CHAPTER 88: FAÇADE

[Parking Lot—Outside the hospital]

The sliding doors hissed shut behind him, cutting off the gentle hum of hospital machines.

Jack kept walking.

His pace was relaxed, shoulders were loose and his expression perfectly neutral. He had the same polite mask he had worn inside, the same mask that made everyone blink twice.

Calling Alexander ’Big bro’, a gentle hug to Pauline, a respectful smile at Evelyn and a bouquet in Margaret’s favorite color—he had played the role beautifully.

But the moment he reached his car and the tinted windows hid him from the world, the façade cracked like cheap glass.

Jack slammed the door shut and then he exhaled—slow and dangerous.

His smile, the pleasant, charming one he gave his grandmother, melted into something sharp and twisted.

His jaw clenched and he gripped the steering wheel until the leather groaned.

"Big bro," he mocked in a low whisper and let out a humorless laugh.

"Oh, Alexander, you really think you have won, don’t you?"

He leaned back in the seat, staring ahead at nothing with his eyes dark and gleaming with something far from brotherly affection.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, slow and rhythmic, the way someone thinks right before they choose violence.

"They actually bought it," he murmured, a cruel amusement rolling under his voice. "Grandmother even seemed impressed." He smirked wider.

"Evelyn smiled at me." His grin grew even wider. "But she won’t once she realizes what’s coming."

He then opened the glove compartment.

Inside was a neatly folded stack of photographs. He took one out.

It was a picture of Evelyn taken weeks ago at a charity event, smiling

Jack traced her face with his thumb, the softness of the motion contrasting with the rage simmering beneath his skin.

"She was mine," he murmured. "And he took her."

His voice dropped colder as he shook his head and corrected himself. "No, he stole her."

The edges of the photo crumpled under his tightening grip.

"And everyone thinks I am the problem?" A low laugh escaped him. It was chilling, unhinged and almost pitiful.

Jack shoved the picture back into the compartment and slammed it shut and his eyes hardened into something lethal.

"If creating a scene didn’t work—" He smirked slowly. "Then maybe Olivia was right."

He adjusted his cuffs like he was preparing for war.

"Time to be subtle," he muttered before starting the car.

The engine purred to life and Jack pulled out of the lot with a calm, controlled smile plastered back onto his face.

But the mask wasn’t perfect anymore because underneath, the cracks were spreading and for the first time, there was no confusion, no heartbreak and no desperation.

There was only intent—a dark, calculated intent.

And Alexander had no idea it was coming.

....

[Alexander’s Car]

The drive back from the hospital was quiet. It was not awkward, just heavy. It was the kind of silence where two people are thinking the same thing but don’t know how to start.

Evelyn sat in the passenger seat with her fingers loosely intertwined with Alexander’s.

Normally, she would have leaned her head on his shoulder but right now she kept studying him out of the corner of her eye.

He hadn’t said a word since they left Margaret’s room. He didn’t react when Pauline hugged them goodbye. In fact, he had been quiet since Jack left the hospital.

When they finally stopped the car outside the Carter Mansion, Evelyn placed her hand over his on the steering wheel.

"Alexander."

His eyes stayed forward.

And then there was another beat of silence.

Then he exhaled. It was the kind of exhale he only used when something was clawing at him internally.

She touched his cheek gently. "Talk to me."

At that, he finally turned.

There were a thousand things in his eyes. There was suspicion, irritation, protectiveness, frustration and beneath it all, a faint worry he didn’t want her to see.

"I don’t trust him," he said quietly.

He didn’t have to specify because Evelyn knew exactly who he meant.

"Jack," she whispered.

Alexander’s jaw flexed. "His behavior today was off. He was too polite, too rehearsed and too—" He stopped, searching for the word. "Calculated."

Evelyn nodded slowly. "I felt it too."

That made him look at her sharply. "You did?"

"Yes," she said. "Jack was never that sweet or thoughtful or humble. At least not with me."

Alexander gave a soft, humorless laugh. "The day Jack voluntarily hugs my mother is the day hell freezes over."

"Exactly," she said.

There was another silence but this one was different because it crackled.

Evelyn squeezed his hand. "Tell me what is going on in your head."

Alexander leaned back slightly, rubbing a hand across his jaw. "Jack cannot change overnight. Not like that and definitely not for real. When he walked into the hospital today, every instinct in me bristled."

She listened quietly.

"I don’t know what he is planning," Alexander continued, "but I know he is planning something. The look in his eyes wasn’t regret or humility, it was intent."

Evelyn nodded again, her brows drawing together. "He looked at me strangely. Like he wanted something from me."

Alexander’s hands tightened around hers almost instantly in a very protected way.

"I don’t like it," he said. "I don’t like him anywhere near you."

Evelyn smiled softly and placed her other hand on his cheek, guiding his gaze to hers. "Alexander. Whatever Jack is plotting, he won’t win."

His eyes softened.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked quietly.

"I do," she said, without hesitation. "Because unlike before I am not alone. I have you and he has no place in my life anymore."

He closed his eyes briefly, soaking in her words.

Her thumb brushed across his cheekbone. "Don’t worry too much. He can act all he wants, but the truth is, he can’t touch me anymore."

Alexander opened his eyes and something warm and fierce burned inside them.

"I won’t let him," he said.

"I know," she whispered.

She leaned in and pressed her forehead to his. It was a small, intimate gesture that grounded both of them.

And for a moment, the world was quiet but Alexander was still anxious and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He knew Jack, he knew him better than anyone.

Jack had always been stupid and impulsive. But what he saw and felt today, wasn’t Jack. He could never be that calculative and manipulative.

There was someone behind the act Jack was trying to play and he knew exactly who it was—Olivia.

But he didn’t mention his suspicion to Evelyn, not until he was one hundred percent sure.

He sighed and murmured, "Promise me you will tell me if he does anything strange."

"I promise," she said.

"And you won’t meet him alone. Ever."

"I won’t," she assured him.

His breath loosened, softening into something almost tender. "Good."

Evelyn smiled and pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. "Stop worrying. Whatever Jack is planning, it won’t work."

And for the first time since they left the hospital, Alexander finally breathed like he believed it.

.....