Keifer's POV
This girl… seriously.
First, she looks at me like I'm her whole world.
Then she kisses my chest.
Then—bam—door slammed on my face like I committed a crime.
I shook my head, a smile sneaking in no matter how hard I tried to control it.
Maybe that's exactly why she's mine.
And why I'm hers.
Jay isn't soft in the usual way. She's fire wrapped in warmth, chaos stitched with love. She makes you feel safe and terrified at the same time—and somehow, you never want to leave.
I started the car, fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel as I drove. The city lights blurred past, but my mind stayed back there… at her door… at her voice when she asked if we'd be safe.
We will be, I promised silently. No matter what it costs.
Angelo's office came into view.
The moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere hit me—heavy, serious, sharp. No jokes. No noise.
Aries stood near the window, arms crossed, eyes dark.
Percy leaned against the table, jaw clenched.
Yuri sat on the couch, shoulders slumped, guilt practically pouring off him.
Angelo was behind his desk, calm but deadly serious.
Rory and Edrix were there. too—oddly quiet for once.
Everyone turned toward me.
Angelo spoke first. "You're late."
"I had to drop Jay home," I replied simply.
Yuri's head snapped up. "Is she okay?"
I nodded. "Shaken. Angry. Acting like she's not scared."
Aries exhaled sharply. "That girl has more courage than most men I know."
I pulled a chair and sat down, my expression hardening. The smile from earlier vanished.
Yuri swallowed.
Angelo finally spoke, his voice sharp.
"Now tell me," he said, looking straight at Yuri, "what do you mean by it was different?"
The room went oddly quiet.
Yuri shifted on his feet. He didn't look at anyone at first, just clenched his jaw.
"…It also includes William," he said, almost under his breath.
Angelo froze.
"What?" His head snapped up. "William?!"
That name hit the room like a sudden crack of thunder.
I straightened in my chair.
"Okay," I said slowly, breaking the silence, "who's William?"
No one answered immediately.
Yuri finally looked at me, and for the first time since the argument started, there was clear worry in his eyes. Not anger. Not guilt.
Fear.
And that's when I knew—
whoever William was, he wasn't just part of the past.
He was a problem.
Angelo exhaled slowly before answering, his face hard.
"He's one of the most powerful and richest members of the Fraternity."
Yuri added quietly, "And the biggest drug mafia."
Something clicked in my head. My jaw tightened.
"…Is he the same drug mafia whose drugs were exploded?"
Angelo nodded once.
"Why?" The word slipped out before I could stop it.
Yuri's voice cracked. "Because he's helping your father."
"What?" I stood up without realizing it.
"Yes," Yuri continued, the words rushing out now. "He suffered huge financial losses because of that explosion. As far as I know, your father promised him money—or something bigger—in return for helping him get rid of you."
The room went silent.
"If I didn't finish things today," Yuri said, his fists shaking, "they would've come for us. And if that happens…" His voice broke completely. "I'll lose my mom."
Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he didn't even bother wiping them away.
My chest tightened.
I knew that pain. Too well.
The fear of losing a mother.
The helplessness.
The rage that follows.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe. This wasn't just about me anymore. It never was.
And at that moment, I understood—
this wasn't a warning.
It was a countdown.
Angelo straightened, his voice firm, cutting through the heaviness in the room.
"First thing—we help Yuri. We save his mother. And we do it today."
No hesitation. No second thoughts.
Yuri looked up, shocked. "Angelo—"
"I'm not asking," Angelo interrupted.
I didn't know what Angelo was planning.
That was the most terrifying and the most reassuring part.
If Kuya had that look—quiet, controlled, eyes sharp—then something big was already moving in his head. I could only hope one thing.
That whatever he decided…
it would protect my Jay.
And my brothers.
Edrix leaned back against the table, running a hand through his hair. Rory was pacing, restless, torn between worry and adrenaline.
"So… should we tell the rest of Section E?" Rory asked finally. "They deserve to know something, at least."
For a second, the room waited.
Angelo didn't even look at him when he answered.
"No."
Rory stopped pacing. "Why?"
"Because the more people who know," Angelo said calmly, "the bigger the target gets."
Edrix frowned. "You think this could reach them?"
Angelo finally lifted his gaze. "I know it can."
Silence crashed into the room.
I swallowed hard. Section E wasn't just a group. They were chaos, loyalty, family. But they were also reckless—and this enemy wasn't one you survived with jokes and fists alone.
