Chapter 6 - The Boy Who Was Supposed to Be My Enemy Saved My Mother
We went to the hospital.
Not the main entrance.
The underground service tunnel.
Elias knew every camera.
Every guard.
Every exit.
That alone told me how deep he was inside Northbridge.
We found my mother in a private room.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
But alive.
When she saw me, she cried.
“Ruby.”
I ran to her.
She hugged me.
“I told you to stay away from Nathaniel.”
I looked at him.
“He found me.”
She smiled through tears.
“Of course he did.”
Nathaniel stood near the door.
He looked uncomfortable.
My mother reached for him.
He approached.
She touched his face.
“You look like Julian.”
Nathaniel's eyes filled.
“So do you.”
My mother laughed softly.
“I've been waiting twelve years.”
He asked,
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I knew you would come.”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Survive.”
She told us everything.
Julian discovered Malcolm Graves was working with Northbridge.
Elias was Malcolm's illegitimate son.
Malcolm wanted Elias hidden.
Julian wanted to expose the network.
Evelyn helped.
My mother helped.
They planned to transfer the Hart Trust to me.
But Malcolm discovered the plan.
Julian was killed.
Evelyn disappeared.
My mother fled.
Elias helped her.
Because despite everything, Elias hated Malcolm.
“He treated me like an embarrassment,” Elias said.
“So you became what he feared.”
Elias nodded.
“I became useful.”
Nathaniel looked at him.
“You could've killed me.”
“I could have.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because Julian loved you.”
Nathaniel went silent.
Our mother grabbed my hand.
“Ruby.”
“Yes?”
“You need to hear this.”
She gave me a key.
“It opens the vault beneath Graves Tower.”
“What is inside?”
“Everything.”
“Everything?”
“Records. Evidence. Names.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you were eight.”
I understood.
She had been waiting.
Waiting until I was old enough.
Waiting until the world was safer.
But the world had come too early.
Suddenly, alarms sounded.
Elias moved instantly.
“They found us.”
Guards stormed the corridor.
Nathaniel pulled me behind him.
My mother screamed.
Elias fired.
The hospital became chaos.
We escaped through a service elevator.
But someone had already reached the parking garage.
A car crashed through the gate.
Elias pushed me aside.
The car struck him.
He fell.
Nathaniel ran toward him.
“Elias!”
Elias grabbed his jacket.
“Take her.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
I was crying.
“He saved me.”
Elias struggled to breathe.
“He's not your enemy.”
Nathaniel nodded.
“Not anymore.”
They got Elias into the car.
We escaped.
Back at the safe house, my mother slept.
Elias was treated by a doctor.
Nathaniel sat beside him.
“You could have died.”
Elias smiled.
“Wouldn't have been the worst thing.”
Nathaniel shook his head.
“You're my brother.”
Elias stared.
For the first time, his face broke.
“I thought you hated me.”
“I didn't know you existed.”
Elias laughed.
“Fair.”
They shook hands.
It was awkward.
But real.
The next morning, the vault was opened.
Nathaniel and I went down.
Inside were hundreds of files.
One belonged to my grandmother.
Another to Julian.
One to Malcolm.
Then we found the final file.
It contained evidence that Northbridge had manipulated elections, judges, contracts, and criminal investigations.
There was enough evidence to destroy the network.
But there was a problem.
The documents also showed something else.
Nathaniel had been secretly identified as the successor to Northbridge.
He was supposed to inherit the entire organization.
The file was signed by Malcolm.
Nathaniel stared.
“I never agreed to this.”
“You were a child.”
“That's why.”
He turned to me.
“He was planning for me to become him.”
I smiled sadly.
“But you didn't.”
He looked at me.
“Because you returned a wallet.”
I laughed.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“That seems dramatic.”
“It was.”
We found one final letter.
From Julian.
Nathaniel,
If you are reading this, then Ruby is safe.
Protect her.
But never control her.
She is the one person who must be free of our family's legacy.
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
My father had trusted him.
Not to own me.
To protect my freedom.
Then we heard footsteps.
Our mother entered.
She was pale but standing.
“There is one thing you still don't know.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“The eviction notice.”
“What about it?”
“It was never from the landlord.”
She took a document from her pocket.
“It was forged.”
“By who?”
May you like
She looked at Nathaniel.
“By me.”
