Kill The Luna

43

A hot, furious wave of anger instantly surged through my entire body the exact moment those chilling words left her mouth. My vision turned completely red with rage, and a wild, animalistic instinct took over my mind; I wanted to leap forward and literally tear her apart with my bare teeth.

Losing all control, I threw my weight forward and rushed at her with everything I had left, but the two muscular guards anticipated my move. They lunged inward at the exact same instant, grabbing my upper arms and locking me in place before I could step onto the porch.

"You absolute jerk!" I screamed, my voice cracking with pure fury as I thrashed violently against their iron grip. "I don't know who the hell you are, and I have absolutely no idea why you are standing there saying welcome back to me! But I swear to God, I will make you pay for every single thing you just did to Ella! I will make you suffer for this!"

The woman didn't flinch or step back from my screaming. Instead, her smile widened slightly, and she tilted her head to the side with a calm, amused expression. "Oh, please, let's not be so harsh on our very first official meeting, my dear," she murmured smoothly, her voice sounding entirely warm and gentle as she smoothed down the front of her clean dress. "You have completely misjudged the situation. Believe me, I have absolutely no bad intentions for you at all."

She stepped back from the entrance, gesturing toward the dark hallway with a graceful wave of her hand. "Come inside."

The two guards immediately gave my shoulders a brutal shove from behind, forcing my feet to stumble across the wooden threshold. The moment I stepped over the line, my jaw dropped slightly in pure shock. I noticed that the inside of the house was completely different from the outside. It didn't look old, dusty, or abandoned at all.

The interior was incredibly beautiful, clean, and perfectly designed with high-end decorations. It became immediately clear to me that the outside of the building had been intentionally made to look like an old, rotting piece of junk just to avoid attracting any unwanted attention from passing strangers. But what truly made my heart skip a beat was the heavy security. Scattered around the luxurious living room, about seven professional soldiers were stationed at every single corner of the space. They stood completely stiff and quiet, clad in tactical gear, holding heavy military rifles tightly against their chests. Not a single one of them blinked or breathed heavily; they looked exactly like silent, unfeeling robots waiting for a command.

Looking at the contrast between the beautiful house and the heavily armed guards, a cold realization settled deep in my stomach. I understood right then that this mysterious woman was the most dangerous kind of person—someone with a lovely, smiling face whose actual heart was nothing like her soft appearance. She was a monster hiding behind a polite grin, and I knew I had to be incredibly careful if I wanted to survive this.

Off to the right side of the main room, a magnificent golden dining table stood gleaming under the bright chandelier lights. The long table was a solid, polished gold color, and the heavy chairs surrounding it were wrapped in the exact same expensive, glittering material. The entire setup looked like it belonged in a royal palace, costing more money than a regular person could earn in a lifetime.

The woman walked across the polished floor with slow, confident steps, gliding over to the far end of the golden table. She pulled out the main seat at the edge and slid into it gracefully, crossing her legs. She raised her eyes to meet mine, pointing a long, manicured finger at the empty chair directly opposite her. "You can have a seat right there."

I hesitated, planting my boots firmly onto the floorboards as I glared across the distance at her, refusing to move an inch. The guard standing right behind me grew impatient; he raised his hand and delivered a harsh, painful shove directly between my shoulder blades.

"Are you completely deaf, girl?" he barked aggressively in my ear, his breath hot against my neck. "Didn't you hear what the lady just told you to do? Sit down!"

The woman’s expression changed instantly, her eyebrows knitting together in a sharp, dangerous frown. She lifted her hand into the air, her voice dropping into a cold, stern tone as she glared at her employees. "Calm down, you two. Don't you dare push her like that or malhandle her ever again in my presence. I explicitly told you to take it very lightly with her."

She paused, her features softening back into that fake, gentle smile as she looked back at my bound wrists. "Untie her."

The two men quickly stepped forward, their fingers working fast to loosen the tight knots. The heavy nylon ropes fell away from my skin, leaving deep, red chafing marks around my wrists. I rubbed my sore arms, slowly walking over to the golden table and dropping heavily into the expensive chair, keeping my defensive glare locked onto her face.

She turned her head slightly, giving a casual nod to one of the armed soldiers standing by the kitchen archway. "Bring her some hot coffee to drink immediately."

The soldier moved without a word, returning a minute later with a steaming ceramic mug filled with dark liquid, placing it gently on the golden table right in front of my hands. The rich smell filled the air, but a sudden wave of rage twisted my features. I slammed my palm against the table, glaring at her with pure disgust. "You absolute devil! Do you honestly think you can just poison me this easily? I am not falling for your cheap, pathetic tricks!"

The woman let out a soft, melodic laugh, leaning back comfortably against the golden cushions of her chair. "If I truly wanted you dead, my dear, I would have simply told my men to kill you out there on the road," she stated calmly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "But if you remember correctly, I explicitly told them times without number to absolutely not hurt you. There is no poison in that cup."

She gestured toward the steaming mug with an encouraging nod. "Drink up."

My throat felt completely parched from the long trek and all the screaming, and my body was running entirely on empty. I hesitated for a second, then reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the hot mug. I lifted it to my lips, taking a small, cautious sip, keeping my guard up as the warm liquid traveled down my throat.

Before the woman could even say another word, the leader of the kidnapping crew took a loud, heavy step forward from the entrance, his muddy boots tracking dirt onto the clean floor. He stopped right beside her chair, his face hard and serious as he looked down at her. "We have completely fulfilled our part of the deal, lady," he stated bluntly, his deep voice interrupting the quiet room. "We brought the girl to your doorstep in one piece just like you asked. So now, it is officially time for you to pay us our money."

The woman's smile remained perfectly intact, a pleasant expression covering her slim face. "Of course. A deal is a deal."

She reached into the small pocket of her jacket and brought out a sleek, black security card. With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed the card across the table toward the men. The leader caught it out of the air, a greedy, pleased smile breaking across his mouth as he looked down at the payment method. But the very second he and his partner opened the digital reader on the card to verify the funds, their faces completely changed. The color drained from their skin, replaced by a look of pure shock and sudden panic.

The second guard's eyes widened in horror, and he lifted his head to scream at the top of his lungs. "Wait! We have been scamm—"

He never got to finish the word. With terrifying, lightning-fast speed, the woman’s graceful hand dipped into her side pocket and whipped out a small, silenced handgun. Before the two men could even lift their heavy weapons, she pulled the trigger twice with a blank, unreadable expression on her face.

*Thwip! Thwip!*

The muffled gunshots cut through the air, and the bullets hit both of the guards directly in the center of their foreheads. The sheer force of the close-range blasts split their skulls apart, and a gruesome spray of blood and brains instantly exploded sideways, falling right beside me on the polished golden table and staining the floorboards. The two massive bodies crumpled instantly, crashing heavily to the ground like dead weights, leaving a suffocating, terrifying silence hanging over the room.