PHOENIX

20| WHERE DID SHE GO?

Jackson lay on his back, one arm tucked beneath his head while the other rested across his stomach, staring blankly at the ceiling as the events of the evening refused to leave him alone. Sleep should have claimed him the moment his head touched the pillow. He had spent the entire day following Melissa from one place to another, attended an exhausting charity gala, accompanied her to a bar afterwards, and finally escorted her drunken self back to the hotel. By all accounts, his body should have been demanding rest.

Instead, his mind seemed determined to punish him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Melissa smiling at him, laughing at his terrible jokes, looking at him with those warm brown eyes that had once convinced him he was the luckiest man alive. Then, just as quickly, those same memories twisted themselves into reminders of betrayal until he was left wondering which version of Melissa had been real. The woman who had innocently thanked him before falling asleep in her hotel room, or the woman whose decision had nearly cost him his life. He hated that after everything, his mind insisted on remembering the beginning instead of the end. Perhaps that was the cruellest thing about first love. No matter how badly it ended, your heart always seemed determined to preserve the happiest memories in perfect condition, replaying them over and over until you started questioning whether the pain had really been worth losing something that had once felt so beautiful.

His thoughts drifted further back, carried effortlessly by memories he had spent years trying to bury. Before the betrayal. Before the Roy family. Before revenge became the only thing keeping him alive. Back to the very first night he had ever laid eyes on Melissa Roy. It felt impossibly distant now, like a different lifetime that had belonged to someone else entirely. Yet the memory remained astonishingly vivid, every tiny detail preserved with painful clarity.

He could still remember the smell of cheap whiskey mixed with cigarette smoke lingering in the air. He remembered the dull amber lights hanging from the ceiling, casting long shadows across the crowded room while old rock songs played softly through worn-out speakers. He remembered the constant chorus of laughter, clinking glasses, pool balls colliding somewhere near the back, and the bartender shouting drink orders over the music. It had been nothing more than an ordinary Friday night. He and a few friends had decided to celebrate the end of another exhausting work week by grabbing a few drinks before heading home. Nothing about that evening had seemed particularly important at the time. If someone had told him that walking through those doors would completely alter the course of his life, he would have laughed in their face.

He remembered casually scanning the crowded room while waiting for his friends to finish arguing about where they wanted to sit. His eyes had wandered from table to table without much interest until they suddenly stopped moving altogether. Sitting in one of the corner booths was a group of young women laughing so loudly that several people nearby had already turned to look at them. Yet Jackson barely noticed the others because one girl had instantly stolen every ounce of his attention. She wasn't necessarily the loudest in the group or even the one talking the most, but somehow she was impossible to ignore. There was something about her presence that naturally pulled people's attention toward her without her appearing to seek it. She laughed freely, throwing her head back without the slightest concern for who might be watching. Every smile reached her eyes, making them sparkle beneath the dim lighting as though someone had hidden tiny stars inside them.

She wasn't trying to impress anyone. She wasn't flirting or putting on a performance. She simply existed in that moment with an effortless joy that made everyone around her seem slightly dull by comparison. Jackson had seen beautiful women before. Plenty of them. Beauty alone had never been enough to leave him speechless. But Melissa wasn't simply beautiful. She was alive in a way he had never witnessed before, and somehow, from the very first second, he found himself unable to look anywhere else.

His friends had continued talking beside him, completely oblivious to the fact that Jackson had mentally checked out of the conversation several seconds earlier. He couldn't even remember what they were discussing because every bit of his attention remained fixed on the girl sitting across the room. She looked impossibly young. Too young, if he was being completely honest with himself. The youthful softness of her face, combined with the innocent excitement she displayed while talking to her friends, immediately made him question whether she was even old enough to legally be inside the establishment. Every now and then she would playfully shove the girl sitting beside her before dissolving into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, covering her mouth in a hopeless attempt to compose herself. Even from across the room, Jackson could tell she wasn't pretending to be someone she wasn't. There was no carefully crafted elegance, no rehearsed sophistication, no calculated attempt to attract attention. She was simply enjoying herself, blissfully unaware that one complete stranger had forgotten how to blink because of her.

