Chapter 4: The Night Ruby Was Born
I drove through the city without remembering the road.
The lights outside the window blurred into meaningless streaks.
My hands were tight around the steering wheel.
My mind was somewhere else.
Three years ago.
A hospital room.
A newborn baby.
A woman I loved dying before my eyes.
And now a voice from the past had forced me to question everything.
Your daughter was never supposed to survive that night.
Those words kept repeating.
Again.
Again.
Again.
By the time I returned to the Falcone estate, the sun was beginning to rise.
The house was awake.
Guards stood in every hallway.
Employees whispered quietly.
Everyone knew something had changed.
Not because I had announced it.
Because fear moved faster than words.
I found Valentina in the kitchen.
She was sitting alone.
No makeup.
No jewelry.
No perfect appearance.
Just a woman who looked exhausted.
She looked up when I entered.
“You spoke to him.””
It was not a question.
I stopped.
“How did you know?””
She looked at the untouched coffee in front of her.
“Because he always gets what he wants.””
I walked closer.
“What does he want?””
Valentina looked at me.
“To make you doubt everyone.””
I stared at her.
“Is he lying?””
The silence was immediate.
That was the answer.
I felt something break inside me.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
“Tell me the truth.””
Valentina looked away.
“I tried to protect her.””
“By taking her room?””
“Yes.””
“By making her believe she did not belong?””
Her eyes filled with guilt.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen like that.””
“But it did.””
She nodded slowly.
For once, she did not defend herself.
“I made a mistake.””
I pulled out the chair across from her.
“Start from the beginning.””
Valentina stayed quiet for a long time.
Then she spoke.
“Isabella knew someone was watching her before Ruby was born.””
I listened.
“She found documents.””
“What documents?””
“I don’t know exactly.””
I narrowed my eyes.
“Valentina.””
“I swear.””
Her voice became desperate.
“She never showed me everything. She only told me that if anything happened, Ruby could never be exposed.””
“Exposed to who?””
Valentina looked down.
“To the people who wanted what Isabella had.””
I leaned back.
“What did Isabella have?””
Valentina hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
I hated that answer.
Everyone had pieces.
Everyone knew something.
Except me.
The man everyone called Boss was the only person standing in the dark.
“What happened the night Ruby was born?””
Valentina’s expression changed.
Like she had been waiting for that question.
“It was supposed to be a normal birth.””
She stared at the table.
“Isabella went into labor early. You were away negotiating a conflict with another family.””
I remembered.
I had hated myself for missing it.
But the deal had been necessary.
At least, that was what I told myself.
“I came back as soon as I heard.””
Valentina nodded.
“But before you arrived, Alessandro was there.””
My blood turned cold.
“What?””
“He came to the hospital.””
“Why?””
“He wanted to speak with Isabella.””
I stood.
“You never told me this.””
“I was afraid.””
“Of Alessandro?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“Of what you would do.””
I ignored that.
“What happened?””
Valentina took a breath.
“Isabella refused to see him.””
“And?””
“He left.””
“That’s it?””
“No.””
Her voice dropped.
“Two hours later, Isabella collapsed.””
The room became silent.
I remembered the hospital.
The doctors.
The machines.
The helplessness.
“She told me something before she lost consciousness.””
“What?””
Valentina’s eyes moved toward the hallway.
As if she could still see it.
“She said, ‘They know about Ruby.’”
My heartbeat changed.
“Who?””
“She never said.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Valentina looked at me.
“Because when you arrived, Isabella was already dying.””
The memory hit me.
Walking into that room.
Seeing Isabella’s face.
Holding her hand.
Hearing her apologize.
Thinking she was sorry she was leaving me.
But what if she had been trying to warn me?
“What happened after?””
Valentina looked down.
“Ruby was born ten minutes later.””
I closed my eyes.
Ten minutes.
Ten minutes between losing the woman I loved and becoming a father.
“And then?””
“The doctors said Ruby was weak.””
I nodded.
I remembered.
“She was barely breathing.””
Valentina’s voice became quieter.
“But then something happened.””
“What?””
She looked at me.
“Someone came into the room.””
My expression hardened.
“Who?””
“The doctor.””
“What doctor?””
Valentina shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know the doctor who delivered my daughter?””
“He wasn’t supposed to be there.””
The air left my lungs.
“What do you mean?””
“He replaced the original doctor.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
Again.
That phrase.
But this time, I believed her.
Because fear was written across her face.
“What happened after?””
“The doctor took Ruby away.””
My hand tightened.
“For how long?””
“Twenty minutes.””
Twenty minutes.
A newborn baby.
Alone.
With a stranger.
“What did he do?””
Valentina looked at me.
“That is what nobody knows.””
My phone suddenly vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
One photo.
I opened it.
My entire body went still.
It was an old hospital photograph.
A newborn baby.
A nurse holding her.
And standing beside them…
A man.
The doctor.
Under the picture was a message.
You never asked who saved your daughter.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Then another message appeared.
You should have asked why she was saved.
I looked at Valentina.
She had seen my face change.
“What is it?””
I turned the phone toward her.
The color drained from her face.
“Where did you get this?””
“Alessandro.””
She stood immediately.
“No.””
“What?””
“No, this cannot be.””
I grabbed her arm.
“Who is that doctor?””
She looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw genuine terror.
“I don’t know his name.””
“Then what do you know?””
Her lips trembled.
“He was the reason Ruby lived.””
I stared at her.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
Valentina shook her head.
“He told Isabella something.””
“What?””
She looked toward the stairs.
Toward Ruby’s room.
Toward our daughter.
“He said Ruby was not just a child.””
My voice became cold.
“She is my daughter.””
“Yes.””
Valentina nodded.
“But she was also a key.””
“A key to what?””
She did not answer.
Because before she could, the entire house alarm suddenly activated.
Red lights flashed through the halls.
Guards shouted downstairs.
I moved instantly.
“What happened?””
A guard ran into the room.
“Boss.””
His face was pale.
“We found someone inside the estate.””
My hand moved toward my weapon.
“Where?””
The guard swallowed.
“Upstairs.””
I looked toward the staircase.
“Near Ruby’s room.””
Everything stopped.
Valentina whispered:
“No…”
I ran.
The hallway blurred.
Two guards followed behind me.
The door to Ruby’s bedroom was open.
My heart stopped.
For one terrifying second, I thought I was too late.
Then I saw her.
Ruby was sitting on the floor.
Holding her stuffed rabbit.
Safe.
But someone else was there.
Standing beside the empty shelf.
A man dressed in black.
He turned slowly.
And even though I had never met him before…
I knew exactly who he was.
Because I had seen his face in the old photograph.
The mysterious doctor from the night Ruby was born.
He looked at me.
Then at my daughter.
And said:
“Domenico Falcone.””
A pause.
Then he smiled.
“You finally found me.””
I stepped forward.
“Who are you?””
The man looked down at Ruby.
Then back at me.
“My name is Dr. Adrian Moretti.””
The guards raised their weapons.
But the doctor did not move.
Because he knew something.
Something that made him completely calm.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“I am the man who helped your daughter survive.””
May you like
He looked at Ruby.
“And I am the man who knows why someone wanted her dead the night she was born.””
