Jay's POV:
Timing: after that ceo incident in London.
Day 2 without Keifer.
Day 2 without Elara.
Philippines feels weird.
Like the hallways are breathing.
Like the walls are listening.
Like the ground is waiting for someone to fall first.
Section E sits together in class — something they never do unless the world is about to break. I slide into my chair beside Rory. He looks tired, like he didn't sleep.
"Still absent." he mutters before I ask.
Elara. Obviously.
Before anyone can speak, Edrix's phone lights up.
Incoming Video Call: Keifer
My heartbeat trips.
Edrix accepts and props the phone up. Keifer's face fills the screen — messy hair, different room, huge window behind him showing London skies.
He doesn't greet anyone.
He just scans us, eyes sharp.
"Roll call."
He starts naming each of us and waits until we respond. Like a commander counting his soldiers.
Then his gaze lands on me through the screen.
My throat tightens.
"Jay," he says quietly.
"Are you okay?"
I nod too fast.
"Yeah… just… school."
Edrix coughs loudly to break the moment.
"So, uh — about Elara—"
Keifer interrupts.
"Did you hack her?"
Edrix scratches his head. "I tried, boss. But I need her phone in hand. Without the device, I can't crack location, messages, or call logs. And she doesn't have social media. Nothing to trace. Like she doesn't want to exist online."
No socials. No footprints.
Nothing.
"Keep trying," Keifer says. "Find a way."
Rory steps forward. "My agency contacted back. They'll send everything they dig up tomorrow morning — legal records, travel patterns, bank traces… whatever she's hiding. If she used her real identity, we'll know."
I blink.
If.
She might not even be "Elara."
He exhales.
"Stay alert. All of you. I don't want Jay alone. I don't want Elara near her. Not until I'm back."
My breath catches.
Me?
Why me?
Before I ask, Keifer's voice softens — only for a second.
"And Jay…"
The class goes silent.
I feel everyone staring.
"I'll make it up to you. For last night. For… everything."
His eyes lower.
"I'll wait. Until you say yes."
Heat races through me.
My chest does something stupid, like blooming and burning.
But I quickly look away.
Because I still remember what I saw last night — the moment I shouldn't have seen.
Angelo and Ion.
And part of me is scared.
Not of Keifer.
Of feeling too much.
Rory clears his throat to kill the tension.
"So um… until your return, we keep formation?"
Keifer nods.
"Edrix, tech surveillance. Rory, intel. David, ground connection and rumors."
Then…
"Jay. Trust your instinct. You see something, say something. Even if it's small."
Why is he trusting me with something this big?
"Alright," Keifer sighs, leaning back.
"I'll handle London. You handle Northgold."
Before the call ends, he looks at me again.
"Jay…"
I freeze.
"Don't run this time."
My heart stumbles.
And then — click.
Call disconnected.
The room stays quiet for a full ten seconds.
Edrix finally snaps the silence.
"So…" he smirks.
"When are you marrying him and moving to London?"
I smack him with my notebook.
"Shut up."
They laugh, but it doesn't touch the fear in their eyes.
Because no matter how much we joke…
someone is missing.
Someone who doesn't want to be found.
Someone who disappeared right when Keifer left.
Right when we let our guard down.
Elara.
And something tells me…
she isn't coming back as the same girl.
Next day:
The fan squeaks overhead, like it's begging for retirement.
Aries is tossing chalk up and catching it behind his back.
Rory is typing something seriously, jaw tight.
Drew is quietly humming like only he can hear his music.
My phone vibrates.
Keifer. Video call.
The moment I pick up, the air changes.
Section E may be chaos, but Keifer is gravity.
His face appears — hotel lobby background, foreign accents echoing behind him, hair damp like he just stepped out of a shower.
KEIFER: "Roll call. Updates. Now."
No greeting. No introduction.
I put him on speaker; the class drifts closer like metal to magnet.
Updates
KEIFER: "Rory. Talk."
Rory adjusts his glasses, fingers still on his keyboard.
RORY: "Agency report says her documents are clean. Transfer from St. Helens Academy after her parents divorced. Current guardian: grandmother. Records… normal. Attendance issues justified."
