Page 39 of Heir of Darkness

“You’re right, I don’t. I have my ways of finding out though,” Valerio told him. With a loud snap and a scream from Reece, his wrist laid at an awkward angle, broken like it was nothing.

Luna looked at the scene with wide eyes. She couldn’t dwell on the moment for long. Valerio pushed her behind his back once again, attempting to block her view but it was too late.

His hand reached behind him, pulling out the gun that sat in his waistband. The gun was pointed and aimed before anyone could blink, but when he pulled the trigger, that was when the chaos actually erupted.

Luna screamed, watching as Edward fell to the floor, blood spewing from the center of his forehead. Valerio had taken the perfect shot.

Reece turned to look at his dead friend and then back at Valerio with a look Luna couldn’t decipher. Something between horror and shock.

“Well, it looks like that contract isn’t valid anymore. I’m willing to re-sign when you are,” Valerio told him. “This time with Luna’s signature as well.”

She couldn’t process his words. She could only stare at the dead man on the floor who had been living just a minute before.And Valerio had killed him without a second thought. The nightmare seemed never ending at that point.

But it wasn’t a nightmare; it was real life. As real as the enlarged vein that stood out from her father’s forehead in fury and threatening to burst. Still, Reece Kingsley had no choice but to nod in agreement, allowing Valerio, with the gun still locked in his hand, to do whatever he wanted.

Reece took out his phone, calling who she assumed to be his lawyer. Luna saw Finn in the corner of her eye. His eyes were narrowed, but he didn’t move from his spot.

Just in time, her father’s lawyer was walking in with a stack of papers prepared. In that stack stood her fate, her future.

Luna hadn’t even realized how much of the room had cleared out by then, but it was understandable. No one wanted to get caught in the crossfire between the Kingsleys and Vitalis, but it didn’t seem like a fair fight anymore. At least with this battle, there seemed to be a clear winner and everyone knew who that was.

The lawyer laid out all of the papers, clear indicators on where everyone needed to sign. Her father went first, grabbing the pen with shaky hands. He signed it messily with the hand that wasn’t broken, but it was there, in ink, for the rest of their lives.

Valerio was next. He traded the gun for the pen. He signed his name far more confidently, engraving his signature into the pages with how harshly he pushed the pen down.

There was only one person left: Luna. The lump in her throat nearly choked her. She swallowed harshly, grabbing the pen that her father’s lawyer held out for her. Luna turned to the girls, looking for Blair in particular. The latter seemed to have understood what was needed because she stepped forward, her face changing into the emotionless future lawyer she was so good at being.

“I need to read over this first,” Blair told the lawyer.

“We don’t have time,” he told her.

She rolled her eyes, grabbing the papers anyway to skim over them. Luna saw all of the men eyeing her aggressively, but Blair didn’t care. That was one thing Luna admired about her. She didn’t care when she upset the fragile egos of the men around her.

When she got to the end of the contract, she set the stack down and looked at Luna. “Are you sure about this?” Blair asked, whispering so no one else heard.

“You know what the alternative is,” she whispered back. “I have no choice.”

“I’ll explain what everything means tomorrow,” Blair said. “I’m making sure you’re protected.”

Luna nodded, feeling more thankful for her than ever before. Her father’s lawyer laid out the papers again, giving Blair a dirty look as he did so.

Luna could feel all eyes on her. She wiped her hand on her dress, securing a grip on the pen. She looked at the first page, where both her father’s signature and Valerio’s sat.

Both parties agree to the aforementioned agreement set in place.

Her hand shook violently.

Both parties agree to hosting a wedding, ensuring the unity is presented to the public.

She leaned over the paper, using her other hand to steady the one that held the pen.

Both parties agree to bring an heir into the world; one holding the blood of both families and holding the title of heir for the Vitali name.

She dropped the ink point of the pen onto the paper.

Both parties agree to stay in the contract until one of them succumbs to death, releasing the other from the contract.

Luna signed her name.

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