PHOENIX

3. I WILL MAKE THEM PAY

After dinner with his sister and new little brother, Jackson wanted to go back to his hotel but he also wanted to know how his sister has been doing these past years after they got separated.

He wanted to know what happened to her and why she even decided to stay at home and never go to Singapore.

It has always been her dream to go there for her studies and he knew something must've happened which led her to stay at home because from what he knew about his sister, she would give anything just to see her dreams fulfilled.

He looked at her, she was busy playing with Ethan and the little boy seemed to enjoy it. He remembered that the boy was complaining about her coming home late sometimes and he knew something was up.

When the boy got tired, Sue took him to bed and came back to join Jackson.

"You know, you may have changed your face but there are a lot more things about you that haven't changed. For someone who knows you, it will be easy to spot you. Remind me why you had to do plastic surgery again." She smiled at him.

"It doesn't matter why I did it. What matters right now is you, why are you not in Singapore?"

"Plans change Jackson, even mine." She just shrugged.

"Not plans, dreams. I know my little sister's dreams will never change, not even this one. So tell me the truth, why are you not in Singapore?"

"It's a long story and I don't want to bore you with such stories." Again she just shrugged like it was nothing. It wasn't and Jackson would be damned if he let it slide. He wanted to know and right at that moment, not some other time.

"You won't be boring me with anything, I asked you because I want to know. Why did you choose to stay here and not go to Singapore? Don't tell me it's because of Ethan, you can raise your little brother anywhere in this world.

"You've always dreamt of studying there and I know there's little to no reason why you would choose to change what you've always wanted. Tell me, what happened that made you stay back?"

She moved around the living room and Jackson saw that she was hesitating to tell him what was happening.

"You know you can tell me anything, you don't have to hesitate." She stopped pacing and looked at him.

"Lots of things happened when you left for college. My adoptive parents started hiding things from me and I found out they were hiding me from my biological parents who were looking for me. I decided to find them and find out why they were looking for me.

"I was angry at them because they were alive but they gave me up. When I found them though, I got to know the whole truth.

"My adoptive parents stole me from them and my parents kept looking for me ever since. They took me back after that, my mother was pregnant with Ethan at that time.

"I was happy that I found them but that happiness was short-lived. My mother gave birth to Ethan two months after we met but died a few days later with my dad and I was left alone with Ethan.

"They died in a fire that was set in the building where my dad was working. My mother went there to give him lunch but she had no idea the building was going to caught fire.

"I've been doing my research ever since because I knew even from then that the building didn't just catch fire, someone started that fire and they wanted to kill people inside that building.

"I found some information about people who came to that building that day and you were one of them. I vowed that I will make them pay for what they did to you and my parents.

"The Roy family has been ruling this town for a very long time, it is time for someone to put an end to it and I will gladly do it.

"I will kill them one by one but before that, I will take everything from them so that they will regret what they've been doing all these years.

"I'm not the only one who lost my parents in that fire, they are so many people who lost their parents too, their loved ones but none of them are doing anything.

"I'm going to avenge them all and if that means I have to forget about Singapore for a while then so be it. I don't see a reason why I should go to college when I can use my time to ruin the Roy family and everything they love."

Jackson looked at her dumbfounded, he wasn't expecting this. He knows how dangerous it is for Sue to go against Roy and his family.

He spent years training to take them down and he knows the danger that comes with facing a powerful family like the Roys.

"Do you know what you're saying? Roy is a very powerful man and everyone knows that. Why would you want to provoke someone like that? You're not just putting your life in danger but Ethan's. I will not allow you to do that."

"I didn't ask for your permission Jackson. I told you because you asked, not because I want you to tell me what to do and what not to do.

"You were in that fire, you should be more understanding. In fact, you should be planning your revenge but don't worry, your sister is going to avenge you." Oh, he was going to get his revenge. He was going to make every one of them pay. He just wasn't going to tell her that.

"Do I need to tell you again that it is dangerous? Sue, I know what I'm talking about and as your brother, I'm telling you to let it be. Has it ever occurred to you that they set that fire in order to destroy someone who got to know their secrets?"

"I don't care, no matter what, I must make them pay and there is nothing you can say to make me change my mind."

"I know why they set that building on fire because I was there. They wanted to kill me and they had no reason to spare others because it would also create more witnesses. It had nothing to do with your parents or everyone that was there.

