Name: Jade Doran
Interests: Nico. Luca. Céline. Levi. Silas (but I skipped one bit with him, so it might not be enough). IDK anymore.
Role: previously wildly reluctant participant now thirsty for justice, or revenge, god knows
Broken hearts break bones
Once it’s done, she doesn’t remember much, other than the first blow to the head was a shock to her body, sense of direction, and sense of what was happening. After the fourth one, she doesn’t remember much.
Not the details, not the faces, but the movement now hurts, and the consequence is quite real. For a while, it feels like the worst part of it, just how painful it was to move, shower, eat, drink. Bruises on her body didn’t worry her as much, but the clearly obvious signs of an attack marking her face pained her in a way she could not predict. She didn’t want to leave the house, shamed by the looks she was getting along the way.
It wasn’t realistic to think anyone would recognise her, but a small group of people who had been in her position at least once before. Yet, the judging glances, moments of silent pity, and expressions of surprise as someone spotted her, it all left a mark she did not want to confront.
Bruises heal, bones heal, but the pity lingered in the back of her mind for far longer than she imagined, hours after she was safe behind closed doors.
So, she stayed outside, not because of fear. She knew she would, eventually, once makeup was able to cover the shame, or bruises, it’s the same right now.
But, people have lived through worse, and people have survived.
The beating changed nothing in the end.
She’s still determined to get whatever revenge she could.
If I didn’t know better
It all looks better, a few days after, and she even feels better. More determined, perhaps. Somehow, the anxiety that she felt in the bottom of her stomach has left her, but while her mind seems to be aware that the danger has escalated, her body is not cooperating with the plan.
It all looks better, and Levi invites her to the gallery, to which she - surprisingly - agrees to. She’s just unsure why, but her instinct tells her it’s better to say yes now, and follow through with her plans later. Even if she was rationalizing, it wasn’t strange. So, she is there, half empty place, and he says hi to her as if they haven’t been through any of the shit they have been through. They sit in the office, wine on the table, two glasses ready.
“I love that dress on you, Rubes,” he smiled, offering her wine he’s already poured.
“Thanks, it’s hard to find something that doesn’t clash with the black eye,” she replied.
“How long do you think that stays there?”
“My skin is quite good, so I hope not more than a few days more,” she replied, feeling something bubbling in from the inside. “Why? Hoping to borrow the dress?”
Levi chuckled. “You’re funny, Ruby, very funny.”
“Hilarious,” she says, waving her hand at the wine he is offering again. “Get to the point, Levi, I have plans.”
“I’m having another auction soon,” he said, making her scoff. “I would like us to play one last one, before—”
“Before what?” Jade sighs, he downs his glass. “You finally take it too far?”
Levi seems amused this time, but his tone is still light, very flirty. “Are you worried about it?”
“Far from it,” she replied, before standing up. “Now, if this is it…”
“Come on, Ruby,” he called out. “For old times' sake.”
“Forget it, Levi, seriously,” she walks off, he follows a few steps behind her, pulling her hand, pushing the invitation into her palm.
“I hope you change your mind,” he says, watching her make her way out of the gallery.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”
*
Thankfully, no one at the Records is staring at her as she’s moving around in her recovery. Somehow, they have all collectively decided to do their jobs, and she is beyond grateful for it. The life went on, as it usually does. Recording sessions, editing sessions, deciding on so many things before finally she has the time to return to the office, back to the books she started to go through only a week before, when the auction man walked into the room. From the corner of the desk, the invite is staring at her, in all its dramatic black and white glory, as ideas swarm her mind.
The man from the last auction never returned, she’s not sure what happened there, but she’d sold her guitars, and she sold the last piece of jewellery she had from Gloria’s lifetime, and she was ready to do with it what needed to be done. Pay him to wait, or run. At this point, she was only scared about running out of options.
By the time she figured out a pattern in the books, it was late. This time, she was smart about it. There was a gun on the desk, under a file, tucked there for safety, and the doors were locked. Minutes later, steps approach, door knob turns, and a loud knocking makes her reach for the gun.
