--: Author's POV: --
The urgency in his tone acted like a trigger. Within seconds, the luxury hotel's entrance was a blur of activity. The boys of Section E didn't ask questions; they moved like a coordinated unit, clearing a path through the confused prom-goers.
Jay Jay was a ghost of herself. She didn't walk; she let Keifer carry her, her fingers hooked so tightly into the fabric of his jacket that it felt like she was trying to merge into him. She wouldn't look up. Every time the elevator dinged or a car door slammed, she flinched violently, a small, broken whimper escaping her throat.
The F4 arrived at the curb just as the black SUVs pulled up. Aries had called them the moment he saw the state Jay Jay was in.
"What happened?" Thyme demanded, his face hardening as he saw the usually unbreakable Jay Jay reduced to a shivering shell in Keifer's arms.
"I don't know!" Keifer barked, his eyes wild with a mix of fury and pure panic. "She won't talk! She won't let go!"
The ride back was unlike any other. Jay Jay refused to sit on the seat; she remained clung to Keifer, so they sat in the back of the lead SUV together. Thyme took the driver's seat, his jaw set in a grim line, while Ren sat beside him, his eyes constantly checking the side mirrors for anyone following.
In the back, Keifer held her as if she were made of glass. He didn't care about his suit or the sweat beading on his forehead. He only cared about the girl who was breathing in short, jagged hitches against his chest.
"I've got you, Jay," he whispered over and over, his voice a frantic prayer. "I'm not letting anyone near you."
Behind them, the other cars followed in a tight formation. Inside the second car, the girls were in a state of shock. Freya was staring out the window, her hands trembling in her lavender dress. She was the last one to see Jay Jay before... whatever happened. The guilt was already starting to suffocate her.
--: Keifer's POV: --
The silence in the car was heavy, like lead. Every few minutes, I would try to gently pull her back just enough to see her face, to see if she was hurt, but she only clung tighter, burying her face deeper into the crook of my neck.
"Talk to me, baby," I pleaded, my heart breaking with every sob she let out. "Who was there? Did someone say something? Did someone touch you?"
No answer. Only the sound of the tires on the pavement and her terrified, uneven breathing.
I looked at Thyme in the rearview mirror. Our eyes met for a split second. We were both thinking the same thing: Someone got past our security. Someone touched what was ours. And the price for that was going to be blood.
--: Author's POV: --
When they reached the Watson Mansion, the gates didn't just close—they slammed. Angelo was already standing on the porch, his face pale under the floodlights. He had abandoned his meeting the second the alarm went out. Apparently Aries called him too after the incident..
"Lock it down!" Angelo roared to the security team as Keifer stepped out of the car, still carrying Jay Jay. "I want a full sweep of the perimeter! No one enters, no one leaves! If a bird flies over this wall, I want to know its name!"
The F4 and Section E followed them inside like a private army. The grand hall, which had been filled with laughter and beautiful dresses just hours ago, now felt like a war room.
"MJ, Edrix – check the cameras from the hotel. I want to see everyone who entered that hallway." Keifer commanded, not even looking back as he headed for the stairs.
"We're on it," Edrix said, his usual playful tone replaced by a cold, calculating edge.
--: Jay Jay's POV: --
The world was a blur of black and silver. I couldn't stop the images from flashing behind my eyes. The smell of tobacco. The yellow eyes. The way he looked at me.
I felt Keifer's heart beating against my ear, but even that didn't feel safe enough. He said he'd find me when I was alone. He said he'd kill me.
Don't say anything. If you speak, they die.
The thought was a scream in my head. I wanted to tell Keifer. I wanted to tell him that the monster was back, but the words were stuck in my throat, choked by the mental image of Keifer lying in a pool of blood.
We reached the room, and Keifer sat on the bed, still holding me. I wouldn't let go of his jacket. If I let go, the shadows would grab me.
"Jay Jay," he whispered, his hands cupping my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyes were filled with so much love and so much pain that it hurt to look at them. "You're in the mansion. There are fifty guards outside. The F4 is downstairs. Section E is on the roof. You are safe. I promise you, you are safe."
I looked at the window, half-expecting to see that devilish smile pressed against the glass. I just shook my head, a fresh wave of tears spilling over.
"He... he's here, Keifer," I whispered, the first words I'd spoken since the stairwell.
Keifer's body went rigid. "Who? Who is here?"
I just squeezed my eyes shut and pulled him closer, the silver silk of my dress rustling in the quiet room. "Don't leave me. Please. Just don't leave me. Otherwise he'll take me.."
--: Keifer's POV: --
I sat on the edge of the bed, my body vibrating with a tension so high I thought my bones might crack. My jacket was tossed on the floor like a piece of trash. I didn't care about the expensive fabric. I only cared about the girl shivering against my chest.
I felt her stir. Her fingers, still locked into my white dress shirt, tightened. She looked up at me, and the look in her eyes—the raw, hollow vacancy where her fire used to be—made me want to tear the world apart.
