Chapter 43: Chapter 43

The atmosphere inside the room grows thick with tension. Woody stills beside me, unaware of how to react. He slowly turns to face me, surprise and shock sprawled across his face. I feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment and I get the urge to curl up and die so I don't have to face him.

"You love me?" Woody whispers, his dark eyes searching mine. My tongue dries out and I open my mouth to respond but I'm left speechless. The sound of the door opening breaks the silence in the room. Uncle Tobias enters before heading straight for my parents.

"You're awake!" Uncle Tobias smiles, hugging both of my parents. All three of them fade out in the background and all I can focus on is Woody. He's still staring at me, waiting for my response. I swallow nervously and suddenly stand up, desperately needing to change the subject. I walk towards Mum, feeling light headed and woozy. She gestures for me to take a seat on her bed and gives me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Ruby, I thought he knew." Mum apologises quietly. I shake my head, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"It's not your fault, Mum." I tell her, blinking back the emotion. Uncle Tobias turns towards me and pulls me into his chest, unaware of the embarrassing moment that just happened.

"Hey sweetheart, I told you we'd find them alive." Uncle Tobias tells me, stroking my hair. I cling onto him for comfort as the ferocious beating of my heart begins to slow down. He gently pulls me back, searching my eyes. Upon noticing the distress in them, he frowns.

"What's going on?" He asks quietly. I shake my head, feeling too speechless to respond. Dad clears his throat, glancing between Tobias and I. The last time Tobias was mentioned in our household, I had a rage filled meltdown so it must be weird for him to see me so close to him now.

"How much of a hard time did she give you to begin with?" Dad asks Uncle Tobias. He chuckles, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me into him, pressing a sloppy kiss to my forehead. I squirm against him, hating when he treats me like a little girl. I briefly look over at Woody and he appears to be lost in thought, his eyes trained on me. I tear my gaze off him, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

"I was beat up a few times." Uncle Tobias reveals. Mum shakes her head in my direction, looking slightly amused and disappointed at the same time.

"He abandoned me, okay? I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily." I tell them, rolling my eyes.

"We're all good now, aren't we kiddo?" Tobias says, smiling at me. I nod my head, prying myself away from him.

"As long as you play your cards right." I warn him playfully.

"I'm glad you got your Uncle Tobias back." Mum comments, smiling at the relationship between Tobias and I. I nod my head, agreeing with her. Finding him and loving him again filled the hole in my heart that I didn't realise I had.

"And we have a new member of the family joining us." Mum grins at me knowingly. She gestures over at Woody. Uncle Tobias turns to look at him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you still pining after my niece?" He asks him, a teasing tone to his voice. Woody chuckles, nodding his head.

"As long as she'll have me." Woody responds. I swallow the lump in my throat and look over at him. He gives me a reassuring smile, his eyes filled with curiosity. I know we need to talk but for now, we'll enjoy the moment of having the family back together again.

"Has anyone heard from Ivory?" Dad asks, breaking the comfortable silence in the room. Uncle Tobias' eyes flicker towards the door and as if on cue, she enters with Ben behind her.

"Jake! Emily!" Ivory gushes, heading for them. Her heels click against the floor as she embraces my parents. She sniffles and reaches up, wiping at her eyes.

"It's so good to have you back." Ivory tells them, taking a seat. Ben embraces both of my parents next, looking extremely nervous around Dad. They both take a seat in the room and I glance around, realising how full the room is.

"I know she's probably the last person you want to talk about but we need to figure out what we're doing with Jasmine. I can't hold her much longer without knowing her fate." Ivory says. I breathe in sharply at the mention of her name. Dad's eyes darken and Mum looks increasingly uncomfortable. Bringing up her name changed the entire dynamics of the room and it's no longer filled with love but instead, hostility.

"She tried to kill Ruby, she has to go." Uncle Tobias reveals bluntly. Dad's eyes widen and flicker over to me.

"She did what?" He asks, looking enraged.

"I'm fine now." I reassure him quickly. I walk towards Woody and he places an arm around me, knowing the topic of Jasmine makes me panic and grow uncomfortable.

"Where the hell were you Tobias? You're supposed to look after her!" Dad argues angrily. I expect Uncle Tobias to argue back but he hangs his head in shame.

"Don't blame him! Him and Woody were tied up and couldn't do anything. How did you have a secret sister all these years and you never told us?" I question Dad, standing up for Uncle Tobias. Dad breathes heavily, his eyes landing on me.

"The situation was complicated." Dad responds quietly. I shake my head in protest, knowing it isn't a good enough reason.

"You have to stop keeping secrets, Dad. It almost ended up in all of our deaths." I tell him firmly.

Auntie Ivory glances down at her watch, her foot tapping against the floor.

"So the decision is to dispose of her, yes?" Auntie Ivory asks, standing up. Everyone remains silent in the room and I feel my stomach churn uneasily. Despite Jasmine trying to kill me, it doesn't feel right to have her murdered.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Auntie Ivory begins moving towards the door with Ben behind her. Seconds before she leaves, I stand up and shout for her to stop. She whirls around, her eyes landing on me.

"What is it, honey?" Ivory asks, her voice softening. I glance around at all of my family around me, knowing despite the disturbing circumstances, Jasmine bought us all back together again. We may argue and find disagreements but after over a decade, we're all reunited in the same room with a figure from the past, Woody.

"We have to break the chain somewhere along the way. We can't continue murdering people who try to hurt us." I tell them all, my voice wavering. Beside me, Woody squeezes my hand, encouraging me to keep going.

"I know she kidnapped you and tried to kill me but her intentions were good, sort of. All she wants is a family." I tell them, feeling like I'm giving the most important speech of my life. Someone's life depends on it so I guess it is important.

"She needs help. She clearly has psychological issues from years of abuse in her childhood." I tell them. All of their attention is fixed on me and I shuffle from foot to foot, feeling nervous as hell.

"I wouldn't be okay with you killing her. It feels wrong." I finish off, anxious to hear their thoughts.

"I agree with Ruby. When Jones was killed, I realised afterwards he needed help. He wasn't stable mentally. I don't want you to feel the same way I feel after all these years." Mum looks at me, sadness filling her eyes. I smile at her, grateful for her support.

Uncle Tobias stands up and walks towards me, a teary proud look on his face.

"I also agree with Ruby, I think it's time to break the chain." He says, taking my free hand. I smile gratefully at him and turn to look at Dad. He's watching me carefully, his blue eyes appearing deep in thought.

"I'm proud of you, cupcake. You're a better person than we could ever be." Dad tells me.

"She was raised right." Auntie Ivory says, brushing a tear from her eye. Considering she's practically a mafia boss, it's surprising to see her so teary eyed all the time.

"I have the best parents in the world." I tell her.

In that moment, I have no clue whether I'll live to regret my decision. All I know is it doesn't feel right to murder someone who desperately yearns for something I had my entire life growing up. . .

A loving family.