Fractures
1058 Words
POV: Jaxon Wolfe
At the Wolfe Estate immediately after the fall.
Her scream kept echoing in his mind. Jaxon stood transfixed on the balcony, he was unable to look away from her body lying on the stone floor. Sienna Hayes was completely still. His breath caught, stuck between shock and denial. He couldn’t feel the cold night air, the broken glass crunching under his shoes, or the distant noise of guests reacting. Only numbness took hold of him.
“She killed Micah. She was trying to get away,” the thought repeated in his mind like a haunting chant. Whispered. Poisoned. Familiar, yet unnameable. He had always trusted his instincts. Now they lay silent, drowned out by the voices. By the blood. By her fall.
He knew he should move, jump down, or do something. But he couldn’t look away. Not from her. Not from the girl dressed in gold.
Without thinking twice, he fled down the flight of stairs. Crouching by her body, all he could think of was holding her in his arms…to feel her warm body…to have her look at him again as she did earlier that night. But the blood swirling around her told another story.
“Don’t touch her,” a voice barked behind him. Jaxon turned to see Lucian walking forward, flanked by two security officers from Wolfe. His expression was cold, calculating, as if he was always thinking five steps ahead.
“What happened?” Lucian asked quickly.
“She…” Jaxon’s voice cracked. “She fell.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“She was covered in blood. She didn’t say a word. Just ran.” Jaxon’s throat tightened. “I think… someone said…”
“Said what?” Lucian asked.
Jaxon hesitated. “Someone said she killed Micah.”
Lucian froze, then sharply ordered, “Seal off that wing. Search every room.”
The guards sprinted away without hesitation. Jaxon dropped to his knees beside Sienna. She looked so small and fragile now.
He could not believe what was happening. It all felt very unreal. He had no link to her, but he felt like he had lost something important.
Lucian crouched beside him, speaking quietly. “We don’t know much yet. If she’s involved in something so dangerous, we can’t let the Council find out she was here without protection. This needs to stay hidden.”
Jaxon said softly, “I don’t want to lie.”
Lucian studied him for a long moment. “It’s not about lies. It’s about what we leave behind. The Wolfe legacy is at stake here. We don't need people thinking we had something to do with this.”
Jaxon stayed silent. His reputation was already at stake the moment she entered the room, now he knew somehow the process of it being shattered had began.
The ballroom was a scene of chaos. The music had already stopped abruptly. Teachers and students yelled, some cried. Samantha Cross was being led away by Vivienne, mascara running down her cheeks. Parents were arriving, called by staff during the emergency.
Jaxon didn’t linger. He felt unnecessary there. Instead, he found the corridor where he first saw her. Then the empty guest lounge. He replayed every move, every word, every choice.
Finally, he went to the east wing. Lucian’s men were already there. The carpet was rolled back. Blood stained the floor leading to a door left slightly open.
Jaxon inhaled sharply, stepping back, half stumbling, right in front of him, on the floor lay Micah’s body, his chest soaked in blood. His eyes were fixed, wide and glassy.
Then he moved to another room, the smaller ballroom behind the gallery wing.
He didn’t know why he pushed the door open. When he did…
He saw Alexander Hayes.
His throat was gone, torn apart, not cut. The floor beneath him was soaked with blood. His blood had soaked the carpet and the wooden floor.
Jaxon’ head spun as he stumbled back, heart pounding. Two boys, dead.
Micah. Alexander.
And the girl in gold, running through the hall, stained red.
His mind refused to accept what happened...what his eyes saw. He knew Sienna wasn’t capable of doing this.
The voice had sounded so confident.
“She killed Micah,” it said.
Hours went by, in short broken moments.
The police were called, but by the time they arrived, Felix Moretti was already in charge.
Jaxon didn’t see when Felix got there.
Suddenly, Felix was leading the scene.
He spoke calmly and clearly to the officers.
He answered questions before they could be fully asked.
He handed over sealed papers and official forms.
He waved documents stamped with authority.
He smiled like he knew what to say and how to say it...how to shape everything.
Jaxon hated how convincing Felix was.
“How do you know what to say?” Jaxon asked.
Felix adjusted his cuffs, eyes shining with confidence.
“It’s my job to fix problems. Your family leaves a lot of them behind.”
Jaxon stiffened. “That girl, Sienna. She’s not...”
“Not what?” Felix interrupted sharply. “A killer? A danger?”
“She was scared,” Jaxon said quickly.
Felix moved closer, voice smooth but firm.
“No matter what happened tonight, remember this: she’s the enemy, all of them, the Hayes.
You looked into her eyes and saw something human. That’s your weakness.”
Jaxon clenched his fists. “Why?”
“You need to start acting like the Wolfe you are.” Felix said sharply.
That shut him up.
Felix turned and walked away without another word.
Near dawn, Jaxon sat outside on the back terrace, where Sienna had fallen.
Her blood had been cleaned away. The stones gleamed under the rising sun.
But he could still see it, he remembered every detail.
He was not sure what to believe.
He remembered her eyes at the prom; soft, surprised, something ancient stirred in them.
He remembered her dress, the blood, the fear.
And he remembered the voice.
“She killed Micah. She was trying to escape.”
More than anything, he remembered how his world shifted when he saw her.
And he knew, with complete certainty:
He wasn’t finished with the girl in gold.
No matter what she had done.
No matter what others said.
He had to meet her again.
- Writer
