Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"Do you honestly believe I'm capable of kidnapping Jake and Emily whilst pretending I don't know a single thing about it? Is that how low you think of me?" Ivory asks, hurt lining her voice. Her eyes flicker between me and Uncle Tobias and when neither of us answer, she exhales deeply.

"I wouldn't ever do that." She murmurs, her eyes covered in a glossy sheen. Ben continues walking down the steps before taking place by her side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You have a habit of hurting people I love the most." Tobias says coldly, breaking the tense silence in the room. Ben automatically snaps his head in Tobias' direction, dark eyes narrowed.

"You really should let that go Tobias. It's been almost fifteen years."

Both Woody and I turn to face each other, raising our eyebrows, intrigued at the information. When I glance at Uncle Tobias, his shoulders are squared defensively, a murderous look in his eye.

"Don't tell me what I should do! You might have money but I can still kick your ass Ben."

"What happened fifteen years ago?" I quickly question. Uncle Tobias turns to glare at me and I purposely ignore his burning gaze.

"Don't you dare tell her! I didn't come here for that, I came to find Emily and Jake!" Tobias yells, his voice growing more frantic. I nod my head and realise he's right, we're not hear to talk about the past. Besides, whatever happened has caused Uncle Tobias too much pain. So much pain that he's struggling to simply speak about it. . . Even after so many years.

"We'll stick to the subject. I'd like to see every room in the house." I say firmly, standing directly next to Uncle Tobias with Woody on my other side. Ivory's eyes flicker between all three of us before she sighs in defeat and nods her head.

"It's a big house, we should get started."

*****

"That's it? That's every room in this place?" I question, the desperation clear as day in my voice. We spent the last two hours searching every room top to bottom . . . I even searched the walls for a hidden door or passageway. To my dismay, there wasn't any. Uncle Tobias sighs heavily and runs his hand through his hair, his dark eyes shallow.

"They're not here Ruby." He says quietly, almost murmuring under his breath. Aunt Ivory stands up straighter, putting her hands on her hips.

"I told you they weren't. I wouldn't do that, not to my own family."

"That doesn't explain why the call was traced to your house. Unless someone here is the one who kidnapped Mum and Dad." I say suspiciously, my eyes drifting over to Ben. I've never liked the guy, there's always been an underlying niggling feeling in the bottom of my stomach whenever I'm around him.

"Maybe you have them locked up somewhere else. Maybe the call did come from here but wasn't supposed to. Did you mess up? Huh?" I say firmly, narrowing my eyes at him. His own widen and he takes a step back, looking bewildered.

"Are you honestly blaming me? I don't want anything to do with Jake or Emily!" Ben says, offence lining his every word. His statement causes me to narrow my eyes further and I take a step towards him.

"You sound like you have plenty of hatred for my Mum and Dad. . . Enough hatred to kidnap them? What game are you playing, Ben?" I question, my words getting harsher by the second. From behind me, I feel Uncle Tobias place a hand on my shoulder. The small sign of affection reminds me to remain calm and I breathe deeply, ignoring the urges to completely blow up. I can feel Woody's burning gaze coming from my right but I ignore him and keep my eyes trained on Ben.

"You're being ridiculous." He responds, shaking his head in protest.

"Ben would never do that. Don't blame him Ruby,

it isn't fair." Aunt Ivory says, standing up to his defence. She takes a few steps until she's standing by his side and the scene in front of me causes me to laugh.

"Of course you're on his side. Your best friend and your cousin has been kidnapped and you don't even care." I say, a little too bluntly. Aunt Ivory gasps, hurt sprawled across her features —

"You're wrong! I love both of them!"

"Ruby." Uncle Tobias says quietly from behind me. Thick tension fills the air and I breathe heavily, my chest rising and falling. No-one speaks for several minutes and I know my face is the definition of anger and frustration.

"It's been a long day. Why don't we all go and get some rest and come back tomorrow?" Woody suggests, taking a step forward. I turn to look at him and his dark eyes soften as they connect with mine. Instantly I nod my head, murmuring in agreement. I turn around, resting my head against Uncle Tobias' chest.

"I just want to find them." I whisper quietly,

my shoulders sinking in defeat. He leans down, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"I know sweetheart, we all do."

As we're leaving, Ivory continues dabbing at her eyes with a napkin, sniffling in between. She stops me by placing a hand on my arm as I'm about to walk out the front door. I don't react and instead flicker my eyes upwards to meet hers. They are full of sincerity and sadness —

"Maybe the kidnapper wanted you to find this location and wanted this to happen. We're all turning on each other, questioning the truth. Maybe the kidnapper wants to break up our family once and for all."

I don't respond and walk out, my shoulders and mind heavy with the pressure. It feels like the weight of the world is balancing on my back and I'm struggling to remain upright. On the drive to the nearest B&B, I think about Ivory's words and wonder whether she's right . . .

Maybe the kidnapper wants to break up the Melvin family for good.

*****

There's a knock on the B&B front door and I bounce off the bed I'm lying on before answering it. Woody is standing on the other side and lifts up a paper bag with a picture of a chicken on the front.

"I come with food." He smiles, his dirty blonde hair ruffled messily on top of his head. I muster enough strength to smile back before I pull open the door, inviting him in. As soon as he walks in, his eyes flicker across the two single beds in the middle of the room.

"Shouldn't there be three beds?" He asks me, slightly confused. I cross my arms over my chest and shrug.

"This is all they had at such short notice."

Woody's response is to smirk at me, his eyes drifting briefly down my body and back up again. I raise my brow but can't help the butterflies that begin to flutter in the centre of my stomach.

"So does that mean we're sharing a bed?" He asks smoothly, taking a small step towards me. I know he's teasing me and I should roll my eyes at him but my body remains frozen in place until Uncle Tobias ruins the moment completely —

"Over my dead body."

"Sorry Tobias, I thought you were showering." Woody coughs, averting his eyes away from me completely. I burst out laughing but Uncle Tobias remains stoney faced, clearly very unhappy.

"Like I said, stay away from each other." He says sternly, his eyes flickering between Woody and I.

I nod my head, throwing a salute up in the air.

"Aye aye Captain."