Then came the moment that would remain burned into his memory forever. As though sensing his stare, Melissa suddenly lifted her head. Their eyes met across the crowded bar, separated by nothing more than a sea of strangers and a few scattered tables. Jackson had instinctively looked away for a split second, embarrassed at being caught staring like some awkward teenager experiencing his first crush. But when he looked back, expecting her to appear uncomfortable or annoyed, she surprised him completely. Instead of frowning or rolling her eyes, Melissa smiled. Not a polite smile. Not the forced smile people gave strangers out of courtesy. It was playful, almost mischievous, accompanied by the slightest lift of one eyebrow as though silently asking whether he planned on continuing to stare all night or if he intended to actually introduce himself. Even now, years later, Jackson couldn't decide whether she had deliberately challenged him or whether his imagination had embellished the memory over time. Either way, it had worked. His pride alone refused to let him back down after a look like that.

Ignoring the amused comments coming from his friends, Jackson straightened his jacket and made his way toward the table before common sense could intervene. Each step felt strangely heavier than it should have. Normally, approaching women had never intimidated him. Confidence had always come naturally. Yet something about Melissa made him unexpectedly nervous, a feeling he hadn't experienced since high school. By the time he reached their table, every single pair of eyes had turned toward him. Most of her friends exchanged knowing smiles before immediately looking at Melissa, as though silently placing bets on how the interaction would unfold. Jackson forced himself to smile despite the sudden awareness that he had just interrupted an entire group of strangers. "Hey there," he had greeted, doing his absolute best to sound far calmer than he actually felt. "Mind if I join you?" A chorus of barely concealed giggles erupted around the table almost immediately, making him wonder if he had unknowingly walked into some elaborate joke. Melissa, however, remained perfectly composed. She slowly looked him up and down, openly assessing him without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Instead of making him uncomfortable, the scrutiny only amused him. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the corners of her lips curled upward once more. "Sure," she replied with effortless ease. "Why not?" The simple answer somehow felt like winning the lottery.

Looking back now, Jackson often wondered if that had been the exact moment his fate had quietly changed direction. He had pulled up a chair, introducing himself while trying to ignore the relentless teasing from Melissa's friends, who wasted absolutely no time making comments about how quickly a handsome stranger had found his way to their table. The conversation had flowed surprisingly easily after that. Melissa possessed an effortless ability to make people feel comfortable, asking questions with genuine curiosity instead of rehearsed politeness.

They talked about everything and nothing at all: music, movies, ridiculous childhood stories, terrible jobs, embarrassing moments and somewhere during those conversations, Jackson completely forgot that he had only met her minutes earlier. Yet one thought continued nagging at the back of his mind no matter how much he enjoyed talking to her. She looked incredibly young. Every time she laughed or smiled, the concern returned stronger than before. He tried convincing himself that appearances could be deceiving, but he simply couldn't shake the suspicion that she had somehow wandered into a bar using an exceptionally convincing fake identity card.

Melissa must have noticed the uncertainty on his face because later that evening, after several rounds of drinks and countless conversations, she leaned closer until only he could hear her over the music. There was an unmistakable look of amusement dancing inside her eyes, as though she had been waiting for this moment all night. "You know," she whispered conspiratorially, "most people think I'm sixteen." Jackson nearly choked on the drink he had just taken, internally congratulating himself for trusting his instincts. Before he could begin awkwardly apologising or preparing to leave the table altogether, Melissa burst into laughter at the horrified expression spreading across his face. "I know you thought that too," she continued between giggles. "Don't worry. I'm actually twenty-one." Jackson stared at her for several long seconds, trying to determine whether she was serious or simply enjoying watching him panic. Eventually, he shook his head with an incredulous laugh. "Twenty-one, huh?" he replied, still sounding unconvinced. "You really don't look it."

Melissa grinned triumphantly, clearly delighted that she had managed to catch him exactly as she'd predicted. "Yeah," she admitted with another laugh. "I hear that all the time. But I promise..." She leaned in just a little closer, lowering her voice dramatically as though revealing some classified government secret. "...I'm legal." Jackson laughed so hard that several people turned to look at them, completely unaware that the simple sentence spoken by a twenty-one-year-old girl would become the first page of a love story he once believed would last forever. Looking back now, lying alone in a hotel room years later, he couldn't help wondering whether that had also been the first chapter of the tragedy that would eventually destroy them both.

From that moment on, they had clicked in a way he hadn't expected. There was something about Melissa that drew him in, something that made him want to know everything about her. They had spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and getting to know each other. By the end of the evening, he was completely smitten that he didn't hesitate to follow her to her apartment when she offered.

