Love against vengeance

Chapter 5

‎The air in the Bentley was suffocating as Jax drove them toward the Highlands, the neighborhood where the houses looked more like museums than homes. He didn't park in the driveway; he stopped a block away, in the deep shadow of a sprawling oak.

‎"Look at that house," he said, nodding toward a stretched out colonial with every light blazing. "Third window from the left on the second floor. That’s my father’s office. He’s in there right now, probably reviewing game tapes. Not to see how I did, but to see where I failed."

‎Caroline followed his gaze. The house was perfect—manicured lawn, expensive stonework—but it felt cold, like a Gilded Cage designed to showcase success rather than house a family.

‎"He was All-State in '94," Jax continued, his voice devoid of its usual bravado. "He has the trophy on his desk. Every time I walk in there, it's like a silent clock ticking down. If I don't get one too, I'm just an expensive disappointment. My mother? She’s usually in the sunroom, 'resting.' That’s the code for her third glass of Chardonnay before dinner."

‎He turned to her, and for the first time, Caroline saw the profound, crushing loneliness of a boy who had everything but the one thing he actually needed: unconditional love.

‎"I was eight when I realized I was just a status symbol to them," he whispered, his hand tightening on the steering wheel until his knuckles went white. "They don't see me. They see a legacy. So I decided if I was going to be a tool, I’d be the sharpest, meanest one they ever held."

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‎Caroline looked at the house, then back at the boy beside her. The "monster" was starting to look like a tragic person who was just coping the only way he knew how. She felt the weight of her notebook again, but this time, her resolve flickered.

‎"Is that why you went after Carl?" she asked softly. "Because he was something you couldn't be? Someone who was actually loved for who he was, not what he could win?"

‎Jax’s face hardened, the mask sliding back into place. "Carl was weak. In this house, in this town, weakness is a target. I was just teaching him the rules of the game."