Chapter 126
Aiden liked mornings in this house.
They were quiet, still, the kind of quiet that let him blend in without anyone paying too much attention. He liked that. He needed it. He wanted it. The anonymity felt safe.
Safer than anything else in his life.
The kitchen was empty when he entered, bright sunlight spilling through the tall windows, catching the dust motes floating lazily in the air. The marble counters gleamed, spotless, a reflection of the Crane household’s obsessive need for order.
He moved automatically, hands reaching for the tray of fruits at the corner of the counter. Oranges, pineapples, strawberries, and apples. He arranged them with care, slicing one after the other, pretending the task soothed him.
Pretending he was just Aiden.
Pretending he was not counting the days.
Pretending he did not feel a deadline tightening around his throat.
The juicer hummed softly as he fed slices of pineapple into it.
It should have been calming.
But nothing about today was.
He kept glancing at the hallway. Listening, making sure Mila was not awake yet. Making sure Jace was still upstairs. Making sure no one walked in before he could finish what he needed to do.
The juicer stopped briefly, and in the silence that followed, his phone buzzed.
Just once.
One short vibration.
But Aiden froze.
Completely.
His stomach knotted.
He wiped his hands on a towel, breath already tightening, and walked slowly towards the back of the kitchen. Past the pantry. Past the cold storage door. To the narrow service hallway that staff rarely used.
And then, into the small, almost invisible alcove behind the cleaning supplies cabinet.
He shut the door behind him.
He looked at the screen.
The caller ID read: MOM.
His blood turned cold.
Aiden inhaled once, carefully, and answered.
He did not say hello.
There was no point pretending.
Justin’s voice slid through the speaker a second later. It was smooth, precise, and laced with impatience.
“Aiden.”
Aiden swallowed. “I am here.”
Silence hovered for a breath.
Then...
“Updates,” Justin said. “Now.”
Aiden closed his eyes briefly. “I am still working on it.”
“You said that the last time.”
“I know.”
“And the time before that.”
“I know,” Aiden repeated, softer.
He braced a hand against the wall. The coolness of the paneled wood seeped into his palm.
He hated this.
Hated the feeling of being cornered like prey.
Hated that he could not do anything except obey.
Justin exhaled loudly through the phone, the sound sharp and unforgiving. “I expected,” he said, slowly, “that by now you would call me with news that Jace Crane was dead.”
Aiden’s gut twisted painfully.
Justin continued, voice cutting through the cramped space like a blade. “Handled.....Removed..... Eliminated.....Pick whichever word you want.”
“I am getting closer,” Aiden said quickly. “Jace trusts me more now. He talks to me. He confides in me. He even—”
Justin cut him off. “I do not care about your budding friendship.”
Aiden flinched.
“I do not care that he is talking to you,” Justin continued flatly. “I do not care that you are developing a relationship with him. I do not care how much he trusts you. I care about results.”
Aiden’s heart pounded, a heavy, ugly thud echoing in his ears.
“I need more time,” he said quietly.
Justin scoffed. “More time? That is all you ever say. Every single call. ‘I am working on it.’ ‘I am getting closer.’ ‘I just need time.’ I am tired, Aiden. I am very, very tired.”
Aiden swallowed hard. “Justin, please—”
“No.” The word cracked like ice. “This is the last time I am going to call you and hear anything other than confirmation.”
Aiden’s breath stilled.
The small alcove suddenly felt too tight, like the walls were pushing into him.
Justin’s next words made his skin crawl.
“The next time I call,” Justin said, voice dropping into a chilling softness, “I should be hearing that the job is done.”
Aiden opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because Justin was not finished.
“You have three days,” Justin said.
Aiden’s stomach dropped.
“If Jace is not dead by then,” Justin continued calmly, “I will kill both of you myself.”
Aiden choked on his breath. “Justin....wait—”
“No,” Justin replied. “You don’t get to tell me to wait anymore.”
Aiden’s chest constricted. “Just three days? I can’t—”
“You can,” Justin said. “And you will.”
“Justin—”
The line clicked.
Justin hung up.
Just like that.
Aiden stared at the phone, frozen, the steady hum of silence pressing hard against his ears.
Three days.
Three days to kill Jace.
Three days or Justin would end both their lives.
Aiden shut his eyes tightly, breathing through the sudden tremor crawling up his spine.
