Chapter 127
Jace had been pacing for nearly twenty minutes, moving from the living room window to the hallway and back again. Every few steps he stopped, ran a hand through his hair, muttered something to himself, then kept walking. The house felt too full of the ghosts he had been avoiding.
Today was the day Noah came home.
Noah was his younger brother, his miracle, his heart.
Noah, who had spent most of his childhood attached to machines and hospital beds.
Noah, who had fought harder than anyone Jace knew just to live.
Noah, who was finally healthy enough to travel, to build something, to breathe.
And Jace had lied to him by omission for months because the thought of weighing Noah down again tore at him like a fresh wound. Noah had finally begun living. He had been traveling, building a foundation that supported children like he once was, kids fighting for kidney donors, kids who did not have the privileges he eventually received. Noah had been seeing the world, helping it. Jace did not want to pull him back into the darkness he had escaped.
But the darkness had grown too big to hide.
Ben, had already left for the airport. Jace had insisted on sending him alone.He should have gone with him.
He would have gone before but this was not before.
This was after the kidnapping… after the separation… after the threats… after his world had split itself into pieces he had not yet figured out how to reassemble.
And he could not face Noah’s eyes in the airport.
Not until he had time to think.
He glanced at the clock.
Noah’s flight should have landed by now.
His stomach twisted painfully.
“What if he asks immediately? What if he… what if he sees it on my face?” Jace whispered to himself.
Mo, from the kitchen, called gently, “You are going to wear a hole in the floor, you know Mr. Crane.”
Jace tried to smile, but it was weak. “I know, I just can not stop.”
“Are you nervous?”
He let out a humorless breath. “Terrified is more accurate.”
“He is your brother. He loves you. I am sure he will understand.”
“That’s why it’s worse.”
Mo’s eyes softened, but she did not push him further.
And then, the sound of a car driving up the path.
Jace froze.
His breath caught.
“I think he is here,” Mo said softly, stepping back to give him space.
Jace nodded, but he did not move until he heard the front door open.
Ben and Noah.
He heard Noah’s voice first. It was deeper and srronger now. More confident than the voice Jace remembered.
They stepped into the entryway, and when Jace walked out to greet them, he nearly stopped breathing.
Noah was taller and much more broader. His frame was no longer the fragile one Jace had always guarded like crystal. He was muscular now, his skin glowing from travel and sunlight. His once-soft features were sharper abd more adult. He looked… healthy. Powerful, even.
Jace’s throat tightened.
“Noah?” he whispered.
Noah’s eyes widened, and then he grinned brightly. “Jace!”
And then Noah crossed the distance in two long strides and wrapped his arms around his brother.
Jace closed his eyes, gripping him tightly. God, he had missed him. He had not realized how much until this very moment.
Seconds later, Mila came running down the stairs, her voice high and excited. “Uncle Noah!”
Noah broke the hug, kneeling so Mila could jump into his arms. He lifted her easily, something he could not have done years ago and spun her around. She giggled, clinging to him.
He stared at her lovingly. “Look at you. You are so big now!”
She beamed. “I missed you!”
“I missed you more,” Noah said, tickling her gently until she squealed.
And then he asked the question Jace had been dreading.
“Where is Mason? He should be here too, right?”
The air changed instantly.
Jace felt the chill climb up his spine, cold and unforgiving.
Mila’s smile slowly vanished. She looked at her father nervously, then at her uncle. “Mason… Mason is not here.”
Noah frowned, confused. “What do you mean? Where is he?”
Jace’s heart hammered.
Before he could speak, Mila swallowed and whispered, “A bad guys took him.”
Noah’s entire face changed.
He went still.
Slowly, he turned to look at Jace, his eyes wide, shocked, hurt and betrayed. “What?”
Jace tried to speak. His throat refused.
Noah stood, still holding Mila. “Jace… what is she talking about?”
“Uncle Noah…” Mila whispered, touching his cheek. “Daddy and Dad are sad.”
“Dad?” Noah repeated. “As in… Elias? What does he—?”
Mila cut in, voice small but honest. “Dad and Daddy separated.”
Noah’s expression shattered.
“What?” he whispered. “Jace… what is going on?”
Jace gently touched Mila’s back. “Sweetheart… go upstairs to your room for a bit, okay?”
She shook her head, distressed. “But—”
“Please,” Jace said softly, forcing a small smile. “Just for now.”
Mila hesitated, then nodded and ran upstairs.
Silence swallowed the living room.
Noah slowly faced him. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this? Mason is kidnapped? You and Elias separated? How...how could you not tell me, Jace?!”
His voice cracked at the end. The mixture of worry, hurt, and disbelief cut through Jace like a blade.
“Let’s… let’s sit,” Jace said gently. “Please.”
Noah did not move at first, anger simmered behind his eyes. Finally, Noah stepped into the living room and sank onto the couch. Jace called out quietly, “Mo, please help with Noah’s luggage.”
Mo nodded and disappeared into the hall.
Jace sat across from Noah, his palms sweating. “I… I wanted you to enjoy your trip. You have never lived freely before, Noah. Not really. Not without hospitals or surgeries or limits. I did not want to take that away.”
Noah’s jaw clenched. “So you kept your son’s kidnapping from me?”
Jace lowered his eyes. “I did not want to burden you.”
“You are my brother,” Noah said sharply. “You do not burden me.”
Jace swallowed. “I know. I just… I wanted you to experience the life you fought so hard for without being dragged back into our chaos.”
“And Elias?” Noah asked quietly. “The separation?”
Jace’s heart tightened. “It is complicated.”
“It always is with you two,” Noah murmured, but there was no mockery. Just pain.
Jace exhaled shakily. “Everything happened so fast. The threats from Justin.... Mason being taken..... Elias and I—” He stopped. “We were not okay. We had not been for a long time. And then the video happened.”
Noah frowned. “Video?”
Jace froze.
He had not meant to say that last part.
He had not meant to reveal that too.
He opened his mouth, desperate to backtrack, but before he could—
Footsteps entered the room.
Morgan.
Jace stiffened.
Noah looked up at the unfamiliar man walking toward them. Morgan paused, instantly picking up on the shift in atmosphere. His eyes flicked to Jace gently, checking on him, then back to Noah.
“Sorry,” Morgan said softly. “I did not mean to interrupt. I was just coming to see if you needed anything.”
Jace could not look at him. Noah looked between them slowly. His eyes narrowed faintly.
He sensed it, the tension.
The closeness.
The unspoken thing Jace had been trying so hard to keep buried.
Because Morgan’s gaze lingered on Jace just a second too long.
Because Jace’s breath hitched just a little too noticeably.
Because the silence that fell was not neutral.
Noah was not stupid.
And as Morgan stepped further into the room, Noah’s expression shifted into something Jace had dreaded:
Recognition.....realization.
Judgment? No.... Not yet. Something more complicated. Something more wounded.
Jace felt heat crawl up his neck. Jace felt Noah’s gaze burn into him. And when he finally looked at his brother, Noah whispered
“Jace… who was that?”