Abandoned Luna Now Untouchable (Cecilia) novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Chapter 125 Buried Secrets

Author’s pov

Behind the couch, Tang had sent the recording of Nicole’s entire confession to Alpha Sebastian.

While Cecilia and Harper were cautiously piecing together Nicole’s traumatic story, they were completely unaware that Alpha Sebastian was already miles ahead of them.

He sat under the shade of an old oak tree in a seemingly ordinary farmyard, the audio recording from Tang playing through his phone. His expression was unreadable, a mask of calm concentration as he listened. The moment it ended, his fingers moved swiftly across the screen: She’s holding back. Stay alert.

An "OK" came back from Tang immediately, though he couldn’t help but frown at his Alpha’s assessment.

From where Tang stood, Nicole’s emotional breakdown and story seemed genuine - the tears, the trauma, all of it.

But Alpha Sebastian had always possessed an uncanny ability to detect deception where others couldn’t.

Cecilia’s pov

In the apartment, I gently steered our conversation in a new direction.

"Nicole, you’re from Boulder originally, right?" I asked softly.

"Yes," she nodded, clearly uncertain why I was asking this.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a small notebook.

Inside were Cici’s drunken ramblings that I’d carefully transcribed. I handed it to her.

"Could you look at this? These descriptions of places - have you seen anything like them before? Or did the girl who attacked you ever mention locations like these?"

Nicole took the notebook with trembling hands.

Harper watched as Nicole’s eyes moved across the notes. Her expression shifted - first intense focus, then a flicker of confusion, and finally, a slow, dawning horror. It was like watching a shadow creep over her face, swallowing the light behind her eyes.

Though she’d cried herself dry earlier, a fresh sheen of tears now glossed her vision. She looked up, voice heavy with the weight of memory.

"This... this sounds like the countryside around here."

"Could it be up in the mountains?" Harper asked carefully.

"No." Nicole’s reply was sharp, certain. "The countryside. The farms, the backroads - that kind of place."

She paused, thinking, then looked up with a spark of grim resolve. "My uncle lives out near Redwood Creek. He’s been there his whole life. If anyone would know this kind of place, it’s him. Even if he doesn’t, someone in that area will."

Harper and I agreed, seeing how certain she seemed.

As Nicole went to change clothes, Tang excused himself to use the bathroom. Levan, unable to tolerate the apartment’s stench any longer, rushed outside after several dry heaves.

"Such a big guy, heaving like that," Harper teased, following her brother out. "Look at Tang - he’s completely unfazed!"

My gaze drifted toward the source of the most pungent odor. Poor Levan - he and Tang had been standing closest to it.

I walked slowly toward the smell, each step bringing me closer to its origin until I reached what had to be the source - a closed door at the end of the hallway.

Fighting the nausea rising in my throat, I reached for the doorknob.

Just as I began to turn it, a hand appeared over mine, firmly pushing the door closed again.

I spun around, startled to find Tang standing behind me.

"Don’t look. It’s pretty nasty in there," he said quietly.

"...You’ve already seen?" I whispered.

Tang placed his arm around my shoulders, gently steering me away as he murmured, "It’s just a dead cat. Been there a while. With this heat, the smell’s bound to be awful."

I gave him a skeptical look that clearly asked: Really? A cat? Are you lying to me?

Tang’s lips curved into a small smile. "Cecilia, you almost look disappointed it’s not something worse."

I glared at him. Disappointed? Seriously?

My concern wasn’t disappointment - I was worried he might be withholding information that could affect my judgment of Nicole.

Tang’s expression sobered. "It’s really just a cat. I promise."

We returned to the living room just as Nicole emerged.

She’d changed into a white dress and wore both a hat and face mask, concealing her scarred face completely. "Ready to go."

We headed downstairs.

But Harper and I weren’t here to sightsee. Ever since we’d turned off the main road, we’d been scanning everything, looking for anything that matched the notes.

And then we saw it. Now Nicole’s certainty made sense.

The land was dotted with ponds, old fruit trees clinging to their banks. The ground wasn’t flat - it rose and fell in gentle mounds. And scattered across the fields were small, weathered structures. Some sat beside water, others stood alone in the middle of nowhere.

I didn’t know what they were for, but my stomach dropped looking at them.

They matched Cici’s description perfectly.

Nicole had mentioned that the incident happened after final exams, just before summer break - matching our current season.

Before coming, we’d thought we were looking for a unique location that would stand out.

Now we realized these scenes were commonplace in the countryside.

Finding one specific spot among so many similar settings was like searching for a particular tree in a forest full of identical ones.

The task suddenly seemed far more daunting.

After another twenty minutes, we spotted a sign: "Redwood Creek."

"Take the next turn and go straight," Nicole directed from the back seat. "There’s a clearing up ahead where we’ll have to leave the car. The lanes into the village are too narrow for anything wider than a cart."

Tang did as instructed, pulling into a grassy area that served as an informal parking spot.

As I climbed out, my eyes caught on three luxury SUVs - the kind that cost more than a year’s salary - parked a little distance away.

It was a stark, unexpected contrast to the rustic surroundings.

Some villagers, it seemed, were doing very well for themselves.

Nicole led us on foot into the heart of the settlement.

A shallow, quick-moving river cleanly split the community into northern and southern halves. They were connected by a series of narrow stone bridges, their surfaces worn smooth by generations of use.

We stuck to the northern bank, following Nicole.

As we passed one of the weathered cottages, a large dog shot out from behind a fence, barking explosively.