~
Mo and Jace started spending more time together naturally. It was not forced. It was not awkward. It was not anything like the strained silences he had been suffocating under for weeks.
They found a rhythm.
Every morning, she made tea for herself and coffee for him, and every morning, they ended up talking, about different things, about Mila, about random things they saw online, about her favourite TV dramas that she swore were underrated. Sometimes, Jace even laughed, and the sound startled him every time.
He did not think he had laughter left in him.
But Mo somehow brought it out.
And when he spoke, he did not have to filter anything.
He could say, “I am tired,” and she did not try to fix him.
He could say, “I am scared,” and she did not tell him to be strong.
He could confess things he had not even said out loud to himself yet.
And she understood.
She did not minimize his pain.
She did not tell him things would magically get better.
She just listened.
He did not realize how badly he had needed that, someone who was not trying to pull something out of him or push him into something else.
Someone who simply stayed.
He had forgotten what it felt like to not feel alone.
~
Morgan, however, was a different story entirely.
If Mo was the calm, steady tide keeping him afloat, Morgan was the wave threatening to drag him under.
Not aggressively. Not maliciously.
Just… intensely.
He kept appearing with soft gestures that tugged at something dangerous inside Jace...warm meals left waiting for him, his favourite blanket folded neatly on the couch, gentle touches on his lower back guiding him through doors, eyes lingering too long whenever Jace was not looking.
And the gifts.
God, the gifts. He had told Morgan to stop those but then came the flowers.
White lilies.....Then roses...Then, a bouquet of tiny wildflowers that looked hand-picked.
Morgan would always smile when he handed them over, shy but earnest, like he was not sure if he was allowed to want the reaction he so clearly hoped for.
And Jace kept allowing it.
He kept telling himself it was not serious. It was not anything real. It was just a distraction, a temporary comfort, something he was floating along with because everything else in his life felt like it was drowning him.
But he never said no.
And maybe that was the problem.
~
With time, Jace let himself drift along with Morgan—not committing, not rejecting, just… existing in the in-between. The secret between them stayed hidden from Mila. Jace made sure of it. Whenever Morgan got too close while Mila was around, he stepped back. Whenever Morgan’s gaze lingered too long, he redirected it.
He was still not eady to expose Mila to anything complicated. Not now. Not when she was finally laughing again, thanks to Morgan’s goofy jokes and gentle attempts to bring her back to her bubbly self.
And she was improving.
Jace noticed it in the small things like her humming while drawing, the way she followed Morgan around pretending to be his “assistant,” the way she tugged on Jace’s sleeve to show him something funny.
Seeing her slowly heal softened something in him.
Even if the source of that healing was the same man he was not sure he should let into his heart.
It was confusing.
Messy.
Complicated.
But for the first time in a long time, Jace did not feel entirely alone.
~
His phone rang one evening while he was folding laundry in the living room. The ringtone made his heart stutter.
Noah.
He froze for a moment before answering.
“Hello?”
“Jace?” Noah’s voice was bright, warm, full of the familiarity Jace had missed. “Man, I miss you. How are you doing? How is Mila amd Mason? How is everyone?”
Jace swallowed, forcing his voice steady. “We are… okay....Managing.”
“I have been thinking,” Noah continued, “I want to come home for a while. I miss the family. I want to see the kids. And you. I think it is about time.”
The words hit Jace like a blow to the chest.
He gripped the edge of the sofa so tightly his knuckles whitened. “Noah… you want to visit?”
“Yeah.... Why? Is something wrong?”
Jace’s heart started racing.
Noah did not know.
He did not know that Mason had been kidnapped and Mila has been battling with depression.
He did not know that Elias had left.
He did not know about the separation.
He did not know about the constant threats from Justin.
He did not know about the video.
He did not know about any of it.
He did not know that the family he wanted to come home to… was not the same anymore.
“Noah,” Jace whispered, voice cracking despite his best effort, “I… I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Jace opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
His throat closed. His chest tightened. The words...the truth, they stayed stuck behind the wall he had been holding up for months.
“Jace?” Noah asked again, sensing something off. “Is everything okay?”
“I… I just…” Jace forced a smile even though Noah couldn’t see it. “I can not wait to see you. Come home....Please.”
“Of course,” Noah said. “I will book my flight.”
When the call ended, Jace sank onto the couch.
His hands trembled.
He could not tell him... how was noah going to react when he finds out the family he left happy is now almost....nonexistent?