“Jade?”
It was Nico. She gets up, but not before putting the gun into the drawer, before opening.
“Hi,” she forces a smile, as he stepped in, heading to the armchair near the window, sitting down. “What brings you here?”
“I wanted to check if you were feeling better,” he says, almost sounding honest. She smiles as appreciation, but quickly turns to the desk, pulling out a yellow envelope from the bottom drawer. Cash payout of the week, she realizes she didn’t get to it this morning, as she was meeting Levi.
“While you’re here,” she says, handing him the money. He takes it, but puts it down on the next chair over.
“I heard you were recording something today,” he says, patting the arm rests.
“Something a little bit more on the jazz side,” she explains, sitting down. “We’re sorting out the distribution—”
“Something good?”
“I can grab you a record, you tell me,” she smiles - this time for real. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” Nico nodded. “So?”
“So?”
“Are you feeling better?”
“I am, thanks,” she replied. “I was planning to head home in an hour or so, but if you want, we can get go grab a drink?”
“You’re up for that?” Nico seems surprised. “I mean, I didn’t think you’d want to go out, not looking—”
“Like shit?” she lets out a chuckle, unwilling to go any deeper into this discussion.
“Céline didn’t like to get out for days,” he says, dragging some old recollection from the back of his mind, eyes tracing imaginary figures on the wall. “It didn’t happen more than once, or twice, but she would wait it out.”
Jade doesn’t say the difference between Céline and herself was that one of them had to work, there were still expectations she had to meet. Then, once she gave it a second, the difference grew smaller, perhaps only to that reason. Céline could do her work from the privacy of the Callaro house. Judging by the look on Nico, she would have no such opportunities.
“Anyways,” he got up, seeing she was silent, and moved around a little bit. “I think we can go grab that drink, and I think I will take up that offer on the record.”
“Good,” Jade smiled, getting up and heading out to the storage. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
And she is. Back in a minute, yet that minute might have been a longer one in her office, as she is stepping in to the scene of Nico yelling at the desk, before pushing everything off the table.
“Idiot!”
Papers on the floor, Nico’s hand on his forehead, circular motion of applying pressure to his temples.
“The stupid half-wit, how in the world—”
“What—”
He slammed the invitation Levi sent to the desk, before crumpling it up. “What the fuck does he think he is doing, huh?”
“Another auction,” she replied. “He wanted me to join again.”
There’s silence, he glares at the ground. “Sorry. You’ll have to clear that up.”
It should sound like an apology, shouldn’t it? Or she’s forcing herself to hear that sorry before the order comes right after, overlay of Céline’s voice speaking kindly of Nico - or speaking kindly of the boy he was back when they were both young. Is there enough of that boy left in him?
“Yeah,” she nodded, and Nico glanced at her, no need to ask the question.
“Of course I said no, the first time I had no idea he was selling counterfeit paintings,” she continues.
“So, you helped him once?”
“Only once, yes,” she replied. “I thought you knew.”
“I feel like I missed out on a lot,” he says, not confirming if he actually did. “How’d you figure it out? Only when you got the visit from the buyer?”
“You know about it?” she’s surprised - genuinely - brows furrowed.
“I heard about it, alright,” he nodded. “I also took care of it.”
Now, she was actually shocked. Her lips parted, and she’s about to say something to that, but he picked up on it and shook his head.
“No need to thank me,” Nico’s voice is emotionless, very business-like. “Just don’t forget who cleaned up your mess.”
She nodded, thinking about the whole of it. She was grateful alright, but she did not agree on one thing. It was not the mess of her making. “Thank you, anyways.”
Jade only arrived home two hours later, tired, with her brain working in overdrive. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe that money can go off to a better use.
*
(I feel like I will have to take a minute on this conversation between Nico and Levi)
If I could act on my revenge, wouldn’t I?
The heavy smell of coffee filled the apartment entirely, and she’s about to pour herself a second cup when she hears the knock on the door.
There’s only one person who’d knock, politely, and there’s one person she is willing to see.
