CHAPTER 2 — THE SECRET THEY BURIED
The man’s name was Victor Hale.
A wealthy businessman who controlled half the town.
The kind of man who never got his hands dirty.
He paid others to do that.
Jax knew men like him.
They didn’t fear violence.
They feared exposure.
And Victor was terrified.
Because Jax had something Victor could never buy.
The truth.
After the confrontation, Jax brought Lila to his motorcycle club’s old warehouse.
For the first time in years, the place felt different.
Usually it was filled with engines, arguments, and cigarette smoke.
But tonight…
everyone was quiet.
Because there was a child sitting at the old wooden table.
Eating a sandwich.
Safe.
Jax watched her carefully.
Almost afraid she would disappear if he looked away.
“You really are my daughter?”
Lila looked up.
Her eyes were sad.
“My mom said my daddy was a good man.”
Jax swallowed.
“What else did she say?”
The girl reached into her dress pocket.
She pulled out a small folded paper.
“My mom told me if something happened…”
“I should find you.”
Jax slowly took the paper.
His hands shook.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young Jax.
Holding a newborn baby.
Behind the photo was a message.
“Jackson, they told me you were dead. They told me I had no choice. If you ever find Lila, please tell her I never stopped loving her.”
Jax stopped breathing.
Emily.
The woman he lost.
The daughter he never knew he had.
Both stolen from him.
Then another biker entered.
“Jax.”
Everyone turned.
The man looked nervous.
“We found something.”
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside were hospital records.
Birth certificates.
Payments.
Names.
Victor Hale had paid a doctor twenty years ago.
The doctor had changed the records.
The baby was declared dead.
Emily was threatened.
And when she tried to expose the truth…
she disappeared.
Jax stared at the documents.
His jaw tightened.
All those years.
All those nights wondering why life had punished him.
But the truth was worse.
Someone had taken his family away.
Later that night, Lila woke from a nightmare.
Jax found her sitting alone.
“Bad dream?”
She nodded.
“He’s going to come back.”
Jax sat beside her.
For a man who knew how to fight anyone…
he had no idea how to comfort a child.
Slowly, he placed his jacket around her shoulders.
“No one is taking you.”
Lila looked at him.
“Promise?”
Jax looked at the bracelet.
Then at her.
“I promised you before I even knew you existed.”
The little girl leaned against him.
And for the first time in twenty years…
Jax felt like something broken inside him had finally returned.
But outside the warehouse…
Victor Hale watched from his car.
His phone rang.
A voice asked:
“Did he find out?”
Victor looked at the lights inside.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“And now?”
May you like
Victor’s eyes turned cold.
“Now we take the girl back.”