He pauses.
RORY: "Nothing to flag. At all."
Keifer's eyes sharpen, but he nods.
Like he expected more — but accepts less.
KEIFER: "Edrix. Your side."
Edrix leans back, feet on desk, smirk half-loaded.
EDRIX: "I checked. No social media. No cloud accounts. If she's hiding something, it's offline. I would need her phone to dig deeper but… I'm not hacking someone who trusts us."
He shrugs.
EDRIX: "And honestly? There's nothing weird."
Keifer lets out a slow breath through his nose.
Not frustration — just calculation.
My stomach drops a little.
Keifer closes his eyes for a second, then looks straight at me.
KEIFER: "Jay. Call her."
My throat tightens.
ME: "Right now?"
KEIFER: "Yes. On speaker."
Calling Elara
My hands don't shake — but they want to.
I dial.
Ring.
Ring.
She picks up, voice bright, breathy like she just moved.
ELARA: "hi Jay-jay! How are you , is everything fine"
Her tone is sunshine in sound.
I swallow.
ME: "yeah!. We just… wanted to check on you .by the way why aren't u coming school."
She laughs softly.
ELARA: "I'm with my grandmother. She's not well . I'll be back tomorrow."
Keifer sighed me to ask her address.
Me: "Where are you exactly maybe we can visit or send something?"
Silence — just half a second.
Then:
ELARA: "no there's no need but if I need me I am in Greenhollow. Near the old temple road. Two hours away by bus. It's quiet here. Peaceful."
Everything in her voice is normal.
Too normal.
ELARA: "Is… everything okay with you all? You sound serious."
I doesn't lie — but he edits.
"We just needed clarity. Rest.
Take care of your grandmother."
Her relief is audible.
ELARA: "Thank you. Tell felix his book is safe with me. And blaster—your song? I found a piano version. You'd like it."
Blaster freezes like someone just paused him.
We end the call.
The classroom exhales.
Keifer looks at us — eyes steady, like he's standing on the edge of something and we can't see the fall yet.
KEIFER: "Rory. Prepare the route."
RORY nods.
KEIFER: " you all are going to visit her."
Everyone nodded in response.
Keifer's pov:
I know I had told section e to confirm but still I have to see the ceo also.
London, 2:47 PM.
I'd just finished lunch with Uncle Kier when the news dropped—
the CEO of Hapipi Enterprises was staying in the city for a week.
Meetings. Inspections. Contract reviews. Whatever.
I didn't react. Just asked casually,
"How do people usually contact her office? I might have something to discuss."
Uncle Kier frowned.
"You won't get in. She's booked for days."
Then, recognizing the Watson surname on my suit ID card, he sighed and handed me a private assistant line.
"Try. Maybe your name gets you five minutes."
So I tried.
No drama. No explanations.
Just—
"Watson. Keifer Watson. I'm in London for a short period. I'd appreciate ten minutes to discuss mutually beneficial interests."
They made me wait. They transferred me twice.
Then finally, the answer:
"The CEO can spare twenty minutes at 4:30 PM. Main boardroom. Don't be late."
If it was really her…
Twenty minutes were enough.
4:28 PM — Outside the Boardroom
a simple check:
Tie straight
File ready
Mind clear
This wasn't emotional.
This was verification.
The door opened.
And the CEO walked in—
not Elara.
Corporate poise, sharp voice, minimal expression.
Her presence could silence a riot.
But she wasn't Elara.
So I stood, shook her hand, and kept everything professional.
The Meeting
We talked business—brief, deliberate.
Acquisitions.
Exports.
Projected expansions.
Her numbers made sense.
Efficiency, clear vision.
This wasn't a waste of time.
When the meeting wrapped, she glanced at me, assessing.
"You reached directly. That usually doesn't work," she said.
I shrugged.
"I don't like wasting time."
Her lips curved—almost a smirk.
"Then I suppose that makes two of us."
Handshake. Doors open.
Meeting done.
I was done here now I am ready to fly back to my jay tomorrow morning and rest of the information, I'll get from section e.