The Brother Who Changed Everything
Chapter 04 - The Brother Who Changed Everything
Caleb Morgan lived forty miles away.
Jax hadn't seen him since the funeral.
There had been no dramatic fight.
No single explosion.
Just years of resentment.
Caleb had always been the responsible brother.
Jax had been the reckless one.
Motorcycles.
Bar fights when he was younger.
Jobs he quit.
Relationships that ended badly.
When their father died, Caleb took over the family garage.
When their mother died, Jax walked away from the business entirely.
Neither brother forgave the other.
Jax called him.
Caleb answered after six rings.
"Jax?"
"We need to talk."
Silence.
"About Rachel Dawson."
The silence changed.
Jax knew immediately.
"You remember her."
Caleb exhaled.
"Where are you?"
"Hospital."
"Is she okay?"
Jax's anger became cold.
"How do you know something happened?"
Caleb didn't answer.
Jax stood outside Rachel's room.
"My sixteen-year-old daughter is sitting twenty feet away from me."
Caleb whispered something Jax couldn't hear.
"What?"
"I said I'm sorry."
Jax closed his eyes.
"So it's true."
"Jax—"
"You told Rachel I abandoned her."
"I thought I was protecting you."
"From my own child?"
"You were twenty-two."
Jax laughed bitterly.
"That wasn't your decision."
"You were falling apart after Dad died."
"Still wasn't your decision."
Caleb's voice rose.
"I knew you!"
"No. You thought you did."
Jax looked through the glass at Lily.
"You stole sixteen years."
Caleb became quiet.
Then he said:
"There's more."
Jax almost didn't want to hear it.
"What?"
"Rachel came back."
"When?"
"About eight years ago."
Jax stopped breathing.
"She came to the garage asking for you."
"And?"
"I told her you'd moved."
Jax couldn't speak.
"I thought she would ruin your life."
Jax whispered:
"She was my life."
The words surprised even him.
Caleb began crying.
"I know that now."
Jax ended the call.
When he returned to the waiting room, Lily was watching him.
"Was it him?"
Jax nodded.
"Why?"
"Because sometimes people convince themselves that controlling someone's life is the same as protecting them."
Lily looked toward Rachel's room.
"That sounds like Martin."
Jax looked at her.
Before he could respond, two police officers entered the hallway.
One approached Ethan.
"Son, we need to ask you something."
Jax stood.
The officer held up a photograph of Martin Dawson.
"Do you know where your stepfather might have gone?"
Ethan shook his head.
Then his face changed.
"My mom's storage unit."
Lily turned toward him.
"What storage unit?"
May you like
Ethan whispered:
"The one Martin doesn't know I know about."
