Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER WHO NEVER CAME HOME
Ruby returned to the mansion the following morning.
Santiago had offered her a private guest room, but she refused to move in.
“I can visit Sophia without becoming part of your household again,” she said.
He did not argue.
Instead, he placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Ruby's brother Evan standing beside a dark sedan.
“Is this the vehicle he repaired?”
Ruby leaned closer.
Her face changed.
“Yes.”
“Do you recognize the man beside him?”
She shook her head.
“No. Evan never told me his name.”
Tomas entered with another file.
“We found the service order. The vehicle belonged to a company registered to Matteo.”
Ruby's hands went cold.
Santiago looked at the photograph.
“Did Evan tell you what he found?”
“He said there was a hidden compartment in the trunk. He found a small envelope and a key. He thought someone had been using the car to move medical supplies without proper records.”
“Did he keep them?”
“He told me he had taken pictures. He said he would call the police the next morning.”
“But he never did.”
Ruby shook her head.
“He called me at 11:40 that night. He sounded frightened. He said a man had followed him from the garage. Then the line went dead.”
Santiago looked at Tomas.
“Get the original accident report.”
Tomas left.
Ruby stared at the photograph.
“I spent three years believing I could have stopped him. If I'd answered his second call, maybe he would have gone somewhere else. Maybe he would still be alive.”
Santiago's voice softened.
“You couldn't have known.”
“I was supposed to protect him.”
“You were his sister. You weren't responsible for what someone else chose to do.”
Ruby looked at him.
“You say that like you believe it.”
He did not answer.
Because he knew what it was to live with a loss and invent a hundred ways it might have been prevented.
That afternoon, Tomas returned with the accident report.
The police had recorded Evan's death as a single-vehicle collision. But the photographs showed damage to the rear bumper that did not match the official description. A second vehicle had struck him before his car left the road.
There was also a missing evidence page.
The original report listed a small metal key recovered from the scene.
The final report did not.
Santiago read the two versions.
“Who removed it?”
“The officer who signed the amended report retired six months later. He now works as a consultant for one of Matteo's companies.”
Santiago closed the folder.
“Find him. And find the key.”
Ruby stood.
“If Matteo knows we're looking—”
“He already knows.”
“How can you be sure?”
Santiago pointed to a small black camera above the study door.
“Someone accessed the security system last night. They watched us open the wall compartment.”
Ruby looked toward the ceiling.
“Then Sophia isn't safe here.”
Santiago's face hardened.
“No one is taking her.”
Ruby stepped closer.
“That's not enough. You need to ask what she wants.”
He looked at her.
It was becoming clear that Ruby would never let him hide behind authority.
He went upstairs.
Sophia was reading near the window.
He sat on the floor, leaving space between them.
“Someone may be watching the house,” he said. “I want to move you somewhere safer. But I won't decide without you.”
Sophia studied him.
Then she signed.
Ruby was not there to translate.
Sophia pointed to the guest room, then to Ruby's name written on a notepad.
He understood.
“She wants Ruby with her,” he said.
May you like
Sophia nodded.
“All right.”
