Chapter 4: The Key Around Her Wrist
Santiago held out his hand.
“Give me the key.”
Elena tucked it beneath her sleeve.
“It is not what Mrs.
Mercer thinks.”
“Then show it to me.”
“No.”
Ruby moved beside Sophia.
“Why are you afraid of a key?”
Elena glared at her.
“You walked into this family today.
Do not pretend you understand it.”
“I understand Sophia is terrified of you.”
“She is confused.”
Sophia signed sharply.
Ruby nodded.
“She says she has never been confused about your face.”
Santiago’s phone rang.
Elena glanced at the screen before he did.
“Dr.
Vale,” Santiago said.
“Put it on speaker,” Ruby replied.
Elena stepped forward.
“Do not turn this into a performance.”
Santiago answered and pressed the speaker button.
Dr.
Adrian Vale’s voice filled the room.
“Santiago, Elena said Sophia is having a severe episode.
Keep her calm.
I’m on my way.”
“I did not call Elena,” Santiago said.
“She called me.”
There was a pause.
“Then she acted wisely,” Dr.
Vale replied.
“Remove the new employee from the room.”
Ruby looked at Elena.
“How does he know I’m here?”
Elena folded her arms.
“I told him.”
“You called him before you entered.”
“I heard enough from the hallway.”
Mrs.
Mercer shook her head.
“You were downstairs when the laughter started.”
Elena turned on her.
“Be careful.”
Mrs.
Mercer’s shoulders drew back.
“I have been careful for seven years.”
Dr.
Vale arrived ten minutes later with a leather case.
He barely looked at Ruby before opening it.
“Sophia needs quiet and medication.”
Sophia pressed herself against the headboard.
Ruby moved in front of her.
“She is communicating clearly.”
“You are not qualified to assess her.”
“And you never learned her language.”
Dr.
Vale removed a prepared syringe.
Santiago caught his wrist.
“What is that?”
“A mild sedative.”
“You prepared it before examining her?”
Elena touched Santiago’s arm.
“Let Adrian help.”
Sophia made a frightened sound and clutched Ruby’s apron.
“No,” Ruby said.
“Ask her permission.”
Dr.
Vale’s voice hardened.
“Move aside.”
Santiago looked from the syringe to Sophia’s face.
“Put it away.”
“You retained me to make these decisions.”
“I said put it away.”
Dr.
Vale returned it to the case, but Elena leaned close to Santiago.
“If you trust a stranger over me, the board will hear that grief has affected your judgment.”
“My company has nothing to do with Sophia.”
“Your family trust controls the company.
A public dispute over your sister’s mental capacity could freeze everything.”
Ruby saw Santiago’s hand loosen.
Elena noticed it too.
“Send Ruby away.
Let Adrian stabilize Sophia, and tomorrow we will discuss this privately.”
Sophia signed to her brother.
Ruby’s voice softened.
“She is asking you not to send me away.”
Santiago stared at the advertisement in his hand.
“Ruby must leave tonight while I verify her identity.”
Sophia’s fingers stopped.
Ruby’s eyes filled, but she nodded.
“Then I’ll leave.”
Elena smiled.
“A sensible decision.”
As Ruby passed Mrs.
Mercer, the older woman pressed something into her palm.
It was a second brass key with a paper label tied around it.
MUSIC ROOM.
Ruby waited until the security guard escorted her downstairs.
Then she slipped through a side corridor and unlocked the abandoned music room.
A dusty recorder sat inside a cabinet.
Its cassette compartment was empty.
May you like
On top of it lay a fresh white card.
YOU CAME SEVEN YEARS TOO LATE, RUBY.
