Chapter 14 Interrogation – Luna #2
“No, you’re not. You’re smarter than she was. More careful.” Selena sets down the pen. “But even smart people make mistakes when they’re operating under stress. When they’re keeping secrets that weigh on them.”
The silence stretches between us. I can feel her watching me, waiting for me to crack. Waiting for me to reveal something I shouldn’t.
“Is there anything else, Mrs. Harpsons?” I keep my voice steady. “I have class in twenty minutes.”
“Of course. I won’t keep you.” She opens her calendar. “But I do want to reschedule those therapy sessions. Dr. Moore is available tomorrow at two. I’ll have Victoria send you the appointment details. And Luna? This time, please attend. It’s not optional.”
“Understood.”
“Good.” She looks up at me. Her pale eyes are sharp behind those cat-eyed glasses.
“One more thing before you go. I mentioned that the island has a way of revealing truths. It’s something about the isolation, the close community.
Secrets have a hard time staying buried here. Eventually, everything comes to light.”
She pauses, letting the words sink in.
“I hope that when your truths emerge, they’re manageable. Some revelations can be weathered. Others…” She trails off, spreading her hands. “Others destroy everything they touch. For your sake, and for your friends’ sake, I hope yours fall into the first category.”
The threat is clear despite the gentle delivery. She knows we’re hiding something. Maybe not the specifics, but she knows.
“I don’t have any secrets, Mrs. Harpsons.”
“Everyone has secrets, dear. The question is whether they’re the kind worth protecting or the kind that will consume you.” She picks up her pen again. A dismissal. “You may go. And don’t forget about tomorrow’s appointment.”
I stand on shaking legs. “Thank you for your concern.”
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for. To guide my students through their darkest moments.” Her smile is warm. Maternal. Absolutely terrifying. “Have a good day, Luna. I’ll see you at dinner.”
I make it out of her office without running. Victoria doesn’t look up as I pass. I’m halfway down the corridor before I have to stop, pressing my back against the cool stone wall.
My hands are shaking. My breath comes in short gasps.
She knows. Maybe not everything, but enough to be dangerous. Enough to be watching us more closely than before.
I pull out my phone. My fingers hover over Erik’s name in my contacts. I need to warn him. Need to tell Belle and Max that Selena is onto us.
But I can’t. Not here. Not where anything I say could be monitored.
Instead, I type a simple message: “Coffee after class? All four of us?”
His response comes immediately: “Yes. Library?”
“No. Outside. The gardens.”
Somewhere with ambient noise. Somewhere we can talk without being overheard.
I pocket my phone and force myself to keep walking. To look like a student heading to class. Not like a girl who just had a conversation with a woman who might be orchestrating her death.
Professor Bennet’s literature class passes in a blur. I take notes automatically. I nod when called upon. I participate in the discussion of themes and symbolism while my mind races through everything Selena said.
She knew my parents. Knew them well. Well enough to have insight into their thinking. Their fears.
She mentioned my mother’s paranoia near the end. How she became convinced people were watching her.
Was that paranoia justified? Or was Selena the one feeding that fear? Pushing my mother toward the mistakes that would eventually expose the network?
And now she’s watching me. Watching all of us. Waiting for us to make the same mistakes.
When class finally ends, I practically run to the gardens. Erik is already there. Belle and Max arrive moments later. We huddle together on a bench near the fountain. The sound of running water provides cover for our conversation.
“She knows,” I say without preamble. “Selena. She knows we’re hiding something.”
Belle’s face goes pale. “What did she say?”
“She mentioned my parents. Details only someone involved would know. She commented on how close the four of us have become. And she said the island has a way of revealing truths.” I wrap my arms around myself. “It was a warning. Or maybe a threat. I’m not sure which.”
“Both,” Max says grimly. “It’s always both with people like her.”
“She also mentioned Belle requesting busy work yesterday. Connected it to me missing therapy appointments.” I look at Belle. “What happened in that library?”
Belle glances around, checking for observers. “Not here. Too exposed. Tonight. The chapel.”
“We can’t keep meeting there,” Erik protests. “Eventually someone will notice the pattern.”
“Then we figure out our next move now.” Belle’s voice is hard. Determined. “Because Selena just showed her hand. She’s testing us. Seeing how we react under pressure. If we panic, if we scatter, she’ll know for certain that we’ve figured out her game.”
“So what do we do?” I ask.
“We play ours better.” Belle meets each of our eyes in turn. “Starting with that therapy appointment that she set up for you tomorrow. Luna, you’re going.”
“What? No. That’s walking into her trap.”
“Exactly. Which is why you’re going to walk in prepared.” Belle’s smile is sharp. Cold. The expression of someone who’s survived by being smarter than her enemies. “Dr. Moore works for Selena. That means anything you say goes straight back to her. So we use that.”
“Use it how?” Erik asks.
“We feed them what they want to hear. A troubled girl struggling with trauma. Someone who’s paranoid and seeing threats where none exist. Someone whose testimony might be unreliable if questions come up later.
” Belle leans forward. “We make them think Luna is breaking down. That the stress of everything is making her imagine conspiracies.”
“That could work,” Max says slowly. “If they think Luna is losing it, they won’t take her seriously. Won’t see her as a threat.”
“But it also means I’ll be labeled unstable,” I point out. “Potentially committed if they push hard enough.”
“Only if we let it go that far. We control the narrative. We decide how far to take this.” Belle’s eyes are fierce. “Selena just made a mistake. She tipped her hand too early. Now we know she’s watching. Now we can perform for her.”
I think about my mother’s paranoia. About how Selena described her becoming convinced people were watching her. About how that paranoia made her sloppy.
About how I might be walking the same path.
“Okay,” I finally say. “I’ll do it. I’ll play the unstable survivor. But we need a backup plan. If this goes wrong, if they try to lock me up or drug me.”
“We get you out,” Erik says immediately. “Whatever it takes.”
Belle nods. “Agreed. But it won’t come to that. You’re not alone this time, Luna. None of us are.”
She’s right. When I testified against my parents, I was isolated except for Erik, who never left my side. But still, I was vulnerable. Carrying everything by myself.
Now I have allies. Now I have people who will fight for me the way I fought for them.
“Then let’s give Selena a show,” I say. “Let’s make her think she’s winning.”
Because the best way to beat a predator is to make them overconfident. To make them believe their prey is already caught.
And then strike when they least expect it.