Jay's POV
The room was dead silent.
Every pair of eyes was on me.
"...Anderson Moorvan," I repeated, leaning back against the couch.
Nobody spoke.
Rory was the first to break the silence.
"...Never heard of him." He said
"I know," I replied.
David frowned.
"Neither have I."
"Because he disappeared." I muttered
Kuya Angelo folded his arms.
"Start from the beginning."
I sighed dramatically before grabbing a grape from the fruit bowl on the coffee table.
"This is gonna be a long story."
Ci N groaned.
"Can you tell it without sounding like a Netflix documentary?" He pouted
I threw the grape at him.
It hit him square on the forehead.
"OWW!" He winced
"Shut up." I glared at him
Everyone ignored his whining.
I popped another grape into my mouth before speaking.
Three years ago, almost every major mafia family gathered for a private summit. It wasn't public.It wasn't legal." I continued
"And it definitely wasn't a place ordinary people could ever find."
I leaned back against the couch..
"Everyone was there for one reason.....The next king or queen of underworld."
Keifer remained silent, his eyes never leaving me
.
"There were different rounds. Negotiation.Combat. Strategy. Shooting."
I held up another finger.
"And the final event...Driving."
"The contestant with the highest overall score would inherit the throne."
Rory let out a low whistle.
"So...You won?"
"I did." I answered,shrugged casually.
"But Anderson wasn't about to accept second place."
The room stayed quiet.
"He couldn't stand the idea of losing...especially to a woman."
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"The night before the final race, he came looking for me."
I could still picture it.
The underground garage. Rows of expensive sports cars. The smell of gasoline hanging in the air.
"He walked right up to me and said..."
I lowered my voice, imitating him.
'Let's make this interesting, mariano.'
"I asked him what he meant."
"He smiled...And challenged me to a bet."
Everyone leaned in.
"If he won the race...He'd take the throne....And I'd publicly admit that I was never worthy of it."
David's eyes widened.
"And if you won?"he asked
I smirked.
"He'd shut the fuck up.....accept his defeat.....and never challenge my position again."
Ci N snorted.
"So he basically gambled his own pride."
"Oh, he gambled a lot more than that."
I looked around the room.
Felix asked
"So you accepted."
"I accepted before he even finished talking."
Keifer sighed, shaking his head.
"You really don't know how to avoid trouble."
I grinned.
The room stayed quiet.
"He hated losing."
I laughed under my breath.
"He really hated that.He kept saying I'd cheated....But here's the funny part..."
"I didn't." I shrugged.
"He lost because of his own ego." I muttered
Angelo raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?"
I smirked.
"The idiot kept trying to force me off the road instead of focusing on the finish line."
David blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Mhm." i murmured. "He was so busy watching me...he forgot about the corner."
Rory leaned forward.
"What happened?"
I couldn't help smiling....my face was so smuge.
"He crashed." I told him
Silence.
Then...
Ci N snorted.
"You mean---He crashed his own damn car."
The room erupted into laughter.
Even Keifer covered his mouth.
Rory nearly fell off the couch.
"No fucking way!"
"You're kidding!"
"I'm not." I was laughing hard
"He got out of the car screaming that I'd cheated."
"He tried arguing with the judges."
"They replayed the security footage."
"And..." I spread my hands innocently ".It proved I never touched him."
David burst out laughing.
"So He embarrassed himself. In front of every mafia family."
"Yep." I smirked
"And then disappeared?"
"Pretty much." I said
The laughter slowly faded.
Keifer's smile disappeared first.
"So why now?"
That single question changed the atmosphere.
Nobody laughed anymore.
I stared at the coffee table.
"...I don't know."
Angelo looked thoughtful.
"If he's back now.....it's because he's been planning something."
Keifer nodded.
"And judging by this letter...He's no longer acting out of anger."
"Exactly." My voice was quite
I looked up.
"The Anderson I knew would've kicked down the front gate the second he found me."
"But this?"
I tapped the letter.
"This is patient.This is planned....And that's what..... worries me."
The room fell quiet again.
Yuri finally spoke.
"What do we do?"
Before anyone could answer----
A phone vibrated.
Everyone instinctively reached for theirs.
Keifer slowly pulled his phone from his pocket.
Unknown Number.
His brows furrowed.
"...Should I answer?" He looked up.
"Speaker," Angelo ordered.
Keifer nodded.
He accepted the call.
Silence.
For several seconds...
Nothing.
Only soft static.
Then...A man's voice.
Calm. Almost amused.
"...Good evening."
Every muscle in my body stiffened.
No.
It couldn't be.
The voice chuckled quietly.
"I see you've finally figured out my name."
Nobody breathed....The voice continued.
"I was beginning to think I'd have to introduce myself."
Keifer's grip tightened around his phone.
"...Who are you?"
Another chuckle.
"I think your girlfriend already knows."
The room was frozen.
I slowly stood.
"...Anderson." i said loudly
A brief silence followed.
Then he laughed.
"Still sharp, Princess."
I clenched my jaw.
"What do you want?"
His tone remained calm.
"Nothing. I just wanted to congratulate you."
"For what?" I asked.
"You remembered me." He answered
The call went quiet for a moment.
Then his voice returned.
"Oh...And Jay?"
I felt a chill crawl down my spine.
"I wouldn't stand so close to the window."
My heart stopped.
Every head snapped toward the massive glass windows behind us.
The curtains were slightly open.
Outside...
Across the road...
A black sedan slowly pulled away from the curb.
Keifer lunged toward the window.
"SHIT"
The car disappeared into the night before anyone could see the license plate.
The call ended.
The room was silent.
Angelo looked at Keifer.
"He was watching us." He said
Keifer's expression hardened.
"No..."
He then looked at me.
"He wanted us to know.....that he was watching us."
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
And somewhere beyond the mansion gates...
Anderson Moorvan smiled.
______________
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