PHOENIX

10| INNOCENT PEOPLE DIED

Countless times, Jackson had tried to make Sue understand exactly what they were up against. He had explained the dangers over and over again, sparing no detail and painting every possible outcome as vividly as he could in the hope that something would finally make her realise how reckless she was being. He had told her what Roy was capable of, reminded her of the people who had disappeared after crossing him and described the horrors he himself had witnessed, believing that if she truly understood the kind of monsters they were dealing with, she would finally abandon the idea of getting involved. But no matter how many times he explained it, she refused to listen. And on the rare occasions when she actually did listen, she simply chose to ignore everything he said. Sue's stubbornness was nothing short of ironclad.

It was as though the more he tried to protect her, the more determined she became to do the exact opposite. He had even gone as far as trying to blackmail her with Ethan, hoping that concern for their younger brother would finally make her back down. Instead, the plan had spectacularly backfired. Sue had turned his own argument against him, using Ethan to blackmail him in return and proving, much to Jackson's annoyance, that she could be every bit as manipulative and devious when she wanted to be.

If he was being honest with himself, she was beginning to get on his nerves in a way very few people ever had. That alone was saying something. Even before the fire changed all of their lives, Jackson had never been the type to lose his temper easily. People had always known him as the calm one, the man who could think through almost any problem without allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement. It was one of the few qualities that had remained unchanged even after everything he had endured. If anything, the fire had made him even more disciplined. He had learned to suppress his anger with an iron grip because he understood something most people didn't. Anger was a luxury he simply couldn't afford. The moment emotions took control, judgement disappeared. The moment judgement disappeared, mistakes followed. And in the world he had been forced into over the last five years, mistakes didn't merely cost money or opportunities. They cost lives.

"You're not going to talk me out of this, Jackson," Sue said, her voice firm and unwavering as she stared directly at him. "I can tell you right now that I won't listen to you, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it."

The words were the final push Jackson's already strained patience could endure. A wave of frustration surged through him so suddenly and so violently that before he could stop himself, a loud, frustrated scream escaped his lips. It was raw and uncontrolled, echoing through the apartment with enough force that he was certain it could be heard from Ethan's bedroom. The instant the sound left him, regret followed just as quickly. His eyes darted towards the hallway leading to Ethan's room, silently praying he hadn't woken the boy. The last thing he had wanted was for their argument to reach this point, but somehow Sue possessed an almost supernatural ability to find every single button he had and press them all without mercy.

As the silence settled over the apartment again, Jackson slowly lowered his head and released a long, exhausted breath. As much as it pained him to admit it, this was one of the moments when a small part of him regretted approaching Sue the day she had first recognised him after all those years apart. He had been overwhelmed with happiness when he found her again, convinced that reuniting with his sister was one of the few good things to come out of his return. Yet now, sitting here arguing with her for what felt like the hundredth time, he couldn't help wondering how different things might have been if he had simply kept walking that day. Sue hadn't actually known it was him when she first saw him. She had been suspicious, yes, but suspicion wasn't certainty. She would never have known the truth if he hadn't foolishly opened his mouth and confirmed every doubt she had. Looking back now, he couldn't help thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, he should have remained a stranger a little while longer.

"Listen to me, Sue, and listen carefully because I'm not going to say this again," Jackson said, his voice dropping into a controlled whisper that somehow carried more weight than all the shouting they had done over the past two hours. The anger that had consumed him only moments earlier had given way to desperation, and it showed in every word that left his mouth. "I will not be doing this s**t with you, no matter how convinced you are that we should work together. It's not happening. This thing is far more dangerous than you seem willing to accept, and I've told you that countless times already."

Sue's eyes flashed with the same stubborn defiance that had frustrated him all evening, but to his surprise, she didn't interrupt him. She simply stood there, her arms folded across her chest, watching him in complete silence as though she had decided, at least for the moment, to let him finish everything he wanted to say.

