Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 274

Chapter 274

RILEY

93

The small vial felt impossibly heavy in my palm as I emerged from Andy’s cell, its contents seeming to pulse with the weight of what

it had cost me to obtain it. The antidote that would save Marcus and Zade’s lives purchased with the destruction of whatever fragile

peace I’d managed to find in the wreckage of my world.

–

“Riley?” Lumina’s voice seemed to come from very far away, though she was standing right beside me. “What did she tell you?”

I couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t look at any of them. If I met their eyes now, they would see everything Andy had shown me, every

horrific detail burned into my memory like brands on my soul. Instead, I kept my gaze fixed on the stone floor as I extended my hand,

offering the vial to whoever would take it.

“Here,” I whispered, my voice barely audible in the dungeon’s oppressive silence. “Give this to them. It should work.”

–

Lynn stepped forward to accept the antidote, her fingers briefly brushing mine. The contact made me flinch involuntarily I couldn’t bear to be touched right now, couldn’t stand the thought of anyone’s hands on me when all I could see was…

“Riley, talk to us,” Xenois said, his voice carrying that parental authority that had once made me feel safe. Now it just made me feel

sick. “What did Andy say? What did she tell you?”

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself in a futile attempt to hold the pieces together. “Take me back to Lake. Please. I

just… I need to see Lake.”

“Riley- Lumina started, but I cut her off.

“Please,” I repeated, the word coming out broken and desperate. “Just take me back to him.”

The elevator ride to the hospital floor passed in a blur of fluorescent lights and concerned murmurs. I pressed myself into the corner, trying to make myself as small as possible while the adults around me exchanged worried glances. They kept trying to ask me questions, kept trying to understand what had changed in that cell, but I couldn’t form words around the images playing on repeat in my mind.

The hospital corridor stretched endlessly before us, each step an effort that required all my concentration. I just had to make it to Lake’s room. Just had to get back to the one person who understood what it felt like to have your entire reality shattered by the people

who were supposed to protect you.

“Riley!”

The excited shout made me stop in my tracks. Ollie came running down the hallway, his small face bright with relief and joy at seeing me. He launched himself toward me with the unconscious trust of a child who believed his big brother would always be there to catch

him.

“I missed you so much!” he said, throwing his arms around my waist in a fierce hug. ‘Are you okay? Are you hurt? XY said you were

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Chapter 274

being really brave and helping people, and I told him of course you were because you’re the best big brother in the whole world, and-”

I couldn’t breathe. Ollie’s arms around me felt like chains, his innocent chatter like needles in my ears. All I could see was Mama

Sophia’s face, twisted with agony as the flames consumed her. All I could hear were her screams echoing through the forest, begging for

mercy that never came.

“Get off,” I said, my hands coming up to push against Ollie’s shoulders.

“Riley?” Ollie’s voice was smaller now, confused by my rejection. “What’s wrong?”

“Get off!” I repeated, shoving him away with more force than I’d intended. Ollie stumbled backward, his eyes wide with hurt and

bewilderment as he looked up at me.

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“I want to go to Lake,” I said, turning away from my little brother’s wounded expression. “Now. Please.”

“Riley, you can’t just-” Lumina started, but something in my face must have convinced her not to finish that sentence. “Okay. Okay,

let’s go see Lake.”

all pane

The walk to Lake’s room felt like a death march. Behind me, I could hear Ollie sniffling, probably confused and hurt by my rejection. The sound made my chest ache, but I couldn’t comfort him right now. Couldn’t pretend to be the big brother he needed when I felt like I was drowning in the truth Andy had forced me to see.

Carol was waiting outside Lake’s room, her expression anxious as she saw our approach. “How did it go?” she asked quietly, but I walked past her without answering, my hand already reaching for the door handle.

“Riley, wait-” she started.

“Leave,” I said without turning around. “I need… I need to be alone with him. Please.”

“Are you sure you’re-”

“Leave!” The word came out louder than I’d intended, harsh and desperate. “All of you, just leave us alone! Haven’t you done

enough?!”

I didn’t wait for their response. I pushed through the door and slammed it behind me, the sound echoing through the small hospital room like a gunshot. My hands shook as I turned the lock, sealing myself inside with Lake’s unconscious form.

The room was quiet except for the steady beeping of monitors and Lake’s shallow breathing. He looked so small lying there, so vulnerable with his dark hair spread across the white pillowcase and his pale hands resting motionless on the blanket. For a moment, seeing him safe and still breathing was enough to calm the storm in my chest.

But then I moved closer to the bed, and Andy’s voice echoed in my memory again, dragging me back into the horror she’d made me

witness.

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Chapter 274

୪

**Do you want to know what really happened to your precious Mama Sophia, little boy? Do you want to see how your new family

showed her mercy?**

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I collapsed into the chair beside Lake’s bed, my legs suddenly unable to support my weight. My hands found his limp fingers, gripping

them like they were the only thing anchoring me to reality.

“I’m back,” I whispered to him, though I knew he couldn’t hear me. “I got the medicine they needed. I did what they asked me to do.”

But the cost… God, the cost of it was going to destroy me.

Andy hadn’t just told me what happened to Mama Sophia. She’d used her magic to make me experience it, to see it through Sophia’s eyes as if I had been there myself. Every moment of terror, every second of agony, every desperate attempt to escape – I’d lived through

all of it as if it were my own memories.

The tears started then, hot and unstoppable as they streamed down my face. I buried my head against Lake’s hand, letting his familiar

scent ground me as the images played out again in my mind.

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Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart