The Moons

Chapter 2: The Murder

*November 15, 2029* *8:45 PM*

It's been 2 weeks since Sawyer and Ella ended their 10-Month World Tour. It was a major success, and their record label was interested in keeping the children. As a result, Beth and Julia have been visiting the label's office daily to negotiate a new contract since the tour ended. Henry was forced to work late for an entire month; as an architect, part of Henry's job was developing a design, pitching it to clients and his bosses, and building his design. However, Henry could not please his bosses; his department considered his work 'not good enough.' He was labeled the laziest person in the office despite his hard work. Henry began working late throughout the year after discovering his superiors took one of his designs and never gave him credit. His hard work mainly focused on finding new clients and developing a better design.

While Beth spent most of her time with Julia, trying to negotiate a new contract with the record label, and Henry worked late nights, the children were forced to spend days with other family members. Sometimes, it was fun, but every day, a new family member came to the Moon Palace and looked after them, which was sometimes frustrating for the children. However, this week, they were overjoyed when they heard that their aunt and uncle, whom they rarely see, would take care of them.

After spending the entire day doing indoor and outdoor activities with their niece and nephew, Ariana and Caleb prepared the children for bedtime. Ariana helped her niece get dressed in the bathroom after her shower and spent some time drying her hair. At the same time, Caleb battled his energetic nephew, who was jumping up and down his bed, refusing to wear his pajama shirt and go to sleep.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Sawyer says while jumping on his bed

"Sawyer, come on. It's already past your bedtime" Caleb says standing in front of Sawyer's bed while holding the child's pajama top

"Only five more minutes. Please Uncle Caleb" Sawyer says standing on his bed

"You said that five minutes ago" Caleb says

"But you're leaving tomorrow" Sawyer says as he sat down on his bed

Like the rest of the family, Ariana and Caleb were well-known worldwide; Ariana was a famous actress; she began her career as a child. Caleb was a well-known singer; he had just broken into the scene. Due to their rising popularity, the couple spent most of their time abroad performing and creating movies. While they enjoyed what they did, they were forced to be away from their family for most of the calendar year. They missed significant and minor family events and often forgot to keep in touch with the family. In these situations, it felt like they were no longer part of the family. Sawyer and Ella were the most affected by their lack of communication; the children felt the closest to their aunt and uncle. Not only are they related, but they are the biggest names in the world and go through similar, if not the same, experiences. When Caleb saw his nephew go from energetic and joyful to sad and disappointed, he felt guilty for not trying to keep in touch with Sawyer and Ella when abroad. The adult singer walked toward the child singer and sat next to him.

"I know, and I will miss you" Caleb says

"Please, don't go" Sawyer says

"Come on, Sawyer, you know I have to go finish my tour. You should know, you had one this year" Caleb says as he gently ruffled Sawyer's hair

"But when you go, you never call" Sawyer responds

"I'll call this time" Caleb says

"You always say that, but you don't do it" Sawyer responds

"I will this time. I promise, no joke. Where's your iPad?" Caleb says

Sawyer's first iPad was a birthday gift from his grandfather. Since then, Sawyer became obsessed with the device and was super responsible for it. He always ensured that the device was up to date, fully charged, and within the territory of the Moon Palace or any relative that Sawyer fully trusted. Before going to bed every night, his mother would place his iPad in the drawer of Sawyer's nightstand. Sawyer got used to his iPad being in the nightstand drawer so much so that he started placing it there himself. The child stood up and approached the nightstand, where he opened the top drawer and took out his iPad. He then sat beside his uncle before unlocking the device and handing it to him.