One Man Band System

Ruby stood frozen upon hearing Melissa’s words. Without even realizing it, she took a step back and looked over at Jade, her face plainly displaying her disappointment that Jade was still in contact with Melissa. But before Melissa could drive the misunderstanding any deeper,

"Hey... that’s enough. Let’s sit back down," Eric stepped forward, placing a hand on Ruby’s and Jade’s shoulders at the same time.

The two immediately turned and backed off, letting go of Melissa, who promptly adjusted her collar and squared her posture with her good arm. Afterward, Melissa stared at Eric, Jade, and Ruby in front of her. They simply locked eyes without saying a single word. Eric felt the tension rising into a suffocating silence, and then it hit him. He immediately turned to look at Emma and Tania,

"Emma, Tania, could you guys step out for a minute and head upstairs with the others? I won’t be long," Eric said gently.

"Oh... okay. Come on, Tania," Emma said, taking Tania by the wrist as she picked up on what Eric was doing.

"Yeah... let me," Tania replied.

The two turned around and walked out the door. Once the door clicked firmly shut behind them, Eric spoke up again,

"Let me sit... it’s time we have a serious talk. Family only," Eric said firmly.

Melissa, Jade, and Ruby looked at Eric and all three nodded. They walked back to the couch and sat down—this time with Jade and Ruby sandwiching Eric in the middle and Melissa sitting across from them.

"To set the record straight once and for all, I need you to tell us everything you know, Melissa. Not about what’s happening now, but back then—specifically when Jason and Vivian started sleeping together," Eric said, getting straight to the point.

Hearing Eric’s words, Jade and Ruby whipped their heads toward Eric between them, their faces making it painfully clear that they had no idea about any of this.

"Sigh... fine," Melissa said, letting out a breath.

With that, Melissa laid everything out, starting from the very first time she caught Jason and Vivian in the apartment after Jason had moved out of the house to live with her. She had thought it was strange that Vivian was at the apartment while Eric was nowhere to be found. At first, she brushed it off, thinking they might just be taking care of business, but her gut kept telling her something was off.

From there, the story unfolded just as Blake had explained it to Eric back at the hospital, along with the actual reason Melissa used Eric as her scapegoat. The reason was simple: Eric was the most overlooked child in the family, and as it turned out, without even asking questions, they threw Eric out right away and took Jason’s side.

"So... that’s how it went," Jade said.

"You saw it with your own eyes, after Eric was kicked out, I was still at the house and they were still trying to convince me to go through with the wedding... Think about it logically, you two. In their eyes, I was supposed to be the one who betrayed Jason, not the other way around. Yet the innocent one was thrown out first. Does that make any sense to you?" Melissa asked seriously.

"Looking at it like that... no, it doesn’t make sense," Jade answered.

"Want to know why? Aunt Vanessa wanted to get rid of Eric right from the start. The reason? He looks like his biological father, not Uncle Martin. Get it now?" Melissa asked.

"So... all of that was just an excuse?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah... and the moment I said I was pregnant with Eric’s baby, even showing her the ultrasound photo, that was when Aunt Vanessa finally kicked me out. Am I right? You two obviously remember because you were right there," Melissa answered.

Jade and Ruby fell silent, vividly remembering the exact event that had turned their entire lives upside down.

"To clear things up, just take a look at my texts with Jason from a week prior. You haven’t seen them either, have you, Eric? Might as well take a look too," Melissa said.

She slid her smartphone forward, showing a chat log between herself and Jason. Eric picked it up, then read through it alongside Jade and Ruby. Eric trembled slightly; seeing it with his own eyes confirmed that his exile from the family home was no accident, nor was it solely Melissa’s doing—it was an orchestrated setup from the start.

Jason explicitly stated that he wanted to stage a scene to get Eric thrown out of the house. His motive: Martin had revised his will to include Eric, who had previously been left out, granting him an equal share alongside Jason and Ruby. The original scheme was simply to frame Eric and the person in that video wasn’t Blake at all, but Jason himself. What Jason hadn’t banked on, however, was Melissa claiming she was pregnant with Eric’s baby, and once he saw the ultrasound proof, his mock outrage turned into genuine fury.

"Hmph," Eric let out a quiet scoff as he read.

Jade and Ruby stared at Eric, startled by his unusual reaction and the fact that his face showed he was completely unfazed.

"Are you... alright?" Ruby asked.

"Didn’t you say you already heard this story from Caleb?" Jade asked.

"Yeah... but that was from Blake, not from Melissa, considering Melissa was in a coma at the hospital back then," Eric answered.

"That’s right, so now you get it... Eric, show them Aunt Vanessa and Jason’s next move. Oh yeah... might as well show them how Jason engineered what he planned to do to Ruby while you’re at it," Melissa said casually, leaning back on the couch with a smirk.

Eric handed Melissa’s smartphone over, displaying everything to Jade and Ruby. Their expressions instantly darkened, growing increasingly grim with every line they read. The moment she finished reading, Ruby pulled out her own phone and placed a call,

"Hello, Dad?" Ruby asked.

"What’s wrong, Ruby?" Martin asked calmly.

"Where are you right now, Dad?" Ruby asked.

"I’m at the hotel, working on my laptop. What is it? Why do you sound so panicked?" Martin asked, his tone shifting to concern.

"Nothing... as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters," Ruby answered.

Martin went silent for a long moment, pausing the conversation. Through the speaker, the sound of his breathing and the clack of keyboard keys were clearly audible.

"Alright then... I’m going to hang up now, I still have work to catch up on. Once I’m done, I’ll call you back," Martin said.

"Okay, Dad. Be careful out there, don’t go anywhere alone," Ruby said.

"I know. Bye," Martin replied, his voice calm and firm.

The line went dead, and Ruby let out a visible sigh of relief. She then turned her gaze toward Melissa, her face displaying a complex mix of emotions,

"Alright... I read it. But why are you really here? You’re just as guilty as Jason, aren’t you?" Ruby asked.

"Like I said, I came here asking for a job, and to keep you guys safe from Jason’s grip at the same time. Got it?" Melissa answered.

Both Jade and Ruby recalled what Melissa had been like before she pulled off that outrageous stunt against their family. Their memories mirrored Eric’s: Melissa had never been hostile; she always treated them like her own younger siblings and never discriminated. That was precisely how she managed to sniff out that something was rotten within their household. Jade then shook her head, fixing her eyes on Melissa,

"Still... that doesn’t make you a good person," Jade said, though her tone was no longer accusatory.

"Well... nobody in this world is truly good. Everyone is wrapped up in intrigue, selfishness, and manipulation. Goodness just ends up being taken advantage of and twisted anyway," Melissa said, casually shrugging her uninjured shoulder with a faint smile.

Hearing Melissa’s words, Jade and Ruby, who were both about to speak, promptly closed their mouths. What Melissa said was true, and they undeniably felt the same way about themselves. Neither of them could point fingers at anyone else without acknowledging their own actions. Silence fell over the room once again. Then, Ruby rested her hand on the table, her fingers balling into a tight fist against the polished surface,

"That bastard Jason... he’s gone way too far... He manipulated Mom, and Mom didn’t even think twice. She just went along with whatever he wanted, as long as it kept Jason happy," Ruby said, her voice trembling with fury.

"Isn’t he behind bars right now for violating that restraining order when he tried to approach Vivian at her part time supermarket?" Jade asked.

"Yeah... that’s what Dad said," Ruby answered.

"Hmm... if that’s the case, then there’s no problem, right? You don’t actually need to look for a job at my place, do you, Melissa?" Eric asked, turning his head toward her.

"Don’t underestimate Jason. He can put on a sweet face to the world while rotting on the inside. Besides, I have a personal bone to pick with him. So please, give me a job here, and I promise I won’t interfere with your relationship with your girls upstairs," Melissa said, leaning forward with a dead serious expression.

"Sigh," Eric thought long and hard. He turned to look at Jade and Ruby beside him. Naturally, both of them wore anxious expressions, turning to him as they waited for his response to Melissa’s request.