13. Jade
— ? —
Jade
We don’t go home.
We go to Damian’s lawyer’s office and spend the next six hours making phone calls, filing emergency motions, trying to find any legal way to stop Vivian from disappearing with my daughter.
“The accounts were in her name,” the lawyer says, rubbing his eyes. It’s nearly midnight. “She had every right to move the money.”
“What about the flight?”
“Legally, Vivian’s only the stepmother - she never adopted Nova, so she has no custodial claim at all. The problem is timing. There’s no order on file yet that bars the child from traveling, and the moment that plane clears U.S. airspace, getting Nova back from Argentina could take years.”
“Donald won’t let her take Nova,” I say. “He’s her father. He loves her. Why would he-”
“Maybe he doesn’t even know.” Damian’s jaw is tight. “He’s spent years believing Vivian’s lies about you because it was easier than facing his own guilt. Maybe he’s looking the other way, maybe she’s running without him - either way, we can’t count on Donald to stop her. We do this ourselves.”
“So that’s it?” My voice rises. “She just gets to disappear? After everything she’s done, she just gets to take my daughter and vanish?”
“No.” Damian’s voice is hard. Certain. “She doesn’t.”
He pulls out his phone. Dials a number.
“Martinez. It’s Castillo. I need you to activate the full surveillance package on Vivian.
Every move, every call, every transaction.
And get someone to that private airfield.
The one she used to charter the Argentina flight.
” He pauses, listening. “Yes. Tonight. I want to know the moment she tries to move.”
He hangs up.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Kidnapping a child across international lines during active custody proceedings is a federal crime.” His eyes meet mine. “If she tries to run, we don’t just stop her. We end her.”
For a moment, I just stare at him - this man who walked into my life when I had nothing, who believed in me when no one else would.
“Why?” The word escapes before I can stop it. “Why are you doing all of this for me?”
Something shifts in his expression. The hardness softens, just slightly, and he reaches out to brush a strand of hair from my face. His fingers linger at my temple, warm against my skin.
“You already know why, Jade.”
My breath catches. There’s so much between us, so much we haven’t said, haven’t acknowledged, haven’t allowed ourselves to feel because the timing has never been right. First I was his brother’s wife. Then I was a prisoner. Then I was a mother fighting for her child.
But right now, in this cold office at midnight, with everything falling apart around us, the truth feels impossible to ignore.
“Damian...”
“I know.” His voice is rough. “I know this isn’t the time.
There’s never been a right time for us. But when this is over - when Nova is safe and Vivian is finished - I need you to know that I’m not going anywhere.
” He takes my hand, his thumb tracing gentle circles across my knuckles.
“Whatever you need, however long it takes, I’ll be here. ”
Tears blur my vision. I’ve spent so long being strong, being tough, surviving on my own. The tenderness in his touch, the promise in his words - it threatens to undo me completely.
“I don’t deserve you,” I whisper.
“You deserve everything.” He lifts my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to my fingers. “And I’m going to make sure you get it.”
***
Damian
Jade dozes fitfully on the couch in my office while I work the phones, coordinate with Martinez, and monitor the situation through the long hours of the night. But even as I’m strategizing, making plans, preparing for every possible scenario, my attention keeps drifting back to her.
She looks so small curled up on the leather cushions, her face soft in sleep, the worry lines temporarily smoothed away.
I grab a blanket from the closet and drape it over her carefully, tucking it around her shoulders.
She stirs slightly, murmuring something I can’t quite catch, and I find myself frozen there, watching her breathe.
I return to my desk but pull my chair closer to the couch, close enough that I can reach out and touch her if she needs me. Close enough that she’ll see my face first thing when she wakes.
Around 2 AM, she starts to whimper in her sleep, a nightmare, probably. After everything she’s been through, I’d be surprised if she didn’t have them. I move to sit on the edge of the couch, my hand finding hers in the darkness.
“Jade.” I keep my voice soft. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”
Her eyes flutter open, wild with panic for a moment before they focus on my face. I watch the fear drain out of her, replaced by something that makes my chest ache.
“I dreamed they took her,” she whispers. “I dreamed I was too late.”
“You’re not too late. We’re going to get her back.” I squeeze her hand. “I promise you.”
She sits up slowly, the blanket falling from her shoulders. In the dim light of the desk lamp, her eyes are luminous, searching my face for something I hope she finds.
“Stay with me?” she asks. “Just... stay close?”
Her head rests against my shoulder, her hand pressed flat against my chest, and I wrap my arm around her, holding her close.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur into her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She tilts her face up toward mine, and for a long moment, we just look at each other. The air between us feels charged, electric with everything we haven’t said. I press my lips to her forehead, letting them linger there, pouring everything I feel into that simple gesture.
She snuggles closer, and I feel her body relax against mine, the tension finally draining from her shoulders. Within minutes, her breathing evens out into sleep - real sleep this time, deep and peaceful.
I don’t sleep. I hold her and watch the city lights through the window and plan exactly how I’m going to destroy the people who tried to take everything from her.
Around 4 AM, my phone buzzes.
Movement at the Castillo residence. Black SUV just pulled into the garage. Luggage being loaded.
My body tenses, but I force myself to wake her gently, my hand stroking her arm.
“Jade.” I keep my voice calm despite the adrenaline surging through me. “It’s happening. She’s running. Now.”
She’s alert instantly, the softness of sleep replaced by fierce determination. This is the woman who survived prison, who never stopped fighting for her daughter, who refused to break no matter how hard they tried to shatter her.
This is the woman I’m falling in love with.
“Let’s go,” she says.
***
The drive to the private airfield takes forty minutes.
Martinez texts updates the whole way: Vivian’s SUV heading east. Private charter plane being prepped. Flight plan filed for Buenos Aires.
Jade sits in the passenger seat, her spine straight, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. But halfway there, her hand reaches across the console and finds mine. I lace our fingers together without taking my eyes off the road, and something settles in my chest at the contact.
“How long do we have?” she asks. Her voice is steady, but I can feel the slight tremor in her grip.
“The plane doesn’t leave until six. We’ve got two hours.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We stop her. Document everything. Let her incriminate herself.” I glance over at her, and despite everything - despite the danger, the uncertainty, the weight of what we’re about to do - I feel a surge of admiration for how she’s holding herself together. “And we get Nova back.”
She nods, squeezing my hand tighter. “Together?”
The word hangs in the air between us, meaning so much more than this single moment.
“Together,” I confirm. “From now on, Jade - whatever happens - we face it together.”
The first pale light of dawn is breaking over the horizon as we speed toward the airfield. Toward Vivian. Toward the confrontation that will determine everything.
But with Jade’s hand in mine and her fierce spirit beside me, I’ve never felt more certain of anything in my life.
We’re going to win this.
And then I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure she never feels alone again.