Hello, It's Mrs. Hyde

Chapter 24: Intertwining Fates

The scent of cinnamon and dark roast filled the air.
Jessica stirred a spoonful of sugar into her teacup, humming softly to herself as she flipped over a perfectly golden pancake on the skillet. Her long black braid hung loosely over her shoulder, still damp from the morning shower she'd taken before dawn, and there was something almost giddy — no, downright luminous — in her expression as she moved around the kitchen barefoot, already dressed for the day.
For once, she didn't feel like the walking embodiment of ruin.
Today, she just felt... happy.
She reached for the kettle to refill the teapot as soft footsteps padded into the kitchen. A small yawn preceded the entrance of her niece.
"Aunt Jess!" Gracie gasped, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she took in the warm kitchen. "You're up already?"
Jessica turned with a wide, warm smile. "Morning, sugarplum." She crouched slightly to meet the girl's eye and kissed her forehead. "Thought I'd surprise you. Blueberry pancakes. And your school outfit's already on the chair."
Gracie grinned, running over to the table where her clothes had been neatly folded. "I thought you were gonna sleep all week! Daddy said you were sad."
Jessica's eyes softened, and she ruffled her niece's hair. "I was," she admitted gently, "but I'm better now. Really better."
Gracie nodded seriously, trusting the answer, and skipped off to get ready, humming the tune Jessica had been whistling earlier.
Moments later, the groan of a door opening came from the hallway, followed by the familiar shuffle of Jefferson's slippers. He stopped in the doorway, blinking at the sight before him: Jessica setting down plates, the kitchen bathed in soft morning light, and a fresh pot of tea waiting with his name on it.
He arched a brow. "Okay. Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"
Jessica smirked and poured him a cup of Earl Grey. "Would you believe I just woke up like this? Enlightened. Radiating joy."
Jefferson accepted the cup but gave her a skeptical look over the rim. "No, but I'll believe someone finally snapped you out of that Hyde-induced death spiral."
Jessica laughed — not bitterly, not defensively. Just laughed, and that alone made Jefferson feel like he'd missed something massive.
He took a seat. "So... what happened?"
She paused as she handed him a plate of pancakes. For a moment, she considered brushing it off, making a joke. But instead, she sat down across from him and let herself be honest.
"There's just been... a change," she said softly. "Between Mr. Hyde and me."
Jefferson blinked. "A change."
Jessica gave him a knowing look, one that was equal parts dreamy and disbelieving. "We finally stopped pretending. He told me he loved me. And I—" her voice trembled ever so slightly, "—I told him everything. The truth. About Jekyll. About what I've been hiding. And he didn't run from it. He listened."
Jefferson blinked slowly, sipping his tea. "Damn."
"Yeah," Jessica said with a small laugh. "Damn."
He leaned forward, watching her with the careful eye of a big brother. "So... what now? What do you want to do with today, Jess?"
Jessica looked toward the window, where sunlight filtered through the sheer curtain and caught her face like a soft caress. "Nothing dangerous," she said. "Not today. Just... be useful. Help someone."
"You already are," Jefferson said. "Every day Gracie wakes up and sees you here is better than the one before it."
That nearly made her tear up, but before she could respond, her phone — lying on the counter — buzzed sharply.
She stood, walked over, and checked the screen. Her brows furrowed as she answered.
"Belle?"
Her friend's voice was panicked. "Jessica—hi—I've tried calling Killian, but he's not picking up and I need someone to grab my prenatal vitamins from the pharmacy. I—I can't leave the ship. Rumple—he enchanted it the moment Mr. Hyde broke out but if he was a threat to me I know you would of either stopped him or told me. God I'm so stupid! I should've known—"
Jessica was already pulling on her boots. "Hey, you're not stupid. It's not your fault you fell in love with a psychopath any less than it's my fault I fell in love with a man who separated himself from a psychopath right? I'm on my way. Just sit tight, Belle, okay? I'll be there soon."
"Ha! I guess you're right there. You're a goddess," Belle sighed in relief. "Just be careful. I don't know what else Rumple might've set in motion."
Jessica hung up, already grabbing her coat.
Jefferson stood from his seat. "Please tell me that wasn't an emergency call from one of your many enemies."
Jessica buttoned her coat with quick fingers. "It's Belle. She needs her prenatals picked up, and Rumple enchanted Killian's ship to trap her there. She can't get off."
Jefferson swore under his breath. "Then maybe you wait and let someone else handle it."
Jessica stopped, glancing over her shoulder. "I'll be fine. I'm not the same girl who hid in the woods anymore."
He looked at her hard. "I know you're not. But maybe don't walk into another trap alone?"
Jessica smiled. "I won't. It'll be fine."
As she turned to head for the door, Gracie ran up from the hallway, now dressed and ready for school. She stopped in her tracks, looking up at Jessica with big, curious eyes.
"Are you going to see Mr. Hyde?" she asked brightly.
Jessica blinked. "Not maybe later today, if our paths cross."
Gracie nodded. "He was really kind. You were right."
