Chapter 86: Rightful Place
As soon as Elizabeth left the house, slamming the front door with a level of finality that made the chandelier above the dining table tremble, Regina rose from the couch. Her perfectly manicured nails trembled slightly as she picked up her phone, her face set in stone.
She waited until the sound of the gate shutting reached her ears before dialing a number she hadn’t used in a long time. The line rang once... twice... then a click.
"You’ve reached me," a male voice said.
"It’s me," Regina said sharply, wasting no time. "I need you to find someone. My daughter, Ruby."
There was a pause on the other end. "Ruby? When last did you see her?"
"Three days ago," Regina snapped, her voice tight with irritation and urgency. "She’s not in the city anymore. I’m sure of it. Start at all the travel counters. Bus stations, airports, private transport companies... everything. She must’ve left Zeden."
The man on the other end didn’t ask questions. He’d worked with Regina long enough to know better. "Understood. I’ll report once I have something."
The call ended, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.
Regina stood there for a moment, the phone still clutched in her hand. The quiet of the living room felt suffocating. She slowly sank back into the armchair, her eyes fixated on a photo frame on the wall—a family portrait taken nearly a decade ago.
Her husband stood tall, smiling, with his arm wrapped around Ivy’s shoulder. Ivy had been just a teenager then, bright-eyed and full of promise. Regina sat beside them, and on the far end, Ruby stood stiffly, her smile hesitant, her hands clasped in front of her or that was what she wanted to see. Even in that moment, Ruby had always felt like the outsider. The one who didn’t quite fit. The one who ruined everything.
Regina swallowed the lump rising in her throat.
She needed to find Ruby. As soon as possible. Before either Stefan or Elizabeth did. She couldn’t allow them find her and chase her daughter out of her matrimonial home.