Chapter 167 Epilogue: Jacob & Ian

Chapter 167 Epilogue: Jacob & Ian
Epilogue: Jacob & Ian

Jack’s POV

Ian came to see me the afternoon before I was scheduled to return North.

I had spent most of the morning packing, though if I was being truthful, there wasn’t much left to pack. My bags were already lined neatly beside the door, my flight information confirmed, and Corey had gone over tomorrow’s itinerary so many times I could practically recite it.

Still, I lingered. There was one thing I hadn’t done. One person I couldn’t leave without speaking to.

When Ian appeared at my door, I wondered for a moment if fate had finally grown tired of waiting for me. He looked different without the badge. Less guarded. Less like Detective Ian Regan and more like the older brother I remembered.

“Heading out tomorrow?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Early.”

Ian glanced toward my luggage before looking back at me.

“Then have lunch with me.”

The request caught me off guard.

“Lunch?”

“Yeah.” His expression softened. “I don’t know when you’ll be back in Novell, and after everything that’s happened…” He paused. “I thought it would be nice.”

My chest tightened.

“Yeah.” I stepped aside to grab my coat. “I’d like that.”

The restaurant Ian chose was quiet, tucked away from the busiest part of the city. He ordered something substantial. I ordered something I barely touched. My appetite disappeared the moment we sat across from each other.

For several minutes, Ian talked about Abigail, the department, the mess the Clayborne investigation had left behind.

I listened. Or tried to. But all I could see was him. Ian. My brother.

The same brother who had been only two years older than me. The same brother who had been my closest ally inside a family that rarely noticed either of us unless we were useful. The brother who had walked away from the Hills after my murder because our parents chose profit over justice. He had taken Abigail’s surname, joined the police force, and dedicated years of his life to uncovering what happened to me.

And I had once believed he abandoned me. That thought had haunted me ever since I learned the truth.

“Jack?” I blinked. Ian was staring at me. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”

“I have.”

“No, you haven’t.”

I lowered my eyes. Ian’s expression changed. Concern replaced amusement.

“What is it?”

My fingers tightened around my glass.

“I need to tell you something before I leave.”

His brow furrowed.

“Something bad?”

“No.” I paused. “At least, I don’t think it is.”

Ian said nothing. I tried to speak. Nothing came out. How was I supposed to tell a man that the little brother he buried was sitting across from him in another body?

Finally, I whispered,

“Ian… my name wasn’t always Jaquess Baline.”

His confusion deepened.

“What does that mean?”

I looked directly into his eyes.

“My name was Jacob.” Silence. Ian stared at me. I swallowed. “Jacob Hill.”

His face emptied. Then hardened.

“No.”

“Ian—”

“No.” His chair shifted backward. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m not—”

“My brother is dead.” His voice cracked despite his attempt to control it. “Jacob was murdered.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Ian—”

“You know the case. You know what Marcus did. That does not give you the right to sit here and tell me—”

“I’m telling you because it’s true.”

He stood abruptly.

“Enough.” Several people glanced toward us. Ian didn’t care. Neither did I. “I buried my brother.” Tears already shimmered in his eyes. “I spent years trying to prove what happened to him. Do you understand that?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t disrespect his memory like this.”

He turned and walked away. My heart lurched.

“Ian!” I followed him outside. He kept walking. “Ian, please!”

“Leave me alone, Jack.”

“When we were kids, you used to hide under my bed during thunderstorms.”

He stopped for half a second. Then continued.

“You said you were checking on me because you didn’t want anyone to know you were afraid.”

His shoulders tightened. I followed.

“When I was eight, you broke Dad’s watch.”

“Stop.”

“You dropped it in the bathroom and thought he was going to kill you, so I told him I did it.”

“Stop.”

“He grounded me for two weeks.” Ian walked faster. “You brought me food every night because you felt guilty.”

“Jack!”

“You used to call me Jakey.”

He stopped. Only briefly. Then shook his head.

“You could have learned that.”

“How?”

“I don’t know!” His voice shattered. “My brother could have told you! You said you were friends!”

“Ian...please...”

He turned away again. I followed him toward the park across the street.

“You hated carrots until you were fourteen.”

“That proves nothing.”

“You told Mom you were allergic to them.”

“So?”

“You weren’t.”

“I know that!”

