned my gaze to Alpha Julian.

“How about her?” I exclaimed, gesturing at Isabelle with a flourish. “She’s beautiful, well-educated. She’d be perfect for you!”

In an instant, the laughter died in my throat as my mother’s hand connected with my face in a swift, brutal motion. The sting radiated across my cheek, her long, manicured nails leaving angry red scratches that soon began to bleed.

“How could you say that, you ungrateful brat!” she shouted, her voice hoarse and trembling with rage, as if I were the one orchestrating a transaction to sell off a daughter.

So, they were aware of the inferno that this marriage truly represented, this pit of despair disguised as a union.

Stumbling out of the house, I felt the hot tears streaming down my face, each sob wracking my body with uncontrollable grief. In that moment, I understood that I would never again feel even the faintest flicker of attachment to that house, that life.

Not long after, my phone buzzed incessantly, a barrage of calls and messages from Alpha Julian demanding the return of the $200,000 deposit. His threats dripped with venom: if I didn’t comply, he would kill my entire family.

I responded with a chilling calm, “Go ahead, then.”

But the situation escalated quickly. What began as a financial dispute spiraled into relentless harassment. The weight of it all bore down on me until I could no longer endure it. I found a new job, relocated, changed my phone number—anything to break free from the suffocating grip of both Alpha Julian and my own family.

Just when I thought I had carved out the beginnings of a new life, the unexpected struck again.

“Ugh, disgusting! Parents who sell their own daughter deserve to die,” a voice rang out from the crowd, filled with righteous anger.

“Right? If she’s so great, why don’t you marry him yourself?” another voice chimed in, the audience echoing their disdain for my parents.

My father, visibly rattled, attempted to defend his actions. “Marriage is a serious matter; of course, parents have the right to decide for her…”

“Bullshit. You did it for the money!” someone shouted back, their voice cutting through the air like a knife.

“You don’t deserve to be her father!” a member of the jury roared, their fury palpable.

In that moment, my father fell silent, shifting nervously as he stole a glance at my mother.

“Second round of voting,” the judge announced, his voice ringing out in the tense courtroom.

Seventy-eight votes had been cast in favor of innocence.

But it wasn’t enough. I needed more than ninety-five votes to secure acquittal.

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