Chapter 3 - Unfolding the Truth
Jax knelt down in front of the boy, making himself as small as possible so as not to intimidate him. Up close, the resemblance was undeniable—the same dark, hazel eyes and pale complexion. Jax felt a knot form in his chest as he carefully reached out and smoothed down the boy's messy brown hair.
"What's your name, kid?" Jax asked, his tone softening into something he hadn't used in decades.
"Leo," the boy answered, his voice barely audible. "Leo Miller."
"Leo..." Jax whispered the name, feeling the weight of it. "Where is your mother, Leo? Why did she send you here alone?"
Leo looked down at his scuffed sneakers, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. "She didn't send me," he choked out, his small shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. "She's... she's in the hospital. She got really sick last week. The doctor said she might not wake up."
Jax felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Sarah was dying, and this child had travelled all this way by himself. Leo slowly held out the small folded piece of paper he had been guarding so fiercely.
"Before she went to sleep, she told me to find the man in the picture," Leo said, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "She wrote this for you."
Jax took the paper with trembling fingers. The edges were worn and yellowed, smelling faintly of lavender—Sarah's favorite scent. He unfolded it carefully, reading the handwritten words scribbled frantically across the page:
May you like
Jax, if you are reading this, I am out of time. They found us. Protect our son.
Jax stared at the page, the realization dawning on him that Vance wasn't just tracking him—he had been tracking Sarah and Leo all along.
