Chapter 16 Seventeenth Birthday

Luna Belle Fernandez POV

Leonardo Franco is here, outside, in front of my gate.

I want to believe it, but I’m scared to. If it’s a joke, I won’t be able to handle the disappointment.

My heart hammers in my chest as I throw back the covers and get out of bed. I open my door and stick my head around the doorframe. The hallway is dark. No light falls from under Cassie’s door. At the end of the hallway, my father’s snoring is already coming through the door of my parents’ bedroom.

Not daring to switch on a light, I walk barefoot through the house. The moonlight that falls through the big windows illuminates my way. I stop in the kitchen to check the screen on the intercom. Leonardo Franco stares right into the camera, his face a clear black-and-white picture that steals my breath and makes my palms sweat.

He’s here.

A mixture of excitement, surprise, and anxiety slams into me. It takes a moment to find my bearings and to somewhat calm my breathing. I don’t even want to think about my dad