"They wanted me, they wanted me dead and for years they've made peace with what happened in that building because they are convinced that I died. If you keep on digging, not only will they kill you and Ethan, they will know I survived too. Think about what you're doing and how it is going to affect all of us."

Sue looked at him like he has grown another head.

"They wanted to kill you? Why?"

"I found out about their secrets and in order to protect their businesses, they had to kill me. What made it even worse was that Melissa, my then-girlfriend, was the one who started the fire. She didn't even think twice before telling her men to burn me with everyone in that building.

"It was the first time I saw her like that, it was like I've never met her and she was a stranger. Like I was a stranger to her. I saw how they are, they are very dangerous people."

Jackson hated talking about that day because it always meant he had to talk about Melissa. After her betrayal, Jackson swore never to talk about her.

It has been years and he knows he should've forgotten about her by now but no matter how many times he tries to keep her out of his head, she is always there as if she is purposely tormenting him and making him ask himself every day why he even fell in love with her in the first place.

He has worked very hard to be where he is today and if he keeps thinking about how good Melissa was to him before that fire, he may end up changing his mind about getting revenge which is something he doesn't want to.

At first, it was just for him only but now it is for his sister and her parents. They had nothing to do with what happened between him and the Roy family but they suffered for that.

He has to find a way to convince Sue to let him handle this alone because he knows the danger that comes with revenge.

In pursuit of destroying your enemy, you end up destroying yourself too and he doesn't want that for Sue, she still has a bright future ahead of her.

He knew those words too well because even though his mentor is the reason why he can fight the way he does, he still reminded him every day that revenge doesn't erase the past.

"I understand that you want to avenge your parents but the way you're going about it is definitely wrong. Please listen to me and stop everything you're doing."

"I'm not going to stop Jackson, make peace with that. You know I invited you here because I missed my brother and I wanted to talk to you but now I think you have overstayed your welcome. Shut the door on your way out."

She didn't wait for him to say anything else, she went straight to her bedroom leaving him standing where he was. Jackson shook his head.

His sister has always been stubborn but he never expected her to be this stubborn.

I don't know any other way to protect you than to ask you to stay away and forget you ever planned on destroying those people. I can't even tell you that I'm going to make sure they pay for everything they did because I don't want to put you and Ethan in any danger than you already are.

He left their house and went back to the hotel to try and have some sleep, in the morning he is going to try and find a way to convince Sue to let him handle things.

He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happens to her and Ethan so it doesn't matter if Sue likes it or not, he will do anything to keep her from going after the Roys.

He has been training for this for years and he knows what he is doing. He knows that a little mistake could get him killed and that's why he doesn't want Sue going on a suicide mission. It wasn't exactly a suicide mission per se but he didn't want to take a risk, not with his sister's life. Never!

The funny thing about hate is that it often becomes the chains that tie us down. Those are the exact words he was told the first time he told his mentor that he was learning how to fight just to get revenge.

It was easy for the man to realise that he was filled with hatred. It was that same hatred that got him standing every time he fell.

He promised himself that he was never going to let anything slow him down and he is not going to start now. Even if he died in the end, he wanted to die after finishing his mission. There was no way he was dying without getting his revenge first.

Sue is a very stubborn girl but even he is very stubborn, he will convince her to let him handle everything one way or the other.

He always knew how to convince her when they were kids and now he had to believe that he still has that power over her because now he needs it more than he ever did before.

His revenge would mean nothing if the people he loved get caught in the crossfire. It is his responsibility to make sure that nothing happens to both of them.

When he started this, he didn't plan on involving anybody and surely not his little sister. He wanted to make sure that whatever he did, never affects them and he intends to keep that promise.

In your pursuit of revenge, always make sure that no innocent people are hurt in the process. You don't want to live with that guilt for the rest of your life.

You are still young for that and you have so much ahead of you. I know I'll never be able to change your mind about it but I can at least try to guide you.

You are a good man, with a good heart and I would really like it if you could stay that way.

His mentor's words kept ringing in his head before he fell into a deep sleep. He is the only person that helped him stay sane in the years of training.

No matter where he was, his mentor was always his mentor. He treated him like a son and Jackson wasn't a fool to not appreciate that.

He learned from that man that family isn't always blood.