CHAPTER 19=The Morning After
Luna woke with a pounding headache and a deeper ache of shame. Sunlight streamed in, too bright. On her bedside table sat a glass of water, two aspirin, and a note in precise handwriting:
Security briefing at 10 AM. The family needs to know what happened. Wear something formidable. — L
She swallowed the aspirin, her mind racing. The family needs to know. She would have to stand before Fen, Tao, Ming, Sylas, and Zara and explain her public breakdown.
Wear something formidable.
She chose a dress of deep burgundy, sharp-cut and elegant. She pinned her hair up with the jade hairpin Fen had given her. When she looked in the mirror, she saw not Luna Xiānyǔ, the fragile archivist, but Luna Wǎngshā, who survived.
The family was already assembled in the strategy room when she entered. All eyes turned to her.
Fen spoke first. "You compromised our security."
"I was manipulated," Luna said, her voice steady.
"You were weak," Ming corrected.
"I was human." Luna met her mother-in-law's gaze. "Which is something this family seems to have forgotten how to be."
A beat of stunned silence. Then Zara snorted a laugh. "She's got a point."
Leo, standing at the head of the table, watched her with an unreadable expression.
"The attack was sophisticated," Sylas said, redirecting the conversation. He pulled up schematics on a large screen. "They needed inside knowledge of our Berlin security protocols. This wasn't external. This was someone with access."
"A traitor," Tao rumbled.
"Or a forced ally," Leo said. "Someone being blackmailed or coerced." His eyes met Luna's. "The photos were a distraction. While we were focused on marital drama, they attempted to breach our financial servers. They almost succeeded."
"Who gains?" Fen asked.
"Everyone," Zara said. "If the Wǎngshā-Xiānyǔ alliance breaks, the power balance shifts. The Yèshòus get stronger. The Mòyǔs get richer. The Montegrecos get a chance."
"My family…" Luna began.
"Would lose their protection," Ming finished. "And be vulnerable. Your mother knows this. She wouldn't risk it."
"Unless she was promised something better," Sylas said quietly.
The room went cold.
"No," Luna said. "She's cold, but she's not stupid. Betraying you would be suicide."
"Unless she thought she could win," Leo said. He stood, pacing. "We need to send a message. A clear one."
"What kind of message?" Luna asked.
Leo's smile was chilling. "The kind that reminds everyone why they fear us."