"You may think you know exactly what you're doing," Jackson continued, refusing to look away from her, "but you're dead wrong. The moment you involve yourself in this, your life will never be the same again. This isn't something you walk away from after learning a difficult lesson. This thing you're so determined to get involved in will f**k your life up, Sue, and there won't be any coming back from it. Some mistakes don't give you a second chance, and this is one of them. I don't want to be standing over your grave one day wishing I had done more to stop you, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to stop you before you make the biggest mistake of your life."

Silence settled over the room once again. It lingered between them for several long seconds, neither sibling saying a word. Sue simply stared at him, her expression so unreadable that Jackson couldn't tell whether she was genuinely considering his words or merely waiting for him to finish so she could argue again. When she finally spoke, however, her voice was unexpectedly calm.

"I heard you loud and clear," she said quietly. "I'll think about everything you just said. Now... can I please get some sleep?"

Jackson looked at her in complete disbelief. More than anything else, he wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she finally understood the reality of what she was trying to do. At times like this, he honestly wondered whether she believed she was living inside one of those action films where the heroine always survived against impossible odds, rose from the ashes and returned stronger than ever to destroy the villains. Unfortunately, real life didn't work that way. Heroes died. Innocent people died. Families were destroyed. Jackson knew that better than anyone.

"Sue," he said after taking a slow breath, his voice quieter now but no less serious, "I truly hope you listen to me because you don't want to face the consequences."

Without waiting for her response, he turned and walked towards the front door. The moment he reached it, Sue's voice rang out behind him, calling after him and demanding to know what consequences he was talking about. The questions followed him all the way to the doorway, but Jackson wasn't in the mood to explain any further. He had already said everything that needed to be said. Whether she listened or not was now entirely up to her. Ignoring her repeated questions, he stepped outside and pulled the door closed firmly behind him.

Jackson had more than enough weighing on his mind already, and his sister deciding to throw a tantrum wasn't something he had the time or energy to deal with. He knew Sue better than most people did. Stubbornness had always been one of her defining traits, and once she made up her mind about something, changing it was almost impossible. Still, despite everything that had happened that evening, he trusted her. He trusted that beneath all that stubbornness, she was smart enough not to do anything completely reckless. The only thing that troubled him was the possibility that he had placed that trust in the wrong place. If he was wrong, the consequences wouldn't simply be an argument between siblings. They could cost Sue her life.

After climbing into his car, Jackson started the engine and began the drive back to the hotel. The thought of returning to that room made his stomach feel strangely heavy. There was nothing technically wrong with the hotel. It was clean, comfortable and offered everything a guest could possibly need, yet it never felt like home. Every wall, every piece of furniture and every neatly made bed reminded him that he was only passing through, living in a place that belonged to someone else. More than ever, he found himself wanting to finalise the purchase of the apartment as quickly as possible. At least then he would have somewhere that was truly his. Somewhere he could stop pretending to be a guest in his own life. Staying with Sue wasn't an option either. It had nothing to do with the argument they had just had. If anything, being close to her would have made him feel better. The real problem was that he couldn't risk anyone discovering they were related. The fewer people who knew about the connection between them, the safer she and Ethan would be.

Sue might not have shared his blood, but that had never mattered to Jackson. Family wasn't defined by DNA. It was defined by the people who stayed beside you when everyone else walked away. Sue had become his family the very first day they met in that foster home. He could still remember arriving there frightened, confused and convinced that the world had forgotten him. Then she had smiled at him. It had been such a simple gesture, yet to a lonely little boy who had lost everything, it had meant more than words could ever describe. That single smile had become a beacon of light in a place filled with darkness, fear and hostility. Long before either of them realised it, she had become his safe place, the one person who made the foster home feel a little less unbearable.

The memories came one after another as he continued driving through the quiet streets. He remembered the days when the foster parents deliberately gave him less food than the other children, only for Sue to quietly sneak part of her own meal onto his plate when no one was looking. He remembered the countless nights they spent sitting together long after everyone else had gone to sleep, whispering stories to one another and imagining a future where neither of them had to be afraid anymore. They had dreamed about having a real family one day, about living in a place where no one shouted at them, hit them or made them feel unwanted. Through every hardship they endured, they had remained inseparable, finding comfort, strength and hope in one another when neither of them had anyone else to rely on.

