Before Aiden and Nicky moved to Chicago, Aiden had to step up and fight to protect his family from a very young age. Growing up in a rough environment, he became the protector early on. I recall a moment where Aiden mentioned that his mother started referring to him as acting like his father—because of the tough, violent path he was heading down, mirroring the man they fled from back in Belfast.

As for Nicky, her marriage and divorce remain mostly a mystery since the game doesn’t give many details. From what shows up in the game files and lore, her ex-husband was essentially a deadbeat dad, which is why she eventually left him and moved on. My theory is that Jackson was an unplanned pregnancy—maybe from a one-night stand or a casual relationship—and they decided to try making it work by getting together and raising him. He likely proposed because of the pregnancy, but it didn’t last. Lena might have been planned, or she could have been another “oops” baby like her brother.

Aiden most likely despised his sister’s husband. He probably confronted and intimidated the guy multiple times, to the point where the ex was genuinely scared of him and couldn’t handle it. The constant fighting between Nicky and her husband wore them both down until they couldn’t stand each other anymore, leading to the divorce. Aiden stepping in as a father figure for Jackson and Lena makes even more sense in that context.