The Graham Heir—I Am Not An Adopted Nobody

Chapter 5: The Awakening

The city lights blurred past the taxi windows as Robert stared straight ahead, jaw tight. His body still ached from the beating at the Emmett mansion, but the pain felt distant now—like it belonged to someone else. Someone weaker. Someone who no longer existed.

The taxi pulled up to the cracked curb outside their tiny apartment building. The place looked even smaller and sadder under the flickering streetlamp—peeling paint, broken buzzer, the same old smell of damp concrete and yesterday’s cooking.

Before he could even pay the driver, Robert heard it.

Sobbing.

Anna’s voice—high, broken, terrified—coming from inside.

He shoved the door open and sprinted up the narrow stairs, heart slamming against his ribs. The apartment door was ajar. He burst through.

The place was trashed.

Furniture overturned. Dishes shattered on the floor. Curtains ripped halfway off the rod.

Anna crouched behind the bed, knees pulled to her chest, face streaked with tears. The second she saw him, she launched herself across the room and crashed into his arms.

“Robert! We have to leave! Right now!”

He held her tight, one hand stroking her hair. “Hey, hey… slow down. Breathe. Tell me what happened.”

She pulled back just enough to look up at him, eyes wide and red. “They—they took Mom. When I got to the hospital, they said she’d been moved. To some undisclosed location. They wouldn’t tell me where. Robert… is she dead? Are they just trying to hide it from me?”

Robert’s voice came out soft but sure. “No, Anna. Mom is alive. She’s fine. She’s getting the best treatment in the country right now. Better than anywhere else on earth. I promise.”

Anna searched his face, doubt still swimming in her eyes. “You’re not lying to me, are you? You’re not trying to protect me from the truth?”

“I swore I’d fix it,” he said. “And I did. Trust me.”

She swallowed hard, then nodded slowly. But the fear didn’t leave her face. “Then… this happened after I came back.”

She gestured at the destruction.

Robert’s gaze hardened. “Who did this?”

Anna’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Mr. Azeez. The landlord. When I walked in, he saw me and asked where my ‘wretched mother and brother’ were. I told him I didn’t know. He laughed and said he was sure you were both dead by now—he’d heard about everything. I tried to ignore him and go inside, but… later he came back. He just walked right in. Said since Mom was gone and you were useless, I had nobody. He said he could do whatever he wanted with me. That he was going to sell me to a mafia lord who’d pay good money for a girl like me.”

Robert felt the blood turn to fire in his veins.

The same twisted joke Morris had played on them earlier.

Only this time, it wasn’t a joke.

Anna kept talking, words tumbling out. “I—I pepper-sprayed his eyes. He screamed and ran out, but he said he was coming back. With more men. To take me. Robert, we have to leave before—”

The front door exploded inward.

Wood splintered. Metal hinges screamed.

Mr. Azeez stormed in first, grinning like he’d already won the lottery. Behind him came three massive men—tattooed arms, scarred knuckles, eyes cold with business.

Anna gasped and darted behind Robert.

Robert didn’t move. He stood perfectly still, but the air around him seemed to thicken, charged with something dangerous.

Mr. Azeez’s grin widened when he saw Robert. “Well, well. Lucky night. Two for one. The weakling brother and the little princess. The mafia man’s going to love this package deal.”

Robert’s voice came out low, calm, deadly. “Leave. Right now. Or regret the day you were born.”

The three thugs didn’t even blink. Mr. Azeez threw his head back and laughed—loud, mocking, belly-deep.

“What are you gonna do, boy? Beat us? You?” He wiped tears of amusement from his eyes. “I’ve watched you for years. Every time you came home from school with bruises, crying like a baby while your mommy patched you up. You’ve never thrown a punch in your life. You make me sick. A full-grown man acting like a weak little girl. You always made me want to puke.”

Robert’s expression didn’t change. “Get your puffed-up empty men and leave. Or I won’t just make you puke. I’ll put you all in comas.”

Anna tugged at his sleeve, whispering frantically. “Robert, what are you doing? We should beg him. Don’t make him angrier. Please.”

Robert glanced down at her. “I don’t beg Mr. Azeez. There’s only one person in the entire world I would ever beg. Everyone else?” He looked back up at the landlord. “They’re nothing.”

Anna stared at him like he’d lost his mind. To her, this was just big-brother bravado—the kind of tough talk people use when they’re scared and trying to bluff their way out. But these men weren’t schoolyard bullies. They were serious. Dead serious.

Mr. Azeez’s smile vanished. “Enough playing. Take the girl. Beat the brother until he’s half-dead. By the time he wakes up, he’ll be in some dungeon pushing drugs for the rest of his miserable life.”

The three men moved.

Anna dropped to her knees, hands clasped. “Please, Mr. Azeez. Don’t do this. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt him.”

The first thug lunged at Robert, fist cocked for a knockout blow.

Robert moved.

One fluid step. One twist. He caught the man’s wrist, snapped it in three clean, sickening cracks—wrist, elbow, shoulder. Before the scream could even leave the man’s throat, Robert drove a fist into his gut so hard the thug folded in half, blood spraying from his mouth as he collapsed.

The room went dead silent.

Mr. Azeez’s mouth hung open.

Anna froze, breath caught in her throat.

The other two thugs glanced at each other, then charged.

Robert didn’t hesitate.

The second man swung a haymaker. Robert ducked under it, drove an elbow into the man’s ribs—crunch—then a palm strike to the throat. The thug dropped, choking, clutching his windpipe.

The third tried to grab Robert from behind. Robert spun, caught the arm, twisted it behind the man’s back until the shoulder popped, then slammed him face-first into the wall. Blood smeared the peeling paint.

Three seconds.

Three men on the floor—groaning, broken, bleeding.

Mr. Azeez stood frozen, eyes wide, face pale.

Anna stared at her brother like she’d never seen him before.

Before Robert could turn, a sharp, wet sound filled the room.

Mr. Azeez had wet himself.

Piss darkened the front of his trousers, dripping onto the floor.

Anna blinked.

Then she burst out laughing—shocked, disbelieving laughter. “Where’s the tough Mr. Azeez now? I pepper-sprayed you earlier, and now you pee yourself because of my brother?”

Mr. Azeez’s face flushed crimson with shame. He stumbled backward.

Robert reached for his collar. “One warning—”

But Mr. Azeez didn’t wait. He bolted, tripping over one of his fallen men, scrambling out the door like a rat.

“This isn’t over!” he screamed. “I’ll be back with more men!”

The three thugs crawled after him, whimpering like wounded dogs.

The apartment fell quiet except for Anna’s shaky breathing.

She looked up at Robert, eyes huge. “Who… who are you? All my life I thought you were weak. I thought I could fight better than you. But you just… you destroyed them. Without even trying.”

Robert knelt in front of her, voice gentle. “Don’t worry about that right now. Just know this—no one will ever bully you again. No one will ever threaten you again. I promise.”

Anna swallowed. “But… how?”

“Later,” he said. “Right now, grab your bags. We’re leaving. Tonight.”

She didn’t argue. She threw clothes and her few belongings into a duffel bag in record time.

They stepped out into the night. Robert flagged a taxi.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“Bertha Graham Memorial Hotel.”

Anna’s head whipped toward him. “The BGMH? The twelve-star hotel? The most expensive place in the world?”

Robert just nodded.

The taxi ride was quiet. Anna kept stealing glances at him, still processing.

When they arrived, the hotel rose before them like a palace made of light—glass towers, golden accents, fountains that danced with colored lasers. The only twelve-star hotel on earth. Managed by the Bullion Corporation. Worth more than most countries.

Anna stepped out, mouth open. “This… this is unreal.”

Three matte-black Lamborghini Uruses purred to a stop beside them.

Doors opened.

Edward stepped out first.

Then Malcom.

Then Chloe, Silver, Tracy, and Julie.

Then Jane.

Anna saw them and shrank back, trying to hide behind Robert.

Jane spotted her immediately. A cruel smile spread across her face.

“Well, well. What are orphaned peasants like you doing at a place like this?”