Rain fell softly against the tall glass windows, tracing thin silver lines down the surface of the building. The city below was muted in gray, as if the sky itself understood the weight of the day.
Inside, Luna sat alone in Adrian's office. She hadn't been invited. She'd walked in the way she always did—confident, bold, untouchable. But for the first time since this revenge began, her hands wouldn't stay still. They trembled faintly against the edge of the desk.
The world she had built so carefully was starting to unravel.
Her phone buzzed. A single message. "We need to talk. Now." It was Lila.
Luna locked the screen and exhaled shakily. Lila had been quiet all day, quiet in a way that made Luna feel cornered. But that wasn't what made her chest tight—it was what she'd found that morning.
A letter. An old file from her father's personal study. Words that didn't match the story she had carried like a shield for years.
The real villain wasn't Adrian Cole's father. It was their own.
Lila found Luna pacing the conference room, barefoot, her heels abandoned near the door. Her usual sharpness was gone, replaced by a raw, unsettled energy.
"Luna."
Luna turned, her eyes slightly red around the edges—not from tears, but from holding them back. "You shouldn't be here."
Lila ignored that. "What's going on?"
Luna swallowed hard. "I found something." She pulled out the folded letter, her hands trembling despite herself. "This… changes everything."
Lila frowned and opened it. The handwriting was unmistakable. Their father's. The words inside were blunt, bitter, confessional. He had forged deals behind the company's back. He'd hidden debts, made enemies, and when it all came crashing down, he'd blamed the Coles to save face.
Adrian's father hadn't crushed their family. Their father had done it himself.
Lila stared at the paper until it blurred. "No…"
"Yes," Luna said, her voice breaking for the first time. "We've spent years hating the wrong person."
"Luna," Lila whispered, her voice softening. "You didn't know."
"I should have," Luna snapped, clutching the letter like it might burn her. "I should've asked questions. I should've looked deeper. Instead, I built my whole life around this lie. I blackmailed an innocent man, Lila. I ruined him."
"You didn't ruin him," Lila tried, but her voice wavered.
Luna laughed bitterly. "You saw his face at that board meeting. You heard the whispers. If this goes public, it won't matter whether it's true or not. His name will be ashes."
The air between them was thick, heavy. For years, revenge had been Luna's armor. Now it felt like a cage.
Meanwhile, Adrian stood in his office with his back to the door, shoulders tense. The storm outside mirrored the one inside him. He hadn't slept. Every whisper in the company now carried his name, and every board member looked at him like he was a stain they couldn't wash out.
Lila stepped in quietly. He didn't turn.
"Adrian," she started softly.
He cut her off. "Tell me why."
Her breath hitched.
"Tell me why your sister is doing this," he said again, his voice low and sharp, like something barely holding together. "Tell me why someone who smiled in my face and earned my trust is trying to destroy me."
"She thought she had a reason," Lila said.
He turned then, and his eyes—usually calm, steady—were anything but. "A reason?" His voice cracked slightly, not with weakness but with disbelief. "A reason to blackmail me? To drag my name through fire?"
"She believed your father was responsible for what happened to ours," Lila said, her voice trembling. "We both did. But we were wrong."
Adrian froze.
"She found proof," Lila continued. "It was our father. He destroyed his own company. He made himself the victim. Luna only found out today."
The silence that followed was so deep it felt alive.
Adrian's jaw tightened, but behind the anger, something shifted. Understanding. And exhaustion.
"Show me," he said finally.
Minutes later, Luna stood across from him, letter in hand. It felt surreal—facing the man she'd spent years hating, the man she thought she'd finally brought to his knees.
She pushed the letter across his desk with unsteady hands. "Read it."
Adrian didn't rush. He opened it slowly, read every line, every word. By the time he reached the end, the only sound in the room was the rain tapping against the windows.
Luna whispered, "I didn't know."
He looked up at her, eyes dark and steady. "But you still destroyed me."
Luna flinched like he'd struck her.
"You manipulated my trust," he continued quietly. "You used me. You built a story around a lie. Do you have any idea what that cost me?"
"I do now," she said. "I know it doesn't fix anything. I can't undo what I did. But I can give it back."
She pulled out the documents she'd held onto like trophies—the shares she'd forced out of him with that video. She laid them on the desk like an offering.
"They're yours," Luna said, her voice cracking. "All of it. I never wanted your company. I wanted to hurt you. But you didn't deserve any of it."
Lila watched from the side, tears she didn't mean to cry stinging her eyes. She'd begged Luna to stop weeks ago. But seeing her sister finally break… it wasn't satisfaction. It was heartbreak.
Adrian's gaze shifted between the two of them, the betrayal still raw, but something else now layered beneath it—something he couldn't quite name.
"You think this makes it right?" he asked Luna softly. "You think signing a few papers and saying sorry wipes it away?"
Luna shook her head. "No. Nothing can. But I won't pretend I didn't do it. I won't hide behind excuses anymore. You can press charges if you want. You can destroy me back. I'd deserve it."
The strength in her voice surprised even Lila. It wasn't the sharp, vengeful Luna standing in that room. It was someone stripped bare.
For a long time, Adrian said nothing. He just looked at the woman who had turned his life upside down and now stood in front of him with nothing left to hide.
Finally, he exhaled. "I don't want your apology. I want my name back."
"You'll get it," Luna promised. "I'll make sure of it. Even if I have to ruin myself to do it."
Hours later, the building was empty. Luna stood in the rain outside, letting it soak through her hair, her clothes, everything. She'd spent years chasing revenge, but it had left her with nothing but guilt and cold water on her skin.
Lila came to her side. "What now?"
Luna didn't look at her. "I'm leaving."
Lila's heart squeezed. "What?"
"I need to fix this," Luna whispered. "And I can't do it while standing here pretending I belong in his world. This isn't redemption. It's damage control. I'll face what I did. But I won't drag you down with me."
"Luna—"
"Stay, Lila," Luna said softly. "You have something real here. Don't lose it because of me."
Lila's eyes burned. She wanted to hate her sister for what she'd done, but all she saw now was a girl who'd been lost for too long.
The next morning, Luna was gone. Her desk was cleared, her phone left behind, and her resignation letter sat neatly on Adrian's table.
Adrian stood in his office, staring out at the gray sky. His company was still standing. His name was on the verge of being cleared. But a part of him knew that none of this would ever feel the same again.
Behind him, Lila walked in quietly.
"She left," she said.
"I know."
"She's going to fix this," Lila added, almost like she needed to believe it.
He didn't respond right away. Then he turned, his gaze softening just slightly as it landed on her.
"Then let's rebuild what she tried to break."