By the time Jackson realised how deeply lost in thought he had become, the road ahead had started to blur, not because of tears but because his mind was somewhere in the past instead of the present. He forced himself to refocus on the drive, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he reminded himself that memories weren't going to solve the problems waiting for him. He needed a plan, one that would keep Sue and Ethan as far away from the Roy family as possible, whether they agreed with it or not. The thought of Sue involving herself with Roy and the people who surrounded him filled Jackson with a fear unlike anything else. He knew exactly what that family was capable of because he had lived through it himself. He had seen their cruelty with his own eyes, survived it by a miracle and carried its scars every single day since. The idea of Sue becoming trapped in that same web was something he simply couldn't allow, no matter what it cost him.

As Jackson pulled into the hotel parking lot, a long, weary sigh escaped him. Instead of getting out immediately, he switched off the engine and remained sitting behind the steering wheel, allowing the silence inside the car to settle around him. He rested his hands on the wheel and stared blankly through the windscreen, trying to gather his thoughts after everything that had happened that evening. His argument with Sue had affected him far more than he wanted to admit. He had expected resistance from her, but he hadn't expected her determination to be so absolute. The same stubbornness that had helped her survive everything life had thrown at her was now the very thing that frightened him. She was every bit as headstrong as he was, perhaps even more so, and while that made her incredibly strong, it also made her dangerously vulnerable. Once Sue convinced herself she was doing the right thing, there was very little anyone could say to change her mind.

Jackson closed his eyes for a brief moment, replaying their conversation in his head. He was angry with her for refusing to listen, angry that she kept underestimating the danger surrounding Roy and his family, and angry that she seemed so willing to gamble with her own life. Yet beneath all that frustration was something much stronger. His anger had never once lessened the love he felt for her. If anything, it only magnified it. Every time she dismissed his warnings, every time she insisted on putting herself in harm's way, his fear for her grew stronger, and that fear inevitably turned into frustration because he didn't know how else to protect her. No matter how exhausting their arguments became, no matter how many times she fought him over it, Jackson knew one thing with absolute certainty. He would do everything in his power to keep his sister out of trouble, regardless of how much she hated him for it.

Eventually, he climbed out of the car and made his way towards the hotel entrance. The corridors seemed unusually quiet that night, their pristine walls and polished floors giving the place the same lifeless feeling it always had. Every step echoed faintly through the empty hallway, making the building feel even more sterile and suffocating than usual. Jackson had never liked hotels. They were convenient, but they lacked warmth. There was nothing about the place that felt welcoming, nothing that made it feel like somewhere a person could truly belong. More than anything else, he wanted the apartment purchase to be finalised so he could leave this place behind for good.

The moment he reached his room, Jackson closed the door behind him and walked straight to the bed, allowing himself to fall backwards onto the mattress without bothering to change his clothes. He lay there staring up at the ceiling, his thoughts refusing to slow down despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on him. He needed a better plan. Simply telling Sue to stay away clearly wasn't enough anymore. He couldn't physically stop her from involving herself with the Roys, and trying to control every decision she made would only push her further away. Somehow, he had to find a way to protect her without destroying the relationship they had fought so hard to rebuild after all those years apart. It felt like an impossible balance to achieve, but he had no choice except to keep trying.

His body eventually surrendered to exhaustion long before his mind did. Still lying on top of the blankets, Jackson slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep, his thoughts following him into his dreams. Even there, he found no peace. His greatest fear, the possibility of losing the only family he had left, continued to haunt him, twisting itself into nightmare after nightmare. Every dream placed Sue in danger, surrounded by shadows that wore the faces of the Roy family, always just out of reach no matter how desperately he tried to save her. He woke and slept in cycles throughout the night, never truly resting, carrying the same terrifying certainty with him every time he closed his eyes. If protecting Sue meant sacrificing everything else he had worked for, Jackson already knew he would do it without hesitation.