As he lay in bed now, Jackson couldn't help but smile at the memory. Those early days with Melissa had been some of the best times of his life. But along with the fond memories came the painful reminder of how things had changed, how she had betrayed him in ways he never thought possible. He sighed, turning onto his side. Despite everything, a part of him still cared for her and still wanted to protect her. It was a conflict he couldn't easily resolve, a battle between his heart and his mind. He knew he had to stay focused on his mission, to uncover the truth and keep his sister and Ethan safe. But he also knew that his feelings for Melissa were far from resolved.

His thoughts drifted to Melissa's words from earlier in the night: "I miss him." Those words had struck a chord deep within him. Despite the betrayal and the pain, the notion that she might still miss him tugged at his heart. He couldn't help but wonder about the choices she had faced, the impossible decisions that might have been thrust upon her. Had she been forced to choose between her powerful family and a man she was just dating, a man whose future with her was uncertain?

Over the past few days, Jackson had observed her closely, noting the duality in her behaviour. There were moments when she was the Melissa he had fallen for, the one with the infectious laughter and the bright smile that could light up a room. In those moments, he saw glimpses of the girl who had captivated him, the girl who had made him believe in love. But then there were other moments, darker ones, when she seemed like a completely different person: cold, calculating, and at times, ruthless. The shift was disconcerting, making him question everything he thought he knew about her.

Jackson recalled their interactions, trying to piece together the puzzle of her behaviour. Could it be that she was torn between her loyalty to her family and her feelings for him? Was the change in her demeanour a reflection of that inner conflict? He remembered the warmth in her eyes when she was genuinely happy and the steely glint when she was in protective mode. It was as if she wore different masks, each suited to the situation she found herself in.

He wondered if Melissa had been forced to put on a facade, to become someone she wasn't in order to survive in her family's world. He knew the Roy family was powerful, with a reputation that preceded them. Perhaps, in their world, there was no room for vulnerability, no space for the kind of love they had shared.

The thought that she might have been protecting him, or even herself, by pushing him away gnawed at him. He hated the idea that she might have been suffering as much as he had. Yet, he couldn't ignore the fact that she had hurt him deeply, that her actions had left scars that still hadn't healed.

Jackson sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the ceiling. He was torn between his lingering feelings for Melissa and the need to guard his heart against further pain. Despite everything, he couldn't completely shut off the part of him that cared for her. But he also knew he couldn't let his emotions cloud his judgment. There were too many variables at play and too many risks.

As he mulled over his next steps, he resolved to keep his focus. He needed to protect his sister and Ethan, to uncover the truth about the Roy family and their machinations. But he also knew that he couldn't completely ignore his feelings for Melissa. Perhaps, in time, he would find the answers he sought. For now, he would tread carefully, keeping his eyes open and his heart guarded.

Even though the events of the day had exhausted him, Jackson couldn't find peace without knowing if Ethan and Sue were safe. His concern for their well-being gnawed at him, overshadowing his own need for rest. Driven by a sense of responsibility and the love he held for his sister and brother, he decided to drive to their apartment, even though it was late.

As he navigated the quiet streets, Jackson's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. When he arrived at the apartment complex, Jackson parked his car and quietly made his way to their door. He didn't want to alarm them with a sudden, late-night visit. As he approached, he noticed that the lights were still on, which brought him a measure of relief.

Jackson arrived at the apartment, parking quietly to avoid waking anyone. He knocked gently, expecting Sue to answer the door. Instead, it was Sarah, Sue's neighbour and close friend, who greeted him with a worried expression.

"Jackson, what are you doing here?" she asked, clearly relieved to see him.

"I came to check on Sue and Ethan," he replied, stepping inside. "Is everything alright?"

Sarah shook her head, her concern evident. "Sue was supposed to be back by eight, but she's been gone for over six hours now. I've been waiting with Ethan, but I'm starting to get really worried."

Jackson's heart sank. This wasn't like Sue at all. "Where did she go?"

"She said she had some errands to run, but she didn't give me any details," Sarah explained. "I've tried calling her, but her phone goes straight to voicemail."

Jackson's mind raced. This was bad, very bad. He had no idea where Sue could be, and the thought of her in danger made his blood run cold. He quickly composed himself, knowing he needed to stay strong for Ethan.

"Thank you for staying with Ethan, Sarah," he said, his voice steady. "I'll take over from here. You should go back to your apartment and get some rest."

Sarah hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying longer."

Jackson offered a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. Ethan will be worried if he wakes up and realises that Sue is not around. I'll handle things from here."

She nodded, finally relenting. "Alright. If you hear anything, please let me know."

"I will. Thank you," he replied, watching as she left.