Yet, the knot in her stomach makes her drag herself to the door, in anxious anticipation of what he is to say once he sees her. She wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t mean, and she was not cruel, yet, she might have come off as all of these by avoiding him since the encounter with the Martinez guys. It wasn’t malicious, she didn’t fear his reaction - not in the traditional sense - yet she didn’t feel like exposing him to what happened.
She opens the doors, feeling that overwhelming sense of shame wash over again as his eyes widened in surprise.
“Jesus, Jade.”
“Please don’t do that,” she sighs, moving away so he can come in.
“It looks worse than when I—
“Please, Luca,” comes out more sad than she intended, and he raises his hands, backing off. Still, he’s there as she closed the door to her apartment, pushing the hair off her face. “I just—”
“Do you want me to handle this?”
“What good would it do?” she shrugged, and nudged towards the kitchen table. “Coffee? I’m afraid I don’t have anything else.”
“Coffee sounds good,” he replied, sitting at the table, and soon after they are beating around the bush just like it. Until they’re not.
“I’ve left,” he announced, and she would have lied if she said she didn’t notice the missing presence of him around. Jade smiles.
“You haven’t gone far,” comes out a bit colder than one might expect, and she tries to remedy it. “Not that I’m complaining, only—”
“It seems further would be better?”
“Safer,” she replied. “At least that’s what I did the first time around.”
For the first time since she’d known him, it seems like he is surprised by something. Brows furrowed, coffee set on the table, and he leans back.
“Let me talk,” she continues. “And don’t interrupt, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it otherwise.”
“I was born as Gloria Zimmermann, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,” she started easily, before the whole story started to unravel. She hardly moves while talking, rarely breaking eye contact, happy he is respecting her plead not to ask a thing. Even through the bits that speak of religion, even through the bits that speak of the marriage. She mentions her parents, and she mentions how someone from Martinez family found out, and how she ran into a woman she used to know while shopping with Céline. The church, the music, the records, the marriage that drove her away, and the money she spent becoming Jade.
“It sounds like you got out at the right time,”
“Not a moment too soon,” she agreed. “And what I’ve learnt from it is why I am telling you that staying in Los Angeles is not enough,” she continues.
“Look, I know Nico—”
“I know all of it,” she interrupts him, then apologizes quickly. “You have to understand that I care for you and I know you are not running away, yet I think you should.”
Luca doesn’t seem happy with what she’s saying, but he doesn’t say much - not yet anyways. “You think it’s stupid for me to stay here?”
“I think you’re a man of many talents, you’ve got a good head on your shoulder, and I am personally interested in you keeping it there,” she continued. “You don’t do stupid things, Luca, and still this might be reckless, at least like this, on your own.”
“If we’re talking about bad decisions—”
“Trust me, I know mine are worse,” she continued. “I know.”
“Well then, I think neither of us should be sharing advice,” he cuts her off. “I know Nico might be sweet now—”
“I have no intention of finding out what Nico can be, or cannot be,” she says. “Seeing potential instead of what’s there seems to be getting me in a lot of trouble as it is, and I’m done with it.”
He’s surprised a little bit, again.
“I’m leaving,” she says finally. “But not two doors down the road, or into another neighbourhood, or a different club. I’m getting out for good.”
“When?”
“As soon as I get enough money to do it properly, like the last time around, and as soon as I’m done with Levi,” she concluded. “I’m guessing a week, at most.”
“Going where, Jade?” he seems a little bit annoyed, or she feels like he might be. She smiles.
“East coast,” she says finally. “I’ve been further down south, I’ve been here in the west, and I don’t deal well with the cold, but I’m willing to try,”
“What does it mean? East where?”
“Boston, New York, Portland,” she listed the ideas, altho she is not sure which one it will be - planning ahead, putting anything down as a sure option seemed too dangerous to do right now.
“Jesus, Jade.”
“Seems to be the theme today,” she smiled softly. “So?”
“So what?”
“Oh Lord,” she sighs. “Would you join me?”
