CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS
The note slipped from my fingers.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t breathe.
I just stared at those words.
“Ruby, if Nathaniel found you, you are no longer safe.”
My mother’s handwriting.
My mother’s warning.
My mother’s fear.
Behind me, Nathaniel Graves stepped into the apartment.
The same man who had walked through a thousand-dollar lobby without anyone daring to look him in the eye.
The same man who controlled an empire.
But the moment he saw that note…
He looked like a man walking into a nightmare.
“What does it say?”
I turned around.
My eyes were full of anger.
“You tell me.”
His expression hardened.
“Ruby.”
“You said my mother was protecting me from you.”
I held up the paper.
“She was right, wasn’t she?”
The room became silent.
Nathaniel stared at the note.
Then he slowly reached for it.
I pulled it away.
“No.”
His eyes lifted.
“Ruby.”
“No more secrets.”
My voice shook.
“You came into my life today. You told me my mother lied to me. You told me things that made no sense.”
I swallowed.
“So now you tell me the truth.”
For a moment, Nathaniel said nothing.
Then he sat down.
Not like a powerful businessman.
Not like a man everyone feared.
Like someone who was exhausted.
“My daughter’s name was Clara.”
I watched him carefully.
“She was six years old when she disappeared.”
He looked around our small apartment.
“Emily was her nanny.”
My heart stopped.
“My mom?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Because she thought telling you would put you in danger.”
“Danger from who?”
Nathaniel looked toward the window.
And for the first time…
He looked afraid.
“From the people who took Clara.”
I didn’t know what to believe.
My mother had always been honest with me.
At least, I thought she was.
But now there were too many questions.
Why did Nathaniel know her?
Why did she disappear when he found me?
Why was she afraid of him?
And why did a man like Nathaniel Graves look more hurt than angry?
“What happened to Clara?”
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
“I failed her.”
The words came out quietly.
“I was always working. Always building. Always chasing more power.”
His fingers tightened.
“I thought money could protect my family.”
He laughed once.
A bitter sound.
“I was wrong.”
I watched him.
“The night Clara disappeared, Emily was with her.”
“What happened?”
“She called me.”
His voice became low.
“She was crying.”
“What did she say?”
Nathaniel looked at me.
“She said, ‘They know where she is.’”
A cold feeling ran through me.
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
“But you blamed my mom.”
“Yes.”
He didn’t try to deny it.
“Because after that night, Emily disappeared too.”
My eyebrows tightened.
“She ran away?”
“That’s what everyone believed.”
“But you don’t?”
Nathaniel looked at the note in my hand.
“No.”
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Nathaniel immediately stood.
The change was instant.
The sadness disappeared.
The businessman disappeared.
The dangerous man returned.
“Stay behind me.”
I stepped back.
Two guards moved toward the door.
Nathaniel raised his hand.
“Wait.”
He walked closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then he opened it.
Nothing.
Only an empty hallway.
But on the floor…
Was a small package.
Nathaniel picked it up.
His face changed the moment he saw the symbol on it.
A black circle.
With a silver snake in the middle.
“What is that?”
I asked.
Nathaniel didn’t answer.
“Ruby, go inside.”
His voice was different.
Urgent.
“Now.”
I didn’t move.
“What does it mean?”
Nathaniel stared at the symbol.
Then whispered:
“It means they found you.”
The guards immediately locked the apartment.
Nathaniel opened the package carefully.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Old.
Damaged.
And covered in scratches.
When he opened it…
Everything changed.
Inside was a necklace.
A small silver necklace shaped like a star.
Nathaniel grabbed it.
His hands started shaking.
“No…”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“That belonged to Clara.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“How do you know?”
Because the answer was written on his face.
Pain.
Memory.
Loss.
He turned the necklace over.
There was something engraved on the back.
A name.
RUBY.
My entire body went cold.
“That’s impossible.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
The same thought was running through both of our minds.
Why would his missing daughter’s necklace have my name on it?
Before either of us could speak…
The lights went out.
The apartment fell into darkness.
Someone screamed downstairs.
Then came the sound of glass breaking.
Nathaniel immediately grabbed my hand.
“Do not let go.”
“Who are they?”
He didn’t answer.
Because he already knew.
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming closer.
Nathaniel moved in front of me.
The doorknob started turning.
Once.
Twice.
Then a voice came from the other side.
A woman’s voice.
A voice I recognized.
A voice that made my heart stop.
“Ruby…”
My eyes widened.
Because I knew that voice.
“Mom?”
Nathaniel froze.
The door opened slightly.
And standing there…
Was Emily Carter.
My mother.
But she wasn’t alone.
She looked exhausted.
Terrified.
And she was holding something in her hand.
A gun.
Nathaniel stared at her.
Twelve years of anger.
Twelve years of searching.
Twelve years of pain.
All disappeared in one second.
“Emily…”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Nathaniel.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then my mother looked at me.
And whispered the words that destroyed everything I thought I knew.
“Ruby…”
She took a shaky breath.
“I’m sorry.”
I stepped forward.
“Mom?”
She looked at Nathaniel.
Then back at me.
“The truth is…”
Her voice broke.
“You were never supposed to find out.”
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TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER 4: THE WOMAN WHO STOLE TWELVE YEARS OF HIS LIFE
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