Jessica softened, kneeling to hug her tightly. "He is. He's very kind... to those who don't try to hurt what he cares about."
Gracie nodded solemnly and kissed her aunt's cheek. "Tell Belle I said hi."
Jessica stood, ruffled her hair, and with one last look at her brother, stepped outside and disappeared into a swirl of crimson smoke
✧ Frankenstein's Garage Lab — The Interrogation ✧
The whirring sound of a generator buzzed faintly in the background as fluorescent lights flickered above. Old surgical tools hung on pegboards, and vials of green and violet liquids simmered in controlled burners along the counters. Dr. Victor Frankenstein's garage-turned-laboratory still held the eerie sterility of a morgue, which made what was about to unfold feel even colder.
Jekyll stumbled forward, his coat half-buttoned and his hair unkempt from being yanked inside. David Nolan shoved him hard against the steel lab table.
"Start talking," David growled, his arm pinning Jekyll's shoulder.
Jekyll winced, stumbling slightly as Regina stepped in front of him with all the fire of a former queen.
"Tell us what the hell happened two nights ago," Regina snapped. "Why were you grabbing Jessica like that?"
Jekyll's lips twitched into a feigned smile. "You're misunderstanding the situation—"
"We saw the situation," Snow White cut in, arms folded across her chest. "Killian found you with your hand wrapped around her arm. She looked terrified. What were you doing to her?"
Jekyll looked from one angry face to another, his words choking in his throat for a beat. "She... she tried to use magic on me. I only defended myself."
"Defended," David repeated, his tone biting.
Jekyll nodded quickly, trying to steady his voice. "Yes. She panicked when her magic didn't work. I only grabbed the hand she was conjuring from. I never hurt her. I would never hurt her."
"You're not exactly convincing us," Regina said coldly. "Especially not when you're leaving that out of your report yesterday."
David released Jekyll and turned away in disgust, muttering under his breath. "Maybe Jessica's right. Maybe we can't trust him at all."
Snow looked between them. "Maybe we should have Jessica make the serum. At least she's been honest."
That set Jekyll off.
"No!" he snapped, too loudly. "No, Jessica—Jessica is completely devoted to Hyde. She would never make anything to harm him."
Regina cocked her head. "Sounds like jealousy."
Jekyll gritted his teeth. "It's not jealousy. It's realism. She's emotionally compromised."
"Because of you," Snow said quietly.
David stepped away and joined his wife and Regina off to the side, lowering his voice. "I don't know. Something about him just feels... off."
Regina's gaze didn't leave Jekyll. "Hyde's the one with the cell record, but Jekyll's the one with the eager eyes and the excuses."
Snow's voice was gentle but firm. "But the serum—"
"Is all we have right now," Regina finished for her. "We keep a close watch on him. We let him make it. The second he tries anything, we're there."
David gave a tight nod. "He doesn't get alone time. Day or night. We rotate. Eyes on him at all times."
They turned back to Jekyll.
"We'll let you continue your work," Snow said carefully. "But don't think we're letting our guard down. One wrong move, and you're done. Understand?"
Jekyll nodded, trying to appear humble. "Of course. I only want to help."
Regina narrowed her eyes. "Then what's that?" she asked, gesturing toward the metal tray on the far table.
There, lying as if it had been just casually dropped, was a delicate necklace. A silver chain looped through an ornate cameo carved in mother-of-pearl.
Jekyll walked over to it slowly, picking it up with gloved fingers as if it burned to touch. "This... this belonged to Mary Ellen."
He spoke the name like a ghost slipping out of his mouth.
Snow furrowed her brows. "Mary Ellen? Who is she?"
"A woman I cared about very deeply," Jekyll replied, his voice lowering. "And the last person I saw wear this necklace. It was hers."
Regina's brow creased. "And what's it doing here?"
"I found it on the counter at Granny's this morning," Jekyll said quietly. "Where I've been staying since I got here."
David stepped closer. "So, what — you're saying Hyde left this for you?"
"Yes," Jekyll said without hesitation. "It's his way of mocking me. Taunting me. Reminding me of what he took."
Snow's expression was skeptical. "Why would Hyde do that with a necklace?"
Jekyll's grip tightened around the chain. "Because it was his fault she died. He... he used her love for him. Manipulated her. And then she died for it."
A tense silence followed.
"And now he's sending Jessica to do the same," Jekyll added bitterly. "It's a message. He knows exactly how to twist the knife."
Regina didn't respond right away. She was watching him. Watching the way his hands trembled, not in grief — but in something closer to rage. Something calculating.
"We've already got people looking for Hyde and the Evil Queen," David said finally, his jaw clenched. "Let us handle them. You focus on that serum."
"And only that," Snow added pointedly.
Regina gave him one last look, her lips pursed. "If you even look at Jessica again without our say, there won't be a serum. There'll be a cell."
They turned and walked out, leaving Jekyll standing alone in the lab.
He looked down at the necklace in his hands, his reflection warped in the sheen of the cameo's surface.
His fingers twitched.
He closed his hand around it tightly — too tightly — and whispered beneath his breath.
"They'll all see... who the real monster is."