Chapter 4 - A Mother at the DoorMy mother knew Nathaniel Graves, and she had been hiding it from me for eight years.
My mother arrived at Graves Tower thirty-two minutes later.
She looked terrified.
Not confused.
Terrified.
The moment she entered Nathaniel's office, she saw him.
She stopped.
I had never seen my mother look at another person that way.
Her face emptied of color.
"Nathaniel."
He stared at her.
"Elena."
I looked between them.
"You know each other?"
Neither answered.
Mom rushed toward me.
She grabbed my shoulders.
"Ruby, are you hurt?"
"No."
"Did anyone touch you?"
"No."
"Did you tell him anything?"
I blinked.
"Who?"
Mom looked at Nathaniel.
Her voice became a whisper.
"Did you tell him about the notice?"
"I showed it to him."
She closed her eyes.
"God."
Nathaniel stepped closer.
"How long have you known?"
"Known what?"
"About Bellamy."
Mom looked at the floor.
"You already know?"
"I know enough."
"Then you know we have to leave."
"No."
Mom grabbed my hand.
"Ruby, we're going home."
Nathaniel blocked the door.
Mom stared at him.
"Move."
"No."
"You have no right."
"I have every right to ask why my brother's name appears in documents connected to your daughter."
Mom's grip tightened.
"My daughter has nothing to do with your family."
Nathaniel laughed once.
It wasn't amusement.
It was disbelief.
"Then why is her name in a twelve-year-old Graves trust?"
Mom's eyes filled with tears.
Nathaniel saw it.
"So you knew."
She whispered:
"I was trying to protect her."
"From whom?"
Mom didn't answer.
Nathaniel's voice broke.
"From my father?"
Mom looked at him.
"From your entire family."
The silence was crushing.
I looked at Mom.
"Mom, what's going on?"
She knelt in front of me.
"There are things I didn't tell you because I wanted you to have a normal childhood."
"Is Dad really dead?"
She closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Nathaniel interrupted.
"Who was he?"
Mom's lips trembled.
She looked at me.
"Your father was Daniel."
Nathaniel stepped backward.
For a moment, nobody moved.
"Daniel Graves?"
Mom nodded.
Nathaniel grabbed the edge of his desk.
"You told the world the child died."
"I had no choice."
"What child?"
I looked at my mother.
"What are you talking about?"
She began crying.
"You weren't the baby they thought died."
My skin prickled.
"Mom?"
"There was another child."
Nathaniel stared.
"You mean..."
Mom looked at him.
"Your brother had a daughter."
He swallowed.
"Where is she?"
Mom looked directly at me.
Nathaniel followed her gaze.
The truth seemed to hit him all at once.
"No."
Mom nodded.
"Ruby was Daniel's daughter."
Nathaniel's face collapsed.
I stared at him.
I didn't understand.
Then he said something that turned the entire room upside down.
"You're not my niece."
Mom shook her head.
"No."
She whispered:
"You're Daniel's daughter."
Nathaniel sat down heavily.
I started crying.
Not because I understood everything.
Because adults were talking about me as though my life had been a secret file.
Nathaniel looked at my mother.
"Why did you hide her?"
"Because your father ordered me to."
Nathaniel's head snapped up.
"My father?"
"He knew Daniel had a daughter."
"Then why wasn't she in the records?"
Mom wiped her face.
"Because Daniel paid someone to erase her."
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Mom took something from inside her coat.
A small silver key.
"Daniel gave me this the night before he disappeared."
Nathaniel stared at it.
"What does it open?"
Mom looked at me.
"The place where he hid the truth."
A sudden crash came from the hallway.
Security shouted.
Someone screamed.
Nathaniel stood.
Mom pulled me behind her.
The office lights flickered.
Then the power went out.
In complete darkness, a man's voice came through the door.
"Give us the girl."
My mother grabbed my hand.
Nathaniel reached for the emergency drawer.
The door handle slowly began turning.
And then someone whispered from the other side:
"Ruby Hart."
My name.
May you like
Again.
This time, the voice knew exactly where I was.
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