He seems surprised. Or confused.
“I wasn’t necessarily the best with my choices so far, but I care about you more than I cared to admit,” she shrugged. “More than I was ready to admit, and I might be slower in accepting that, but we’re here, and I’m asking you to think about it. Join me, I’ll find a way to let you know when, and I’ll make sure we can go together, but I can’t stay.”
“Jade—”
“Don’t turn this down just yet,” she interrupted him. “If you’re not coming, I don’t want to know.”
“That sounds stupid,”
“Some other families operate like these, in cells - time is set, the date is set, the location is set - and while everyone knows where to go, they don’t necessarily have to know what’s coming next.”
“So, you want me to just show up?”
“If you want it, too,” she concluded. “You’ll know it’s me.”
Some kill, some steal, some break your heart
The change is in the air - it’s possibly the clearest that’s been in ages, and while she’s not keen on leaving her house just yet, Jade comes to terms with what must be done, and somehow it feels this is the last opportunity to meet with Céline. For now, at least. So, they meet at the small bistro, far from the prying ears and eyes of Callaros and Martinez’s, having good food, shared over a glass of good wine. The conversation flows with it, freer than ever before. Jade’s mentioning that she noticed the small amounts Céline has been skimming off the top of the profits made at Roulette, yet she doesn’t say it out loud, or openly. It doesn’t stop Céline from hearing what she had to head, and silently owning up to her own doings. No fuss, no nothing. Simple words, simple reasons, it all boils down to self-preservation, as it usually does.
While for some it might mean getting out with your head still intact, ready to glance over your own shoulder for the rest of your days, for some it meant that they would continue doing everything in their power to get out, be free, remain happy.
For Céline it meant not having to give up the life she knew, the life she loved. And in some ways, Jade could relate to that, which she says, because why wouldn’t she? If she recognized her truth, she is happy enough to admit it.
“You remind me of me,” Céline says in the end. “In the best way possible, and in the worst of ways,”
“How should I take it, then?”
“As a warning, perhaps,” she shrugged. “I tried, you know.”
Jade flashed a smile, somewhat surprised. “To warn me?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I’ve tried knowing all too well it would do me no good, as I could not have been warned at that age either,” she says.
“Oh, trust me, I heard it,” a nod confirmed it.
“So, what happened?” Céline seems genuinely curious.
“I wasn’t sure how to say no at that point,” she continued. “I didn’t know if I should, and then my past life came to chase me, and I thought I better have someone in my corner.”
“Gloria?”
“Gloria,” she chuckled. “How long have you known?”
“Not for a long time, if I’m honest,” Céline replied. “You did a good job with all of the hiding there.”
“I would like to take all the credit, but in all honesty, I was always surrounded with people both good and bad,” she smiled. “This time, bad ones were working at the town hall, and they happened to be selling blank birth certificates before the time of digital data bases.”
“Oh, yeah, quite simple,” Céline chuckled.
“At the time, it was,” Jade nodded. “I knew what I wanted, I had no doubt in my mind and—”
She trails off, unable to finish the sentence.
“What?”
“I had no loose ends to tie,” she finished. “Gloria was left behind, with her psalms and her hymns, somewhere in the Florida.”
“You never wanted to go back and fetch her?”
“I was so happy to leave her behind it never occurred to me,” she shrugged.
“And you didn’t miss anyone?”
“Out of sight, out of mind,” she replied. “I was a means to an end there, and the timeline that was in store did not look good.”
She stops herself from saying it’s feeling a lot like that now.
“What are you not saying?”
Jade smiled, genuinely. “Are you reading my mind?”
“Perhaps we have more in common than I imagined,” she drinks.
“It feels a lot like that now,” she says. “I have a role, a talent that is to be used, and there is no real choice in all of it.”
Céline stays silent after this.
“I can offer you half of what I got from the Records,” she suddenly speaks. “If you need an out.”
Surprised, she doesn’t know how to react other than honestly.