"Jay Jay," I whispered, cupping her face. My hands were shaking, but I forced them to be steady for her. "Talk to me, baby. Please. Who are you talking about?? Tell me exactly what he said. Don't leave a single word out. I need to know what he is."
She swallowed hard, a fresh wave of tears spilling over her cheeks. Her voice was so low, so broken, that I had to lean in to hear her.
"My stepfather..." her voice broke into a small, terrified whisper. "The one in Thailand who... who tried to..."
"What did he do?" I interrupted. My voice was a low growl, vibrating with a fury I couldn't suppress. I wasn't angry at her—I was drowning in a wave of self-hatred for not being there, for letting my guard down even for a second while a monster was in the room.
"I bumped into him while I was going to the restroom. At first, I just thought, is it him?" She shuddered, her eyes darting to the door as if he were standing there now. "I wasn't sure. I tried to tell myself I was just being paranoid, that he couldn't be here... but then I saw Freya. We were coming back together, and I thought I was safe. But suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. I couldn't even scream... his hand was over my mouth so fast..." She choked on a sob, her fingers digging into my arms. "He pinned me against the wall, Keifer. He held me there like I was nothing. He put his hand over my mouth so hard I could taste the dirt on his skin. He leaned into my ear... he smelled like rot. He hissed, 'I finally found you, my little bird.' "
My blood turned to ice. My little bird. The way he said it, even through her voice, made my skin crawl with a murderous heat.
"He told me he'd been watching me," she continued, her breathing becoming jagged. "He said he knew I lived here. He said... he said he didn't want to do it tonight. He said, 'I want you to suffer first. I want you to look over your shoulder every time a door opens. I want you to wonder if tonight is the night."
I ground my teeth together, my knuckles turning white as I held her. I wanted to scream, but I stayed silent. I had to hear it all.
"He said... if I tell anyone, he'd vanish and wait until I was truly alone. He said, 'I will do what was interrupted. I will.. I will... fuck you until you beg, and once I am satisfied... I will kill you. No one will ever find the body.' He called me 'his child,' Keifer. He told me he'd see me soon."
She broke then. A devastating, silent sob racked her body, and she buried her face back into my neck. I held her with a strength that was almost desperate, prying her away from the darkness with my own arms. I didn't say anything because I couldn't. If I opened my mouth, a roar of pure, unadulterated fury would have brought the mansion down.
Slowly, her hitching breaths slowed. The sheer weight of the terror finally pulled her into a heavy, haunted sleep. I stayed exactly like that—holding her, guarding her—until her grip on my shirt finally loosened.
--: Author's POV: --
Downstairs, the grand hall was a scene of grim tension. Freya sat on the edge of the sofa, her lavender dress rumpled and her eyes red. She finally looked up at Angelo, the F4, and the boys of Section E.
"There's something you all need to know," Freya whispered, her voice shaking. "In the restroom... She disappeared.. Jay Jay was already having a panic attack. She told me it was a 'dizzy spell' and begged me not to tell Keifer or anyone..."
Aries stood up, his face dark. "That's it. We're going up there."
The entire group started for the stairs, but David stepped out, blocking the path. "Stop," he whispered. "We can't go in like a mob. We'll terrify her. It would be better if only few of us go."
They agreed. Angelo, Thyme, Ren, Kavin, MJ, Aries, Percy, and Yuri moved quietly up the stairs and pushed the Master Suite doors open.
--: Keifer'sPOV: --
The click of the door made my eyes snap toward the entrance. I didn't move from the bed. I sat there like a statue, watching them enter. Jay Jay was curled beside me, her face pale in the dim light.
"Keifer," Angelo breathed. "Freya told us about the bathroom. She said Jay Jay was already panicking—"
"I know," I interrupted, my voice sounding like a low, guttural growl that didn't belong to a human. I stood up slowly, prying her hand from my shirt so gently it was like moving a butterfly's wing. I stepped into the center of the room to face them.
"She told me everything," I said, my voice dropping into a lethal, icy register.
I repeated the words to them. Every disgusting threat. Every promise of what that monster intended to do to her. As I spoke, the air in the room seemed to vanish. Thyme's eyes turned to flint. Aries looked like he wanted to burn the world down.
"He's a ghost here," Ren said softly, his mind already calculating the risks. "He knows how to hide in this city."
"Then we go somewhere where there are no blind spots," I said, looking directly at Thyme. "We're taking her to Thailand before college. Your family's estate. We own the security. We own the law. If he wants her, he has to step onto our home turf."
Thyme nodded, a dark, predatory smirk playing on his lips. "In Thailand, I'll have a drone on every corner. If he even breathes near her, he's a dead man."
I looked back at the sleeping girl in the silver dress.
"Pack the bags," I commanded. "We leave at dawn. This isn't just a vacation anymore. It's an execution."