CHAPTER 5: THE GIRL WHO WAS HIDDEN FROM THE WORLD
“They want both daughters.”
Nathaniel’s words echoed through the apartment.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The only sound was the alarm screaming in the hallway and the rain hitting the broken window.
I looked at my mother.
Then at Nathaniel.
“Both daughters?”
My voice barely came out.
“What does that mean?”
Emily closed her eyes.
Like she had been trying to avoid this moment for twelve years.
“Ruby…”
“No.”
I stepped back.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Say my name like you’re about to tell me another terrible secret.”
The pain on my mother’s face was unbearable.
Because I wasn’t angry at her anymore.
I was hurt.
There was a difference.
Anger fades.
But feeling like your entire life was built on a lie…
That stays.
“I had a sister.”
My voice shook.
“And nobody told me.”
Emily looked down.
“I wanted to.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because every time I looked at you…”
She stopped.
A tear fell.
“I saw the reason I had to keep going.”
I didn’t understand.
Not then.
But later, I would.
Nathaniel walked toward the photograph.
Two little girls.
Two identical faces.
Two lives separated by a terrible secret.
He picked it up carefully.
“Where was this taken?”
Emily looked at it.
“Before everything changed.”
“When?”
“The day before Clara disappeared.”
Nathaniel’s fingers tightened.
“Who took it?”
Emily hesitated.
Then answered:
“You did.”
The room became silent.
Nathaniel looked confused.
“I never took this picture.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No.”
Emily looked at him.
“You don’t remember.”
Nathaniel stared at her.
And suddenly, I saw something in his eyes.
A memory.
A painful one.
Twelve years earlier.
Before the empire.
Before the fear.
Before Nathaniel Graves became the man everyone whispered about.
He had been a father.
A real one.
He had a little girl who followed him everywhere.
A little girl who loved chocolate ice cream, bedtime stories, and the necklace shaped like a star.
A little girl named Clara.
And for one day…
She had a sister.
A baby sister.
Me.
But Nathaniel didn’t know.
Because Emily had made a choice.
A choice that changed all of our lives.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nathaniel’s voice was quiet.
Not angry.
That almost made it worse.
Emily looked away.
“Because when I found out I was pregnant…”
Nathaniel froze.
“Pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“With my child?”
She nodded.
“You were fighting a war.”
Nathaniel laughed bitterly.
“A war?”
“Your company was under attack. Your enemies were everywhere. People close to you were betraying you.”
She looked at him.
“You were becoming someone dangerous.”
Nathaniel didn’t respond.
Because he knew she was right.
“I was afraid,” Emily continued.
“I thought if you knew about Ruby, you would bring her into your world.”
“What world?”
“The world where people disappear.”
I looked at Nathaniel.
For the first time, I saw something different.
Not a powerful man.
Not a billionaire.
Just a father.
A father who had missed twelve years with his daughter.
“Do you hate me?”
Nathaniel looked at me.
The question surprised him.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because my mom kept me away from you.”
His expression softened.
“Ruby.”
He kneeled.
The same man who made grown adults nervous was now looking at me like I was the most important thing in the world.
“You didn’t take anything from me.”
His voice cracked.
“You were the thing I never knew I lost.”
I looked away.
Because I didn’t want him to see me cry.
Suddenly, one of Nathaniel’s guards rushed inside.
“Mr. Graves.”
Nathaniel stood.
“What happened?”
“We searched the area.”
“And?”
The guard hesitated.
“We found a vehicle.”
“Whose?”
The guard handed him a small card.
Nathaniel looked at it.
His face changed.
“What is it?”
I asked.
He didn’t answer.
The guard did.
“It belongs to someone from Graves Holdings.”
Nathaniel stared at the card.
Someone inside his own company.
Someone close.
Someone who had access.
Emily whispered:
“I told you.”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“But I knew one thing.”
“What?”
Emily looked toward the window.
“They never wanted your money.”
The room became cold.
“They wanted your bloodline.”
Nathaniel immediately ordered everyone to move.
“We’re leaving.”
“Where?”
“A safe location.”
Emily shook her head.
“No place is safe.”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“You have a better idea?”
“Yes.”
Everyone turned.
Emily walked toward an old wooden cabinet near the wall.
She moved a small piece of decoration.
Then pressed something hidden underneath.
A secret compartment opened.
My eyes widened.
Behind the cabinet was a small metal box.
My mother pulled it out.
“I kept this for twelve years.”
Nathaniel stared.
“What is it?”
Emily looked at me.
“Everything.”
She opened the box.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
A small birth certificate.
And a letter.
Nathaniel grabbed the birth certificate first.
His hands shook.
Then he read the name.
His face went completely white.
Because for twelve years…
He thought he had lost one daughter.
But the truth was worse.
He had lost two.
The letter was addressed to Nathaniel.
Written twelve years ago.
Emily handed it to him.
“Read it.”
Nathaniel opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
I watched his face change.
Confusion.
Shock.
Pain.
“What does it say?”
He didn’t answer.
“Dad?”
The word came out before I even realized it.
Everyone froze.
Nathaniel looked at me.
Because that was the first time I had ever called him that.
His eyes filled with tears.
Then he looked back at the letter.
And whispered:
“She knew.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
Nathaniel’s hand trembled.
“Clara.”
“What did she know?”
He looked at me.
“She knew someone was coming for you.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
The guards reached for their weapons.
Then Nathaniel’s phone rang.
Everyone stopped.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A voice came through.
Distorted.
Cold.
“You finally found her.”
Nathaniel froze.
“Who is this?”
A quiet laugh.
Then:
“Ask your daughter.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
The voice continued:
“Ask Ruby what she remembers from the night Clara disappeared.”
My blood turned cold.
Because I remembered something.
Something I had buried.
Something my mother told me I imagined.
A sound.
A voice.
A little girl crying.
And a man saying:
“Take one. Leave one.”
Nathaniel stared at me.
“Ruby…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“What do you remember?”
I couldn’t answer.
Because suddenly…
The memory was coming back.
And it was the one thing my mother spent twelve years trying to make me forget.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER 6: THE MEMORY RUBY WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER
