James Amber

"Damon Merrick to Sera about James"

- Your daugher? Jesus. So that's what he's worried about. Can't let the public know the mother of his daughter is some junkie.

James Amber is the hidden secondary antagonist of ''Life is Strange: Before the Storm. ''He is a local district attorney and the father of Rachel Amber, the deuteragonist of the game.

Before Before the Storm
During high school, James met and fell in love with the school's most popular girl, Sera Gearhardt. The two were going steady for a long time, even having a daughter together. However, James soon learned that his priorites of starting a family and career were unimportant to Sera, instead getting addicted to drugs. Sera would bring criminals and drug dealers into their home, endangering Rachel when she was supposed to be watching her. Realizing the danger his daughter was in, James left Sera and took Rachel with him.

James later met and married Rose, who became Rachel's adoptive mother. James also sent hush money to Sera in exchange for her never making contact with Rachel.

Shortly before the events of the game, James heard Sera was in Arcadia Bay and already associating with local dealers like Frank Bowers. Desperate to protect his daughter, James contacted Damon Merrick, the most notorious criminal in town, to get rid of her. However, Damon demanded that in return, James would dispose of key evidence in an assault case that could lock Damon away for good. James refused at first, until Damon threatened his daughter.

Episode 1: Awake
James meets Sera in the park and gives her a "goodbye" kiss, but also warns her that she cannot contact Rachel again. This meeting was secretly being watched by Chloe and Rachel through a viewfinder. James was later at Blackwell Academy with the Principal Wells and Officer Berry when the wildfire broke out. James looked at the fire in shock.

Episode 2: Brave New World
James and Rose are in the principal's office the next morning in regards to Rachel and Chloe playing hooky the day before. Rachel takes the fall for Chloe, but because it's Rachel's first offense, she's given a much lighter sentence, although she is told she cannot perform in the school play, upsetting both Rachel and her parents. Regardless of whether or not Chloe successfully convinces Wells to let Rachel back in the play, James will be displeased with Wells when he leaves his office. James and Rose briefly meet Joyce, Chloe's mother, before leaving with their daughter.

Later, Chloe and Rachel plan to leave Arcadia Bay for good, but as they are preparing to sneak some supplies out of the Amber home, James and Rose return. Rose warmly welcomes Chloe, but James is skeptical of her. During dinner, he is openly disdainful of Chloe's progressive attitude and the "corrupting" influence she has on Rachel, resulting in an argument between himself, Chloe, and Rose (though Rose only speaks up to chastise James for speaking rudely to their guest). Tired of the deceit, Rachel angrily smashes the table and demands James tell the truth. James reveals the woman in the park (Sera) was not his mistress, but actually Rachel's biological mother.

Episode 3: Hell is Empty
After James reveals his backstory with Sera to the two girls, Rachel becomes upset and goes to her room. James warns Chloe that Sera is dangerous and asks her to protect Rachel from harm.

James later hears that Rachel was stabbed by Damon, immediately rushing to the hospital with his wife. Chloe then learns that he has been after Damon for some time, and is genuinely grateful to her for saving his daughter's life.

When Chloe breaks into the Amber office (at Rachel's behest) for information on Sera, Chloe finds secret information that James contacted Damon to get rid of Sera, learning of his shady dealings. When Chloe goes to rescue Sera, Damon boldly claims James wanted him to outright kill Sera and get her out of the way for good. After Frank and Damon fight, Sera tells Chloe not to tell Rachel about what James did, saying she needs a loving father.

James's relationship with his family ends different depending on the choices made; if Chloe tells Rachel the truth, Rachel will distance herself from her father, and he will later be shown visibly angry that his family has fallen apart. If Chloe instead decides to hide the truth, the Amber family will stay together, and even regularly have Chloe over for dinner, though she will still know what James did and what extremes he will go through.