The Lie That Lasted Sixteen Years
Chapter 03 - The Lie That Lasted Sixteen Years
Jax sat down.
He had to.
Lily remained standing.
She didn't cry.
That somehow made it harder.
"How long have you known?"
"Three months."
Jax stared at her.
"Three months?"
"Mom told me after Martin found something."
"What?"
Lily looked toward Rachel.
"A letter."
Jax felt cold.
Rachel had written him dozens of letters after disappearing.
She never mailed them.
Lily found them hidden inside an old wooden box.
One had Jax's name.
Martin found Lily reading it.
That was when everything changed.
"He started asking Mom questions about you."
Jax stood.
"What kind of questions?"
"How much money you had."
Jax almost laughed.
"Then he was disappointed."
Lily shook her head.
"No."
She reached into her backpack.
"Apparently he thinks you're rich."
That time Jax actually laughed.
"I'm a motorcycle mechanic."
Lily handed him another paper.
It was an article.
Jax recognized the photograph.
Morgan Custom Motorcycles.
The shop he opened twelve years earlier.
What the article didn't explain clearly was that Jax owned the building.
And the warehouse next door.
And a piece of land developers had recently offered millions to purchase.
Martin had apparently researched everything.
"Mom said he became obsessed."
"With me?"
"With what he thought I could inherit."
Jax looked at Lily.
The word inherit felt strange.
He hadn't even known she existed.
Lily continued.
"Martin has debt."
"How much?"
"A lot."
"Does Ethan know?"
"No."
Jax nodded.
"Good."
Lily suddenly looked angry.
"You don't get to act like my father."
The words landed hard.
Jax looked at her.
"I know."
"You weren't there."
"I didn't know."
"That's what Mom says."
"It's true."
"I know."
Lily's anger cracked.
Tears finally appeared.
"That doesn't make it easier."
Jax didn't move toward her.
He wanted to.
But she didn't know him.
He was a stranger with the correct DNA.
Lily wiped her face.
"Mom wanted to tell you."
"When?"
"Years ago."
"What stopped her?"
Lily looked down.
"Your brother."
Jax froze.
"My brother?"
She nodded.
"Uncle Caleb."
Jax hadn't spoken to his older brother in ten years.
Not since their mother's funeral.
Lily handed him one of Rachel's letters.
Jax opened it.
Rachel's handwriting filled two pages.
Near the bottom was a sentence that made his hands shake.
Caleb said you knew about the baby and wanted nothing to do with us.
Jax looked up.
"That's a lie."
Lily whispered:
"I know."
Then Rachel's heart monitor suddenly began beeping faster.
Nurses rushed into the room.
Everyone was pushed into the hallway.
And before the doors closed, Rachel opened her eyes.
For one brief second, she looked directly at Jax.
Her lips moved.
Jax leaned closer.
May you like
She whispered one name.
"Caleb."