“Oh, come on, I’m not the monster people paint me to be,” she rolled her eyes, and took another sip of the wine. “I mean, I am, but not to people I like, and I like you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I already got more than enough for this lifetime, and perhaps one or two more,” she continued. “And I’ve done ambition, I’ve done the climb, and the biting, and now I want to sit, relax, enjoy all the fruits my labour has gotten me, somewhere in a French-speaking place, preferably at the coast.”
Jade smiled at it, still unsure about the offer, but mainly considering Céline was out. “Why now?”
Céline stays silent for a while, leaving a long sigh, pouring some more wine before finally speaking. “Fuck it, it will be out soon, I’m sure.”
“What will be?”
“Deli’s hot shot,” she says shortly. “It wasn’t Naira.”
Realizing the severity of what was just said, Jade remains silent, trying to think of what to say next.
“Look, if you’re—”
“I’m not good with reacting to these things,” Jade interrupted. “I’m sor—”
“I never meant for her to die,” Céline replied shortly. “I just—”
She shrugged, stopping there.
“So, I have to leave, and I’m offering this now, for the first and the last time,” she continued. “Half of Roulette money, and your name will not be anywhere, just mine.”
Suddenly, it seems like the best thing she could do, saying yes to this. The amount could help her get away, her and Luca if he decides to come with her. She bit her lips, before nodding shortly.
“Smart girl,” Céline says. “I’ll take care of this tomorrow.”
I’ve dug two graves for us, my dear
She doesn't hear him come in.
That’s the worst part, maybe, that she’s so focused on getting the books wrapped up and cross-checking the fake names Céline’s been laundering Roulette’s profits under, that she doesn’t hear the door open, or the footsteps across the hall. She only notices when his voice cuts the silence, calm and sharp like something that’s been freshly honed.
“You’ve been busy.”
Jade doesn't look up right away. She finishes the line she was writing, slowly, lets the silence carry a few seconds longer, and *then* lifts her head. Nico is standing by the door, no coat, shirt rolled to the sleeves, hand in the pocket like he’s not here to unsettle her. But he is.
“Nico.”
“You’ve talked to Luca.”
It’s not a question. She doesn't bother pretending either.
“I have.”
He nods. Not upset. Not surprised. Not yet.
“What did you say?”
“I told him what I needed him to know, but not regarding your work.”
His smile is sharp, joyless. “Did you now?”
Jade leans back in the chair. “If you came here to scare me, you’re late to that party.”
“No,” Nico replies, stepping closer, gaze fixed. “No, you’re not scared. You’re calculating. I get it. But I need you to understand something, Jade. You talk to people who are supposed to stay out of this? That becomes my problem.”
“It’s not *your* problem, it’s not even a problem,” she replies, quiet, but firm.
“I wouldn’t agree,” he cuts in, now near the desk. “You’re making noise, with whatever you choose to do now. And the next time, I will not politely tell you not to do it.”
Her breath is short, not because she’s afraid of Nico, not in the usual sense. But because she *believes* him.
“You don’t have to do that,” she says, more tired than anything.
He says nothing. Just stares at her long enough to draw the lines between them deeper.
“I’ve never lied to you,” she continues. “Not once, not this time, and not about what I talked to Luca about.”
“You didn’t have to lie,” he says, low. “You just kept moving pieces without asking if anyone else wanted to be on the board.”
There’s nothing more to say.
He leaves as silently as he came in.
---
Two days pass.
She spends them watching shadows slide across her apartment, ears tuned to every creak in the floorboards, heart steady only because she refuses to let it race. When the knock comes, she doesn’t flinch. She just stands, opens the door. No one’s there.
Just a box, black ribbon.
Inside: a necklace. Emerald drop, delicate. Too tasteful to be random, too expensive to be innocent.
No note. But she knows where it came from.
She picks up the phone.
You thought that I would let it go and let you walk?
The time was running out, she’s aware, and while at the first glance her apartment seems unmoved, the most important things she has there are stored away, ready for when the time comes.
