Chapter 2 - The Eviction Notice That Changed Everything
The first thing I noticed was that nobody in Graves Tower was looking at me anymore.
They were looking at Nathaniel Graves.
The same man whose name was printed on the business card inside the wallet.
The same man whose face appeared on magazine covers and financial reports.
The same man who had just ordered an entire building locked down because of a piece of paper sticking out of my old backpack.
I stood in the middle of the marble lobby, holding the wallet against my chest.
My fingers were still wrapped around the leather.
My hands were shaking.
I didn't understand what was happening.
I only knew one thing.
I had never seen an adult look that scared before.
Nathaniel stared at me.
Not like I was a child.
Not like I was someone who had caused trouble.
He looked at me like I was a question he had spent years trying to answer.
"Ruby," he said again.
This time, quieter.
I swallowed.
"How do you know my name?"
For a moment, nobody moved.
The receptionist looked at Nathaniel.
The security guards looked at each other.
Even the employees who had been pretending not to watch were frozen.
Nathaniel opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Like he almost said something he wasn't ready to say.
Before he could answer, a woman hurried out of the elevator.
She was probably in her late forties.
She wore a gray business suit and carried a tablet against her chest.
She looked calm at first.
Until she saw me.
Then her face changed.
Not like Nathaniel's.
Not with shock.
With fear.
"Mr. Graves," she said carefully.
Nathaniel turned.
"Where is it?"
The woman's fingers tightened around the tablet.
"Where is what?"
"The Parker file."
The color disappeared from her face.
My stomach twisted.
I didn't know why.
But I knew my last name had something to do with this.
The woman glanced at me.
Then back at Nathaniel.
"That file was sealed."
"I know."
"Nobody was supposed to access it."
Nathaniel's voice became colder.
"Bring it."
She hesitated.
"Mr. Graves, you said twelve years ago that file was never to be opened again."
The entire lobby went silent.
Twelve years.
That number stuck in my mind.
Because I was eight years old.
Which meant twelve years ago...
I wasn't even born.
Or maybe I was.
I didn't know.
My mother never talked about my father.
Whenever I asked questions, she always found a way to change the subject.
"Some stories are better left in the past, Ruby."
That was what she always said.
But now I wondered.
What story?
Nathaniel looked at me again.
His eyes softened for half a second.
Then they hardened.
"Take her upstairs."
The security guard stepped forward.
I immediately stepped back.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
I hugged my backpack closer.
"I didn't do anything wrong."
Nathaniel's expression changed.
Like my words hurt him.
"I know."
"Then why are you locking the doors?"
He looked toward the glass entrance.
Then toward the employees watching.
Then back at me.
"Because the person who left that notice in your backpack may know you're here."
I froze.
"What?"
Nobody spoke.
The receptionist lowered her eyes.
The woman with the tablet looked nervous.
Nathaniel walked closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was afraid that one wrong move would scare me away.
"Ruby, listen to me."
I looked up at him.
"That eviction notice..."
He paused.
His jaw tightened.
"Where did you get it?"
I looked down.
"My mom got it."
"Your mother's name?"
I hesitated.
I didn't like how many questions he was asking.
But something about his voice made me feel like he wasn't trying to hurt me.
He sounded worried.
"Emily Parker."
The moment I said it, Nathaniel stopped breathing.
It was only for a second.
But I saw it.
The shock.
The pain.
The memory.
The woman with the tablet whispered:
"No..."
Nathaniel turned toward her.
"Get everyone out of the lobby."
She looked confused.
"Everyone?"
"Now."
The employees started moving.
Nobody argued.
Nobody questioned him.
Because powerful people like Nathaniel Graves didn't need to repeat themselves.
Within seconds, the giant lobby became almost empty.
Only me.
Nathaniel.
The receptionist.
The woman with the tablet.
And two security guards remained.
Nathaniel looked at the wallet in my hands.
"You found this today?"
I nodded.
"Under a bus stop bench."
"Did anyone see you pick it up?"
"No."
"Did anyone follow you here?"
I shook my head.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
He made a call.
"Find every camera recording from Aldridge Street from 3:00 p.m. until now."
A pause.
"No."
His eyes moved toward me.
"Don't just look for the wallet."
Another pause.
"Look for who left it there."
My heart started beating faster.
I suddenly felt like I wasn't standing in a corporate building anymore.
I felt like I had accidentally walked into something dangerous.
"Mr. Graves..."
He looked at me.
"Yes?"
"Am I in trouble?"
The question seemed to surprise him.
For the first time since I saw him, he looked less like a billionaire.
He looked like a person.
A tired person.
"No, Ruby."
His voice became gentle.
"You might be the reason someone else is."
I didn't understand.
But I remembered those words.
Because adults usually didn't speak in ways that scared me.
My mother tried to protect me from scary things.
Nathaniel Graves looked like he was trying to protect me from something he already knew.
The woman with the tablet finally stepped forward.
"Mr. Graves, I need to tell you something."
Nathaniel looked at her.
"What?"
Her eyes moved toward me.
"The file wasn't the only thing that disappeared twelve years ago."
Nathaniel's face changed.
"What are you saying?"
She lowered her voice.
"The original Parker investigation records were incomplete."
"Incomplete how?"
She looked nervous.
"Someone removed pages from the report."
The lobby went silent again.
Nathaniel stared at her.
"Who?"
The woman swallowed.
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
"Mr. Graves..."
Her voice became smaller.
"There is something else."
Nathaniel waited.
The woman looked at me.
Then said:
"The missing pages weren't removed from the office."
I felt a strange cold feeling in my chest.
"Where were they removed from?" Nathaniel asked.
The woman hesitated.
Then answered:
"From your personal archive."
Nathaniel's expression changed.
Because I could tell he understood something I didn't.
Something important.
Something terrifying.
He turned away from everyone and walked toward the private elevators.
"Ruby comes with me."
The receptionist looked surprised.
"Mr. Graves, are you sure?"
Nathaniel pressed the elevator button.
"No."
He looked back at me.
"But I need answers."
The elevator doors opened.
Inside was a private room with dark walls and a security panel.
Nathaniel stepped forward.
Then stopped.
Because his phone suddenly rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
He just stared at the message.
Then slowly turned the phone toward the woman with the tablet.
Her face went pale.
On the screen was a single sentence.
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A sentence that made Nathaniel Graves forget how to breathe.
"She was never supposed to find out she was a Graves."
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