“You were terrified Dad would find out you didn't want to be apart of the family business.” Ian slowed. “You told me first.”

His steps faltered.

“You made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone because you knew the family would laugh at you.”

He stopped completely. I stood several feet behind him. My eyes burned.

“There was a floorboard behind my bed.” Ian’s shoulders went rigid. “We used to hide things under it.” Slowly, his head lifted. “Money. Candy. Notes.”

My voice trembled.

“You told me that if either of us ever needed to run away, we’d leave a note there so the other one would know where to look.”

Ian didn’t move. I could see his breathing becoming uneven. Then I said the one thing I knew no investigator could ever have found.

“The night before I died, you came into my room.” His head bowed. “You knew something was wrong.” A tear slid down my cheek. “You sat beside me and asked why I’d been so quiet.”

Ian’s hand covered his mouth.

“I told you I was tired.” His shoulders shook. “You didn’t believe me.” I took one step closer. “You hugged me.”

Ian slowly turned. Tears streamed down his face.

“You told me that if I ever got into trouble, I didn’t have to be scared to call you.”

His lips trembled. I could barely speak now.

“And then you said…” I swallowed through the ache in my throat. “‘You’re my little brother. I’ll always come when you call.’”

Ian stared at me. Broken. Terrified. Hopeful.

“How…” His voice disappeared. He tried again. “How could you possibly know that?”

I cried then. There was no holding it back anymore.

“Because I’m Jacob.”

Ian’s face crumpled. We ended up in a secluded corner of the park beneath a row of old trees. For a long time, neither of us spoke. Ian sat beside me on the bench, staring at his hands.

I told him everything. I told him about dying. About waking somewhere beyond life. About being given another chance. About being reborn as Jaquess Baline. About retaining Jacob’s memories.

I told him how strange it had been growing inside another family while remembering another childhood. Another face. Another mother. Another brother.

When I finished, Ian was crying quietly.

“I don’t understand how any of this is possible.”

“Neither do I.”

He looked at me.

“But you remember everything?”

“Everything that mattered.”

His lips trembled.

“Me?”

My chest broke all over again.

“Especially you.”

Ian bowed his head.

“I thought I failed you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I was supposed to protect you.”

“You did.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“It was more than anyone else did.”

He covered his face.

“I spent years thinking about that night. Wondering why I didn’t force you to tell me.”

I reached for him.

“Ian.”

“I should’ve stayed.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I was your big brother.”

“And you loved me.”

He looked at me.

“That was enough.”

A sob tore from him. I pulled him into my arms. For several moments, neither of us cared that we were grown men sitting in a public park crying like children.

Then I whispered,

“I owe you an apology.”

Ian pulled back.

“For what?”

“When I came back… I thought you abandoned me.” Pain flashed across his face. “I heard you left the Hills and changed your name. I thought you walked away because you didn’t care.”

My voice broke.

“I thought you were like them.” Ian stared at me. “And then I learned the truth.” I wiped my face. “You left because of me. You became a cop because you wanted justice for me.”

I shook my head.

“I’m so sorry.”

Ian grabbed me again.

“You don’t apologize for being hurt.”

“I should’ve known you better.”

“You were dead, Jacob.” His voice trembled.

“You were alone.” I closed my eyes.

“I missed you, Jakey.” Ian held me tighter. “I missed you every day.”

We stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, I pulled back.

“I can’t give us back those years.”

Ian shook his head.

“I know.”

“But I can give you the rest of mine.”

His eyes filled again.

“I want us back, Ian.”

“We never stopped being brothers.”

“I mean it.”

I gripped his hand.

“I want to rebuild everything. I want phone calls. Visits. Holidays. I want to know Abigail as your wife instead of just the girl you used to panic over. I want you to know my family. I want all of it.”

Ian smiled through his tears.

“You really mean that?”

“With everything in me.”

He squeezed my hand.

“Then we rebuild.”

I nodded.

“Together.”

Ian stared at me for another moment before his face crumpled again.

“My little brother.”

The words destroyed me. I leaned into him.

“Yeah.”

He wrapped his arms around me once more.

“My little brother came back.”

And for the first time since I died, I stopped feeling like Jacob Hill was someone I had lost.

Because sitting there in my brother’s arms, I finally understood.

Jacob had come home.