Silas agreed to meet in a diner, not Alba’s place, but another one outside the city, the kind of place where the staff turned a blind eye to the late-night crowd and their late-night business. Jade picked the booth by the back wall, facing the exit.
She wasn’t nervous. Not in the way she used to be. This wasn’t panic, it was just pressure. Like a dam creaking, and she knew what came next. She just needed to give it one final push. Silas showed up five minutes late. Button-down sleeves rolled to the elbow, sunglasses still in hand despite the fading sun. He didn’t speak right away. Just sat across from her, ordered black coffee from the waitress, and waited.
She placed a huge, thick envelope between them before the drinks arrived. Brown paper. Fat with truth.
“What’s this?” he asked, though his tone said he already knew.
“It’s Levi,” she said simply. “Everything I have.”
He raised an eyebrow. Didn’t touch the envelope yet.
“Levi?”
“I’m tired,” Jade replied. “And I’m done pretending that walking away quietly will work. It doesn’t.”
Still, he didn’t touch it. “What’s in here?”
“Roulette transfers, connected to the paintings, and some photographs from the auction, the paper trail’s enough to burn him twice over.” She paused. “You’ll see the rest for yourself, Sy.”
Silas looked at her closely. “You know, people say they’re done all the time. Usually right before they try to strike a deal, with one side or the other.”
“I’m not here for a deal with anyone,” she said. “I want him *gone*.”
“And what happens when he finds out what you gave me?”
“It’s all about the timing,” Jade said. “It just has to be done before he’s aware, and when it’s too late to stop it.”
He finally reached for the envelope, she’s not sure when he placed a pair of gloves on, opened it, skimmed through a few pages, expression unreadable. Silas leaned back, drumming his fingers against the table.
“And what do you want in return?”
“Just to see him finally get some of that long overdue karma,”
“You got good timing,” he said, dry.
“I hope so,” she replied, and her voice didn’t waver.
They sit in silence for a beat too long. Then she reaches into her bag, pulls out a small key to a postal lock. Places it gently beside the coffee cup.
“I’m not sure if this helps,” she says, “but it should.”
“What is it?”
“The recording,” she replies. “Of Dina, of that night at the club.”
Silas raises both brows this time. No questions. Just takes the key and nods.
“You really are done, huh?”
“Past done.”
He gives her a long, assessing look, then finishes his coffee.
“I’ll be in touch,” he says finally, and leaves. Jade watches him go, finishes her coffee, and pays in cash. When she steps out into the street, there’s no relief. Not yet. But something’s shifting.
The match is lit.
Now she just has to make sure it lands where it’ll burn.
It's only how you feel
The place is already empty when she arrives.
Céline’s usual scent, the one that clung to velvet chairs and the necks of champagne glasses, is gone. The bar is wiped down. Doors half open. Lights off in the hallway, except for the one that flickers near the coat closet. Jade doesn’t call out. She knows better than to expect a warm sendoff.
There’s a note on the counter. Handwritten. All that glamour and calculation packed up and vanished without fanfare. The table, reflecting the sun, holds a note and the bottle of the wine they would normally share, one next to another.
“Hope you can enjoy our favorite wine without me.
Stay safe and good, Jade.
Best wishes,
Céline.”
She walks the length of the room anyway, slow and quiet. For a second, she thinks she might feel something close to nostalgia. But it passes. This isn’t that kind of goodbye. By the time she’s turned to leave, she’s already tucked her thoughts back where they belong, somewhere she doesn’t have to look, not yet anyways, not before it’s done.
That’s when she hears the door.
She turns. Slowly.
Nico’s standing there. Still in the clothes she’s seen him wear a thousand times, but everything about him feels different. Off. His jaw’s set. His hands are fists.
Gloria used to believe in signs from the Father above, and Jade used to believe that whoever is paying attention to her is giving her some type of direction, from time to time. Both would agree that the chilling look in his eyes, standing in the middle of the empty hallway, was all the sign they needed.
It was time to leave.
Done.
Horribly rushed, but there soon won't be the ending to catch up to.
Last edited by Zaralee (18/07/2025 at 22:54)
