Chapter 5 - The Photograph Behind the SafeDaniel had left instructions for me before I was even old enough to read.
Nathaniel moved faster than I had ever seen an adult move.
He shoved a heavy chair beneath the office door.
"Back wall," he ordered.
Mom pulled me behind a bookshelf.
The emergency lights came on.
Red.
Dim.
Terrifying.
The door shook.
Someone was trying to force it open.
Nathaniel opened a second hidden safe.
Inside was a photograph.
He pulled it out.
My mother stared at it.
Her face crumpled.
It was a photograph of my father.
Daniel.
He was standing beside my mother.
She was younger.
And she was holding a baby.
Me.
I had never seen the photograph.
"Where did you get that?"
Mom whispered.
Nathaniel turned it over.
There was handwriting.
If Ruby is ever found, take her to Room 9.
Below that:
Do not trust anyone wearing the Graves crest.
Nathaniel looked at his suit.
Then at the crest on his cuff.
My mother stepped away from him.
He immediately removed it.
"I didn't know."
"I know."
Nathaniel looked hurt.
"Do you?"
Mom nodded slowly.
"You're not the man I was afraid of."
The door slammed again.
Nathaniel grabbed the silver key.
"Where's Room 9?"
Mom looked at him.
"Under Bellamy Court."
He stared.
"The basement?"
"No."
"The old subway level."
I frowned.
"There isn't a subway under Bellamy Court."
"There was twelve years ago," Mom said.
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Your father had workers dig beneath the buildings."
"For what?"
"Storage."
Nathaniel stared.
"Private records."
Another slam.
The door began cracking.
Nathaniel grabbed my hand.
"We're leaving through the executive tunnel."
"What tunnel?"
"One my father built and never told the board about."
We ran.
The tunnel entrance was hidden behind a painting.
I couldn't believe it.
A passageway extended through the building.
Cold air moved around us.
We ran down narrow concrete steps.
Halfway down, Nathaniel's phone buzzed.
A text appeared.
WE HAVE YOUR MOTHER. STOP RUNNING.
My mother stopped.
"I don't understand."
Nathaniel's face hardened.
"Neither do I."
Another message came.
ROOM 9 IS OPEN.
Nathaniel looked at me.
"They're already there."
Mom whispered:
"Then we have to beat them."
"How?"
She looked at the photograph.
"Daniel left more than one key."
She reached inside her shoe.
Pulled out a second silver key.
Nathaniel stared.
"You've had that for twelve years?"
"I've had it for twelve years."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because everyone I trusted twelve years ago ended up dead."
We continued down.
At the bottom was a rusted steel door.
Two keys.
Two locks.
Nathaniel inserted one.
Mom inserted the other.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room covered in dust.
An old tape recorder sat on a table.
Next to it was a red box.
And on top of the box was a handwritten note.
I recognized the handwriting.
I'd seen it once.
A letter my mother kept locked in her drawer.
The note said:
Ruby, if you're reading this, I failed to protect you.
I stared at the words.
"My father wrote that."
My mother nodded.
Nathaniel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice came through.
Daniel.
"If you're hearing this, someone has found my daughter."
My heart pounded.
Daniel continued:
"Ruby was never supposed to know her real name."
Nathaniel looked at me.
"Real name?"
The recording continued.
"But one day, the Graves family will come searching."
A pause.
"And when they do, don't let them take her to the house."
The tape crackled.
Then Daniel spoke one final sentence.
"Because my daughter isn't the secret."
The recording stopped.
Nathaniel stared at the machine.
"What is?"
My mother looked toward the red box.
"What's inside."
She opened it.
There was a birth certificate.
A photograph.
And one envelope.
On the envelope was my name.
RUBY HART
May you like
But underneath it was another name.
RUBY GRAVES.
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