April 7th, 12:13am — Bellingham Penthouse(Bellingham Hill).
The elevator ride to the top was silent, save for the soft hum of polished steel cables. Tony leaned against the mirrored wall, the velvet box still in his hand. The ring inside weighed more than gold. It weighed like memory.
The doors opened to the expansive penthouse suite, but Tony didn't flick on the lights. Instead, he moved through the dimness, passing the minimalist decor and glass sculptures without noticing any of them. The night skyline outside the towering windows glowed like a sea of distant lanterns, but all he saw was her.
(His mom!!)
His mother.
He set the box down on the kitchen island and pulled out a stool. Sitting there, with only the subtle glow from the under-cabinet lights and the fridge hum as company, he finally let the day settle on him.
And then he opened the box again.
The ring shimmered faintly under the soft lights. Platinum band, blue opal inlay, slight curve. A little worn. Not flashy—elegant. It hadn't been made to dazzle. It had been made to matter.
He picked it up between his fingers, careful, like it was something sacred.
Flashback
They were sitting by the window of their tiny apartment in Southbridge, toyko. The old fan buzzed as it tried to keep up with the summer heat. Kai was barely ten. His mother had made lemonade the old-fashioned way, with real lemons and too much sugar.
"You like shiny things, don't you?" she said, teasing, as she turned over the ring in her fingers.
Kai, young and curious, leaned in. " Oka-san?(Mom?)Why do you always keep that? You don't even wear it."
(She's so strange.)
"Because it's not just a ring." She smiled. Her eyes crinkled like always when she was being a bit mischievous. "It belonged to someone special. And one day, I thought maybe I'd give it to someone even more special."
He looked confused.
(Special? Who could that be?)
She sighed, half-laughing. "You, baka(dummy). You lose everything, but this? You're going to keep this. And when life throws you into a storm, hold onto it. Let it remind you of home."
She pressed it into his palm.
"Keep it safe, my little storm."
"Yeah, sure mom."
Tony blinked, back in the kitchen.
It was still here. Against all odds, after being robbed, beaten, left for dead, reborn as someone else—it had found him. Or maybe he had found it.
He slipped the ring onto his pinky. It didn't fit quite like it used to, but it still felt right.
A storm.
He laughed softly to himself.
"Still your little storm, huh?"
(He doesn't know how is mom is now?)
Her voice echoed in the stillness.
He moved to the living room, took off his jacket, and collapsed onto the L-shaped couch. The ceiling was painted in shadow, but the soft city light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows made it look like it shimmered with clouds.
For once, there was no strategy to plan, no Clara to impress or outmaneuver, no Aaron reminding him of business meetings or PR appearances. No mia to do st.....with. Just him.
And her memory.
He reached for the tablet on the coffee table and searched: Blue opal platinum ring value.
Search results flooded in.$20million. But what caught his attention wasn't the price.
(There were only two in the world)
A news snippet: " Breaking News: Murder Case Linked to Disappearance Jewelry Set in 2008".
His fingers hovered, then tapped.
Missing: Hinata B. Last seen leaving "Gold-Jewel" shop in Eastbridge. Date: 1st March 2006. Item tied to her disappearance: A custom blue opal ring. Platinum band, mid-century European design. A one and only custom made ring by C. Bellingham
Tony stared.
(B???? )
Hinata? That name. No—not her name. But this was his mom's ring. How does this tag with Hinata?
(His mom had gone by Emen. Emen Emerson. So who the hell was Hinata?)
Unless...
A chill crept up his arms.
He opened another tab. Searched her full name with birth records. Nothing showed. Except "A death certificate."
Then something caught his attention
"Arrested for murder of the Mr John Knox, onwer of Gold-Jewel"
She was arrested and put in jail. A day before her trail, she escaped, never to be seen again. As expected, a death certificate was issued.
(Woah???? So did she steal the ring? Kill the man?)
He looked at the ring. He searched some more and found out, At 2006, Cristanio only created two with Mr. Knox. The ring was allegedly stolen by Hinata, and she was trailled.
(At that time, cristanio wasn't that wealthy, he used his first earnings to make the ring.)
He tried searchin for pictures of the woman, but nothing popped up, the ones that managed to show were all blurry, so he couldn't see her.
He set the tablet down and went to the door, heart pounding. Through the security cam, he saw Aaron. Alone.
He opened the door.
Aaron looked puzzled. "Master, you okay?"
Tony blinked. "Yeah... Just..."
Aaron saw the ring. "You're still holding that?"
Tony nodded. "It belonged to my mother. Found out some stuff."
Aaron stepped inside cautiously. "Stuff like...?"
Tony hesitated. Then: "Nevermind."
Aaron whistled. "You thinking it's serious?"
"I.... don't know.."
( I can't tell Aaron anything, he doesn't know which mom i'm talking about, or that i'm referring to my ex life)
Aaron folded his arms. "Master tony, I believe your mom is and always will protect you."
Tony leaned against the wall, tired again. "Yeah. Me too."
Silence stretched between them.
Aaron gestured toward the tablet. "You have a call sir"
Tony turned alround and picked it up. It was mia
He didn't pick it. He couldn't
Tony nodded. "Thanks Aaron, can you excuse me?."
Aaron gave a thumbs up and left the room to make some calls.
Tony walked back to the window.
The city stretched out like a glittering maze. But in his hand was a compass.
A memory.
A truth.
A promise.
He whispered again:
"I'll find out who you were and how you got that ring, Hinata. All of it."
The opal shimmered faintly, catching the moonlight, and for a brief second, it almost looked like a lighthouse in the dark.