News on a Rainy Night
Cold rain poured down over Seattle, drenching the city’s night in icy dampness.
It was eight o’clock in the evening. Luna Hale sat alone in the family manor’s library, thick business documents spread beneath her fingers. She had just finished her lessons on running the family enterprise. As the rightful young heir of the Hale clan, the eighteen‑year‑old had been learning step‑by‑step from her father Ethan how to take charge of their vast legacy.
The clock’s hands rested firmly on eight.
A quiet confusion crept into Luna’s heart. At this hour on ordinary days, her parents would have long returned home from clan duties, and the living room would echo with their casual conversations. Yet the whole manor lay silent, with no sign of them.
She called over a servant, frowning slightly. “Have my parents not come back yet?”
The servant spoke gently to comfort her. “Miss, clan affairs have been heavy lately. They may have been held up, which is why they are late.”
A faint unease pricked at Luna, but she pushed aside her uneasy premonition. She nodded and told the staff to prepare warm late‑night food, so her parents would have something to eat once they arrived.
Sitting at the desk, she pictured the scene in her mind. When her parents came home, the family would gather around the dinner table, chatting about little things from the day, just as they always did.
The heavy rain hammered against the windows. While she clung to this small hope, shrill police sirens tore through the rainy night. Rapid footsteps drew near down the hallway. The old butler burst into the library, his face deathly pale, his clothes soaked from the downpour.
“Miss Luna… something terrible has happened.” The butler’s voice shook. “Your parents were in a car crash on the highway. They are gone.”
Luna froze stiff. It felt as though blood had turned to ice in her limbs.
“A car accident? That cannot be.”
Both her mother and father were high‑rank werewolves. Werewolf physiques far surpassed those of ordinary humans. A high‑speed collision could certainly inflict injuries, yet a single car crash should never claim the lives of two high‑rank werewolves.
Still, the news before her was brutally real. Everyone repeated the same official story: a routine highway traffic accident.
Sorrow crashed over Luna in a tidal wave. Her legs grew weak, and she slowly slid down into her chair. Tears streamed freely down her face. She loved her parents deeply.
Deep within her rational mind, a tiny seed of doubt took root.
Why would two powerful werewolves die so simply in a car crash?
Just then, her uncle Marcus Hale hurried into the manor. The moment she saw him, all her pent‑up emotions shattered. Luna broke down and wept aloud before him.
“Uncle, how could this happen! Mom and Dad are werewolves — how could they die in a car crash? This… this has to be a lie!” She sobbed, her whole body trembling.
Marcus stepped forward to support the distraught Luna, his face heavy with grief, patting her back soothingly.
“I find this whole affair suspicious too. It may well be our werewolf clan’s bitter enemies who struck in secret. Do not fall apart. I will help you uncover the truth behind this.” He sighed. “I have come to take you to the hospital, so you may see your parents one last time.”
Overwhelmed by grief, Luna’s faint flicker of suspicion was buried beneath sorrow. She harbored no doubt toward her uncle, seeing Marcus as her only remaining person to rely on. Through her tears she nodded and let him lead her toward the hospital.
Inside the cold hospital mortuary, Luna laid eyes on her parents’ bodies. Grief swallowed her whole. She knelt beside them, sobbing uncontrollably, tears flowing non‑stop.
Alongside her agony burned fierce hatred. She swore silently to herself: no matter the cost, she would hunt down the true culprit and avenge her murdered parents.
Marcus’s wife Clara stood nearby, putting on a mournful, pitying expression, while a flicker of quiet triumph lingered hidden in her eyes.