"This stays between us," Angelo continued. "For now. Until we're sure Jay, Elara, and the rest are completely out of range."
My chest tightened at Jay's name.
Good.
Keep her away from this darkness.
Even if she'd already proven… she could walk through it without fear.
Rory broke the silence first.
"Don't you think…" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "there's something else about Elara?"
I looked up. "What do you mean?"
Rory exhaled. "Her attitude. The way she reads situations. Plans. Executes. It's not normal. Not impulsive. It's… calculated."
Edrix nodded immediately, stepping in. "I was thinking the same. Her mind is like—" he searched for the word, then gave up, "—like she can rearrange a whole battlefield in seconds."
I didn't deny it. I couldn't.
"I already placed a few people behind her," I admitted. "Nothing official. Just observation. They found nothing suspicious. No records. No loose ends."
Angelo's fingers tapped once on the table. He finally spoke, voice low.
"I noticed the way she held the gun," he said. "One hand. No hesitation. Clean shot. That level of control doesn't come from a few sessions at a shooting range."
The room went quiet again.
I leaned back, jaw tightening. Elara wasn't reckless. She was precise. And that was more dangerous than chaos.
"But," Angelo continued, ending the discussion with authority, "for now, we don't dig."
Everyone looked at him.
"Keep an eye on her," he said calmly. "Nothing obvious. No pressure. And more importantly—focus on what actually matters right now."
Yuri.
His mother.
William.
My father.
Elara could wait.
Because whatever storm was coming…
this one wasn't hers.
The Planning Room
The room didn't look like a war room.
Too clean. Too quiet.
Glass table. Projectors. Screens lining the walls. One city map, three satellite feeds, and a blinking red marker pinned over a nameless village.
Angelo stood at the head like this was a board meeting, not a rescue mission.
"Focus," he said. "This is not a fight. This is an extraction."
I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, watching him flip open a tablet. Numbers. Names. Assets. Everything timed down to the minute—no, to the second.
"This village," Angelo continued, enlarging the map, "has three perimeter layers."
The screen shifted.
"Outer ring: hired guards. Semi-trained. Guns, radios, predictable ego." He tapped once. "Middle ring: clan men. Loyal. Quiet. Knives, rods, limited firearms." Another tap. "Inner zone: one holding structure. Two exits. One real, one decoy."
Yuri swallowed hard.
Rory broke in, practical. "Patrol frequency?"
Angelo swiped. "Every eleven minutes. Except at 3:40 a.m.—shift change. That's our window."
Edrix was already typing. "Cameras?"
"Handled," Angelo replied calmly. "Bought the maintenance company six months ago."
Percy let out a low whistle. "Rich people scare me."
Aries grinned. "Speak for yourself."
Angelo didn't smile.
He tapped again.
"Personnel assignments."
The screen split into names.
"Edrix—surveillance breach, signal looping, emergency blackout trigger." "Rory—coordination, evacuation timing, external interference control."
"Percy and Aries—outer distraction. Noise without chaos."
Percy saluted dramatically. "Loud but classy."
"Keifer," Angelo said, eyes meeting mine, "inner extraction with me."
I nodded once. No argument.
Yuri looked up sharply. "What about me?"
A pause.
"You're not fighting," Angelo said. "You're identifying. Confirm your mother. No hero moves."
Yuri clenched his fists but nodded.
Angelo continued like this was a quarterly report.
"We'll deploy twelve private bodyguards. Ex-military. Clean records. No clan ties." He flicked to another screen. "Four trained fighters inside. Non-lethal priority unless necessary."
"Force backup?" Rory asked.
Angelo's answer was immediate. "Two armored vehicles, one medical unit, one air extraction on standby. Silent engines."
I raised an eyebrow. "Overkill?"
"No," Angelo replied. "Insurance."
The room fell silent.
This wasn't rage planning. This wasn't revenge.
This was a billionaire's precision—money turned into certainty, strategy turned into safety.
As the final routes locked in, Angelo closed the tablet.
"We go in. We get her. We disappear."
He looked at Yuri.
"And we leave nothing behind that can trace back to you—or us."
I leaned forward, fingers interlacing.
Inside, something twisted.
Because plans this perfect usually meant one thing—
Someone, somewhere, was already afraid of us.
And we hadn't even moved yet.