CHAPTER 6: THE MEMORY RUBY WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER
“What do you remember?”
Nathaniel’s question hung in the air.
I wanted to answer.
I really did.
But the moment I tried to reach into that memory…
My head started hurting.
A sharp pain.
Like my brain was warning me to stop.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“Ruby?”
My mother rushed toward me.
“No.”
Her voice was filled with panic.
“Don’t make her remember.”
Nathaniel turned.
“What do you mean?”
Emily looked at him.
“She was too young.”
“She’s eight years old, Emily.”
“She was only three when it happened.”
Nathaniel froze.
Three.
The number hit him harder than any weapon ever could.
Because he suddenly understood.
I wasn’t just a daughter he never knew about.
I was a child who had lived through the same nightmare that took Clara away.
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly…
I was somewhere else.
A different night.
A different life.
Rain hitting a window.
A woman crying.
A little girl hiding under a table.
Me.
I remembered the smell of smoke.
The sound of footsteps.
A man shouting.
“Find the girl!”
My tiny hands covered my mouth.
I was too scared to breathe.
Then another voice.
A woman’s voice.
My mother.
“Please.”
She was crying.
“Leave them alone.”
A man laughed.
“You should have stayed away, Emily.”
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the apartment.
Everyone was staring at me.
“What did you see?”
Nathaniel asked.
I looked at my mother.
She was crying silently.
“I remember…”
My voice shook.
“A house.”
Nathaniel became still.
“What house?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.”
I closed my eyes again.
“Big windows.”
A pause.
“Lots of stairs.”
Another pause.
“And…”
My breathing became faster.
“There was a little girl.”
Nathaniel stepped closer.
“Clara?”
I nodded.
“She was crying.”
The room went silent.
“What was she saying?”
I swallowed.
“She said…”
My voice broke.
“She said she wanted her daddy.”
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
For a second, I saw the pain destroy him.
“I was there.”
The words came from Emily.
Everyone looked at her.
Nathaniel turned.
“What?”
Emily wiped her tears.
“I was there that night.”
“You told me you left before Clara disappeared.”
“I lied.”
Nathaniel’s face hardened.
“You lied about everything.”
Emily accepted the anger.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because the truth would have killed you.”
Nathaniel stepped closer.
“Try me.”
Emily looked at him.
“You think losing Clara destroyed you?”
A tear fell.
“You have no idea what they were planning.”
Twelve years ago…
Emily remembered every second.
She had discovered something hidden inside Graves Holdings.
A secret account.
Payments made to people who didn’t exist.
Employees who had never worked.
Companies that only existed on paper.
Someone inside Nathaniel’s empire was building a second empire.
One based on fear.
When Emily tried to tell Nathaniel…
She realized someone was already listening.
“They knew I found out.”
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“I never saw his face.”
“But you know who he worked for?”
Emily nodded.
“The person who wanted your company.”
“Who?”
Emily whispered:
“Your brother.”
The room went completely silent.
Nathaniel stopped breathing.
“My brother is dead.”
Emily looked at him.
“That’s what everyone believes.”
I looked between them.
Nathaniel had a brother?
Nobody mentioned him.
Not the news.
Not the stories.
Not anyone.
“Who is your brother?”
Nathaniel didn’t answer.
His face had turned pale.
Finally, he whispered:
“Sebastian.”
The name sounded like a warning.
“What happened to him?”
Nathaniel looked away.
“Twenty years ago, he tried to destroy everything our family built.”
“Did he fail?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
Nathaniel’s jaw tightened.
“He disappeared.”
Emily spoke quietly.
“He didn’t disappear.”
Nathaniel looked at her.
“He went underground.”
Before anyone could ask another question…
The apartment lights went out again.
This time, nobody moved.
Because everyone knew.
They weren’t alone.
Nathaniel immediately pulled me behind him.
The guards raised their weapons.
A voice came from the hallway.
Slow applause.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Then a man spoke.
“You always were difficult to kill, Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel’s face changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“No…”
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Older.
Elegant.
Wearing a dark coat.
His silver hair matched Nathaniel’s.
His eyes were colder.
Much colder.
Emily covered her mouth.
“Sebastian.”
The man smiled.
“Hello, Emily.”
Then he looked at Nathaniel.
“Brother.”
Nobody spoke.
Because the dead man had just walked into the room.
Nathaniel stared at him.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
Sebastian smiled.
“And you’re supposed to be smarter.”
The guards aimed their weapons.
Sebastian didn’t even look nervous.
“You really think guns can stop this?”
Nathaniel stepped forward.
“Why?”
Sebastian tilted his head.
“Why what?”
“Why did you take my daughter?”
A small smile disappeared from Sebastian’s face.
Then he looked at me.
And suddenly…
I understood.
This was never about money.
Never about business.
Never about revenge.
Sebastian had been watching me.
Waiting for me.
“Because Ruby was the key.”
My heart stopped.
“The key to what?”
Sebastian smiled.
“To everything your father built.”
Nathaniel moved closer.
“Don’t call her that.”
Sebastian laughed.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“She’s my blood too.”
The room went silent.
I felt sick.
“What does that mean?”
Sebastian looked directly into my eyes.
Then he said the sentence that shattered everything.
“Ruby…”
He smiled.
“You’re not Nathaniel’s daughter.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Nathaniel looked at Sebastian like he wanted to destroy him.
Emily looked terrified.
And me…
I just stood there.
Because if Sebastian was telling the truth…
Then the entire story of my life was another lie.
Nathaniel grabbed Sebastian by the collar.
“You have five seconds to explain.”
Sebastian smiled.
“Still giving orders.”
Nathaniel pushed him back.
“Explain.”
Sebastian looked at Emily.
“Tell him.”
Emily’s face turned white.
“Tell him what?”
Sebastian laughed.
“That the night Ruby was born…”
He looked at me.
“She wasn’t the only secret you hid.”
My mother started crying.
Nathaniel slowly turned toward her.
“Emily…”
His voice was broken.
“What is he talking about?”
Emily looked at me.
Then at Nathaniel.
And whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
A long silence.
Then she said:
“Ruby…”
She took a shaking breath.
“Your father is not the man you think.”
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TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER 7: THE BLOOD TEST THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
