Chapter 5 Massage Therapy

Carol dug through her backpack desperately, turning it inside out, then looked at her mother with a hopeless expression.

"Mom... I forgot to bring the inhaler today..."

Screech.

Jack hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

He had heard every word the two women said, and Caroline's face was getting worse by the second.

She was clearly having an attack, and things weren't looking good.

"Carol, what's wrong with your mom?" Jack turned and asked.

"She's having an asthma attack. She needs her inhaler right now, or she could suffocate." Carol said in a panic, grabbing Caroline's shoulders without even glancing at Jack.

Jack's face filled with worry. He pushed open the car door, got out, and came around to the back seat. "Carol, hold your mom steady. I'll treat her."

Carol stared at Jack in surprise. "You know how to treat this?"

Jack's expression was dead serious. "In six years in prison, I learned all kinds of things. I can't guarantee a full cure, but I can suppress her symptoms for now."

Six years behind bars, and Donald had taught him countless skills. One of them was a special massage technique that channeled a person's own life energy to hold back illness. It was called the Life Flow.

This powerful technique had served Jack well on many cross-border missions.

Carol was far from convinced. "Jack, are you being straight with me? Don't mess around, my mom is..."

Jack sat down next to Caroline and gently moved Carol aside. He reached out and placed his hand on Caroline's pale neck, watching her face, which kept getting worse.

Caroline looked after herself, and it showed. She passed for twenty without trying. With a full figure and a smile that knew its own weight, she radiated the kind of pull that only came with age.

"Caroline, I'm going to press on the area around your chest and lungs to ease the discomfort. Stay calm and just follow my lead."

Jack spread his five fingers and placed them on Caroline's fair collarbone. Faint reddish light flickered from his hands as he moved quickly, pressing on different points.

Waves of pain hit her. Caroline's expression shifted slightly, and her red lips parted as if she wanted to say something.

Carol's face changed dramatically. She watched Jack's hands move toward increasingly private areas and her anger flared. "Jack, do you actually know what you're doing? This is way out of line."

Each time Jack pressed down, his hands crept closer to sensitive areas.

Even with the urgency of saving Caroline's life, Carol couldn't shake a strange feeling. Jack was just an adopted son in the family. He had no blood relation to Caroline whatsoever. And her mother's looks were something even the young guys couldn't help but stare at.

"That's enough." Jack lifted his hand from Caroline and let out a slow breath. He had been completely focused on helping her and hadn't caught a word Carol said.

When he finally finished, Carol shoved him and snapped, "Jack, what exactly did you just do to my mom? What were you thinking?"

Caroline's voice cut in immediately. "Carol, what are you talking about? I feel so much better. What Jack just did felt really good."

Carol just stood there, staring at her mother. "It felt... good?"

"Yes, it really did." Caroline nodded and took Jack's hand. "Thank you, Jack. That technique of yours is incredible. I feel like my asthma is completely gone. It's unbelievable. Who on earth taught you something like that in prison?"

Jack let out a quiet smile, finally relaxing. With Caroline's condition under control for now, he wasn't about to dwell on anything else.

He said calmly, "Caroline, I learned it from someone remarkable. But this only buys you time. You still need to take care of yourself."

Caroline's face lit up with a warm, fond look at Jack. "I know, Jack. Thank you so much."

Jack climbed out of the back seat and returned to the driver's seat to continue the drive.

Caroline kept her eyes on him, thinking to herself. Six years ago, she remembered Jack as a clean-cut, gentle boy. She never expected that six years later, he'd come back so strong and composed, with the quiet, commanding presence of a grown man. The more she saw of this boy, the more she admired him.

"Mom, why are you looking at him like that?" Carol muttered under her breath, annoyed.

Caroline gave Carol a reproachful look. "Jack is your cousin. He just saved my life. What's gotten into you?"

Carol was still fuming inside. Regardless of anything else, she just couldn't stand Jack's cold and arrogant attitude. And honestly, she suspected he had stumbled onto a cure by pure luck. Lucky for him it worked, because if it hadn't, and he'd touched her mother like that for nothing, she would never have let it go.

An hour later, the car pulled up in front of Jack's house.

After Caroline and Carol got out, they followed Jack through the gate into a large courtyard.

Just then, a young, pretty woman in simple clothes walked out of the house and called out, "Is that Jack?"

Not long before, Caroline had called her sister and filled her in on everything.

When Kaylin heard Jack was coming home, she had prepared a big meal in advance and was waiting for all three of them.

"Mom." Jack stopped in his tracks, looked at the woman ahead of him, and tears spilled from his eyes.

The two of them rushed into each other's arms.

In that moment, Caroline stood watching with a warm smile on her face. Even Carol, who had been looking down on Jack this whole time, found herself smiling without meaning to.

"Mom, I'm sorry for everything you've been through these six years. I haven't been a good son."

"Jack, you're home, that's all that matters. You've been through so much. I made your favorite food. Come on, let's eat. You too, sis, and Carol." Kaylin wiped her tears, helped Jack to his feet, and waved for Caroline and Carol to come in.

The three of them nodded and walked into the living room together.

"Mom, I've missed you every single day for six years. I couldn't send letters home for reasons I'll explain later. But for the first three years, besides Caroline, Jevon wrote to me pretty often. Where's Jevon now? I really want to see him." Jack sat at the dining table, grabbed Kaylin's hand, and asked eagerly.

Jevon was Jack's older brother. From a young age, Jevon had been warm and caring, showing nothing but love for Jack, his adopted younger brother. After six years in prison, Jack knew he owed more than just his mother an apology. He owed Jevon just as much.

"Mom, why aren't you saying anything? Where's my brother?" When Kaylin went quiet, Jack grew more anxious and shook her arm.

Caroline and Carol were both silent too, their expressions unreadable.

Jack looked from one face to the next, and a cold feeling crept over him. Something was wrong.

"Mom, why are you looking at me like that? Did something happen to Jevon?"