Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 217

Chapter 217

She’d ignored my realistic advice in favor of romantic delusions, and now she was dead because of it.

Well, at least her death wouldn’t be meaningless. I would use her martyrdom as fuel for a revenge that would make the Blackwoods

wish they’d never been born.

I descended the narrow wooden stairs to my basement laboratory, where the real work happened. The space was larger than the house

above suggested, as it was carved out of the bedrock beneath Shadow City’s foundations.

Magical wards hummed in the walls, containing the screams and pleas that echoed from my various experiments.

Most of the test subjects had died over the years, their bodies unable to withstand the magical modifications I’d attempted on them.

But two-aside from Riley who was a special case- had survived, had proven resilient enough to endure procedure after procedure while I

perfected my techniques. And the first one was far away from here, borrowed for his abilities for the time being by a powerful family

while the remaining one was still here, kept in my basement with no hope of freedom.

Lake was chained to a metal table in the center of the room, his thin frame bearing the scars of countless magical interventions. He

looked up when I entered, his eyes reflecting the kind of hollow despair that came from years of systematic abuse. He was perhaps six

years old now, though the malnutrition and trauma had stunted his growth enough but it wasn’t dire yet to be a health issue. After all I

do feed my experiment food scraps, a lot to keep their stomach filled which was basically a good thing in my eyes.

“Hello, Lake,” I said pleasantly, as if greeting an old friend rather than a victim I’d been torturing for years. “I have some interesting

news to share with you.”

The boy flinched at the sound of my voice but didn’t try to speak. I’d trained that impulse out of him long ago, taught him that

unsolicited words only brought additional pain.

“It’s about Riley,” I continued, watching Lake’s expression carefully for any sign of reaction. “You remember Riley, don’t you? Your old

playmate? The boy who used to share these sessions with you?”

Lake’s eyes widened slightly, the first genuine emotion I’d seen from him in months. Riley had been his only companion during those

early years, the one of the children who understood what it meant to be trapped in my laboratory.

They’d formed the kind of bond that trauma creates between survivors, clinging to each other for comfort in a world that offered

nothing but pain.

“Well, I have some wonderful news,” I said, my voice dripping with false sweetness as I continued speaking, eager to twist the knife

deep inside him.

‘Riley has found his real parents! Can you imagine? He’s living in a beautiful house now, surrounded by people who love and cherish

him. He has a twin brother, caring parents, and all the safety and comfort a child could want.”

I watched as Lake processed this information, saw the mixture of hope and hurt that flickered across his features. Hope that Riley had

15:06 Wed, Jan 28 M…

Chapter 217

escaped, hurt that he’d been left behind.

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“Of course,” I continued, moving closer to the table where Lake was restrained, “he seems to have forgotten all about you. Forgotten

about the friend who shared his suffering, who helped him through the worst moments of his captivity. He could have told the authorities

where you are, could have demanded they come rescue you. But he hasn’t, has he?”

The cruelty of the lie tasted sweet on my tongue. Riley had no idea Lake even existed anymore – the memory modification spells I’d

used ensured that. But Lake didn’t know that, and the betrayal he felt at being abandoned was a useful tool for manipulation.

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15:06 Wed, Jan 28 …

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart