Chapter 4: Ring Never Leaves

By sunrise, the Nimley family mansion no longer felt like a home.

The sprawling estate overlooked the Atlantic, but no one admired the view that morning. The house buzzed with doctors, security officers, and anxious staff moving quietly through polished hallways. Every room carried the same question no one could answer. What was happening to the Nimley children? Gabriel had been discharged after every medical test returned normal. Selene was brought home in a wheelchair after specialists found nothing physically wrong with her legs. The diagnoses made no sense, and that frightened everyone more than bad news would have. Mama Yatta remained beside her children, refusing to leave their side.

Chief Manni shut himself inside his private study. He stood before the window, staring at the restless Atlantic. His right hand tightened into a fist until the antique gold ring pressed painfully against his skin. He took a deep breath and tried to remove it but the ring did not move. He reached for a small bottle of hand lotion from his desk and rubbed it around his finger. Again he twisted, nothing…His breathing grew uneven as he pulled harder.

The ring remained fixed, as though it had become part of his hand, a knock interrupted him. “Sir?” his butler called softly. “Mr. Gabriel is asking for you.” Manni quickly lowered his hand. “I’ll be there.” As he reached for the doorknob, his eyes fell on an old family photograph resting on the shelf. The picture showed all five of them smiling on a beach years ago and his gaze stopped on the ring. He had worn it even then. A cold shiver crawled down his spine.

Outside the study, Gabriel watched his father step into the hallway and their eyes met. For the first time in his life, Gabriel noticed something strange.The skin beneath the gold ring wasn’t flesh anymore. It looked as though the metal had grown into his father’s finger and Manni saw that Gabriel had noticed.