Chapter 34 Jade
JADE
The following morning, Phoenix came back from checking on the road with cautious optimism. "The plows are working their way up."
“Another day. Maybe two?”
He nods. And then what?
Neither of us has said it out loud, but day seven has arrived. The deal is over. I should be packing my bags, calling a car, heading back to my real life. Instead, I'm sitting on the sofa in borrowed clothes and drinking coffee like everything is normal.
His phone buzzes on the counter. He glances at the screen and his jaw tightens.
"I need to take this."
He picks up, and I watch his face as he listens. Whatever he's hearing, he doesn't like it.
"What did you tell him?" Phoenix's voice is flat, controlled.
The speaker is loud enough that I catch fragments of the voice on the other end.
Phoenix puts it on speaker, setting the phone on the counter while he pours himself more coffee. I hear the voice clearly now. It belongs to someone older and in charge.
"Nothing. But he's pissed, son. Really pissed."
It’s his father. Nicholas Crawford.
"I'll handle Marcus," Phoenix says.
"Where are you?"
"The cabin."
A pause. "The cabin? Why?"
"I needed some time away."
"Phoenix." Nicholas's voice sharpens. "What's going on? You disappeared in the middle of the most important deal of your career. Marcus is ready to kill you. The Teos are asking questions."
"I said I'll handle it."
"Handle it how? From a cabin in the mountains?"
Phoenix's eyes flick to me. Something passes across his face—protectiveness, maybe. Or a warning.
"I'll call you tomorrow. There are things we need to discuss."
"Phoenix—"
"Tomorrow, Dad."
He hangs up before Nicholas can respond. The silence that follows is heavy.
"Marcus," I say quietly. "He's looking for you."
"He can look all he wants."
"The deal—"
"Is dead. Has been since the dinner." Phoenix shrugs, but there's tension in his shoulders. "I'll figure something out."
I want to ask more, but my phone buzzes in my pocket. When I pull it out, I see three missed calls from this morning. All from Mom.
The guilt that's been simmering in my chest for days finally boils over.
"I need to call her," I say.
Phoenix looks at me. "You don't have to—"
"Yes, I do." I stand, pacing to the window. "I've been gone over a week. She must be losing her mind."
He doesn't argue. Just nods and steps back, giving me space.
I take a breath, open FaceTime, and hit her contact before I can talk myself out of it.
She answers on the second ring.
"Jade!" Her face fills the screen, eyes wide, relief and fury warring for dominance. "Where ARE you? I've been calling for days!"
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm... still in California.”
"Still in California?" She frowns, studying my face through the camera. "For two weeks? I thought you were only going for a few days. What's going on?”
"It's... complicated.”
"Complicated how?" Her eyes narrow, and I watch her shift into interrogation mode. It’s the same look she'd give me in high school when she knew I was hiding something. "Jade. Where exactly are you?”
"I'm at a cabin. In the mountains.”
"A cabin? Whose cabin? You don't know anyone in California."
"A friend's."
"What friend?" She's not buying it. I can see it in the way her eyes narrow. "Jade. Talk to me. What's really going on?"
I hesitate. The lie sits heavy on my tongue, but I'm not ready for the truth. Not yet. Not like this, over a video call, when I can't even explain it to myself.
"I met someone," I finally say.
The words land like a stone in still water. I watch the ripples spread across her face—confusion, then suspicion, then something harder.
"Someone," she repeats flatly. "A man."
"Yes."
"And you've been with him this whole time? At a cabin in the middle of nowhere?"
"It's not like that—"
"Then what IS it like?" Her voice rises. "You disappear for two weeks with some stranger, no phone calls, no texts, nothing! I've been worried sick, Jade. I almost called the police!"
"I should have called sooner. I know. But I'm okay. I'm safe."
"Are you?" She wipes at her eyes, and I realize she's been crying. "Because from where I'm sitting, this sounds exactly like what I've always warned you about."
"Mom—"
"Some man sweeps you off your feet, isolates you from everyone who loves you, and suddenly you forget how to pick up a phone?" She shakes her head. "I've seen this before, Jade. I've lived it."
I know she's talking about Olive and Nicholas. About the history that haunts her even now.
"This is different," I say quietly.
"Is it? How?"
"I..." I don't have an answer. Because maybe it's not different at all. Maybe I'm fooling myself just like she thinks I am.
"Who is he?" Mom demands. "What's his name? What does he do?"
My heart pounds. I can't tell her. Not now. Not when she's already this upset. If she finds out it's a Crawford, that it's Nicholas Crawford's son, she’ll never forgive me.
"I'm not ready to talk about that yet."
"Jade—"
"Mom, please." My voice cracks. "I just need some time to figure this out. I promise I'm safe and I'll come home soon. But I need you to trust me."
"Trust you?" She laughs bitterly. "You want me to trust you when you won't even tell me who you're with? When you've been lying to me for weeks?"
"I haven't been lying—"
"Lying by omission is still lying."
The words cut deep because she's right. I have been lying. I'm lying right now, keeping Phoenix's identity hidden, protecting him, or maybe protecting myself, from the fallout I know is coming.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I know this isn't fair to you. But I need more time."
Mom is quiet for a long moment. When she speaks again, her voice is cold in a way I've never heard before.
"Fine. Take your time. But when this all falls apart, and it will, Jade, it always does, don’t say I didn't warn you."
"Mom—"
"I have to go. Call me when you're ready to be honest with me."
The screen goes black.
I stare at my phone, my hands shaking. She didn't hang up on me exactly, but it feels like something between us has cracked.
Phoenix appears beside me, his expression careful. "Are you okay?"
"No." The tears come without warning, spilling down my cheeks. "She knows I'm hiding something. She's furious."
"I'm sorry."
"She's going to find out eventually." I look up at him, my vision blurred. "When she finds out who you are, who your father is, she’s never going to forgive me."
He pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me tight. "We'll deal with that when it comes."
"She hates your family, Phoenix. She hates everything your father represents."
"I know."
"And I'm lying to her. I'm keeping you a secret like I'm ashamed of you."
"Are you?" His voice is quiet. "Ashamed?"
I pull back to look at him. "No. I'm scared. There's a difference."
"Scared of what?"
"Of losing her and of having to choose." I wipe my eyes. "Of what happens when all of this comes out."
He cups my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away my tears. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together. Okay?"
I want to believe him. I want to believe that we can survive my mother's fury and the weight of our families' history and all the lies I'm telling to protect this fragile thing between us.
But the guilt is already eating at me.
I'm keeping secrets from my mother. Lying by omission, just like she said. And the longer I wait to tell her the truth, the worse it's going to be when she finally finds out.