Keifer — POV
Midnight. Greenhouse No. 3.
The air outside had the brittle chill of early winter, the kind that turned every breath into a cloud of doubt. I stayed in the shadows along the estate's outer paths, avoiding the cameras I'd mapped out years ago — back when I thought Kaizer's meticulous security was just paranoia, not strategy.
The envelope inside my coat felt heavier than iron. Heavier than truth usually does.
My mind replayed Lizbeth's words over and over.
Your uncle. The one who walked away.
I didn't know what that meant — not yet. But the world had already tilted off its axis tonight, so what was one more revelation?
The glass frame of Greenhouse No. 3 glimmered ahead, its windows fogged from the humidity inside. A single lantern glowed within the aisles of overgrown orchids and rare hybrids my mother used to adore.
I slipped inside.
The scent hit first — damp earth, jasmine, the faint metallic tang of fertilizer. Then a shape shifted behind the central fountain.
A man. Tall. Broad shouldered. Gray threading his dark hair. Eyes that looked like mine if they'd lived through far worse.
"So," he said. His voice was deeper than Kaizer's, steadier. "You finally came."
"You're—"
"Your mother's brother," he finished. "And the only reason you're still alive."
I froze. My pulse knocked against my ribs.
He held up his hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here because she asked me to find you when the time was right."
"And now is the right time?" I asked sharply. "Because Kaizer is meeting with the Argent Meridian?"
His expression tightened, just slightly. "So you found the archive."
"I found a lot."
My fingers brushed the envelope in my pocket. "But not enough."
"You will." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "But first, Keifer, you need to understand one thing: your mother didn't die because she was reckless."
He waited.
"She died because she knew something Kaizer couldn't let anyone else learn."
I felt the world tilt again, sharper this time.
"And that," he said, "is what's in the letter she left for you."
My breath hitched.
"But be careful. Once you read it… there's no turning back."
Before I could speak, a buzzing vibration filled the greenhouse — my phone glowing in my pocket
Jay.
Her name lit up the screen.
And a message beneath it.
We need to talk. Now. Something's wrong.
My stomach dropped.
Of course something was wrong.
I just didn't know yet that whatever danger I was stepping toward…
…Jay was already standing in the middle of it.
Jay POV
Philippines — The Island Villa
The guard watched me like a vulture, waiting for my voice to shake, waiting for me to break Keifer's resolve.
I lifted the phone again, hands trembling.
One call. One lie. One chance to beg him to stop.
But the moment he answered, I heard it — the way his breathing tightened before I even spoke.
He already knew something was wrong.
"Jay?" He never said my name softly unless he sensed danger. Or unless he thought he was about to lose me.
I swallowed.
"Keifer… please listen. You have to stop. Stop digging into Kaizer. Stop everything you're doing. Return the documents. The letter. All of it."
Silence. A dangerous silence.
"What did Kaizer's men tell you?" he asked.
The guard's fingers brushed the metal of his gun.
I froze.
"They said they'll kill me," I whispered. "And the baby."
Keifer's breath hitched sharply — not shocked… but furious.
"Jay," he said quietly. "You don't have to pretend. I know."
Tears filled my eyes. Of course he knew. He was the one who said they should keep the baby. He was the one who held my face and whispered that he wanted this — wanted a family with me, even if the world around us was falling apart. He was the one who'd pressed his forehead to mine and said, If you want to stay, we stay. If you want to keep it, we keep it.
"I told you I'd protect both of you," he murmured. "And I meant it."
My throat tightened. "Keifer… please. They're serious. They're not bluffing."
"They won't touch you," he said. "Or our baby. I won't let them."
The guard snapped his fingers sharply — warning me to push harder.
"Keifer, I'm begging you," I whispered, voice cracking. "They'll hurt us. They'll—"
"Jay."
His tone sharpened, slicing through my panic.
"I'm coming for you. And I don't care if I have to play dirty."
"No—"
"They think threatening you will stop me," he continues. "What they don't realize is—" His voice dropped.
"—you're the reason I'm not holding back anymore."
My breath stuttered.
"Stay alive," he said. "For me. For our baby."
The guard stepped forward. I ended the call before he could rip the phone from my hands.
He watched me with cold irritation — disappointed I hadn't convinced Keifer to surrender.
"Kaizer will escalate now," he said. "Prepare yourself."
I pressed a hand to my stomach. Three months. Still small. Still fragile. Still everything worth fighting for.
Inside my ribcage, fear and defiance tangled into something sharp. Kaizer thought my baby was leverage. He didn't know that my baby was also my strength.
Keifer — POV
London — Greenhouse No. 3
I barely heard the greenhouse door slam shut behind me. My pulse thundered. My vision blurred at the edges. Not with fear. With fury.
My uncle stepped in front of me before I reached the exit.
"Keifer—"
"He threatened my family," I growled. "I'm done waiting."
"You can't storm in blind."
"I didn't plan on being subtle."
My uncle grabbed my arm. "Kaizer is expecting you to be reckless. It's exactly what he wants."
I pulled free.
"He wants me to abandon my mother's truth," I said. "He wants me to hand everything over. He wants to kill the woman I love and the child I chose to fight for."
My voice broke for the first time.
"I told her we'd keep the baby. I told her I wanted it. This is my fault. And I will not let Kaizer rewrite the future I chose for us."
My uncle's expression changed — something like grief flickering behind his eyes.
"Keifer…" he said quietly. "This baby… you don't understand why Kaizer fears it."
"Then tell me."
He hesitated. "Your child," he said finally, "is the first Watson heir not under Kaizer's control. And the last piece of leverage he's ever going to lose."
I froze.
"What do you mean?"
"Your mother," he said, voice low, "hid something from Kaizer. Something that only you — and now your child — can access. Something that could bring his empire to its knees."
My chest tightened.
"And that," he finished, "is why Kaizer sent men to Jay. Not to scare you."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"But to erase the future that threatens him."
I felt something shift inside me — a clarity sharper than rage.
"Then I need to protect that future," I said. "And the people in it."
My uncle nodded once. "Then we start tonight."
End of chapter 41