Author's POV
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, bruised shadows across the blood-stained gravel of the courtyard. The silence that followed the screeching tires of the retreating SUVs was heavier than the gunfire had been. It was a silence thick with realization, shifting paradigms, and the scent of ozone and iron.
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KEIGAN POV
I stood frozen, my breath hitching in my throat as I watched Jay—no, the Bloody Crimson—lower her hand.
For months, I had looked at her and seen a nuisance. I saw a girl who obsessed over stuffed animals, who pouted when she didn't get the right snacks, and who seemed like a fragile, immature distraction for my Kuya Keifer. I thought she was a liability, a weakness he had allowed into our fortress.
But as she stood there, the tactical gear hugging her frame like a second skin, I realized how blind I had been.
The way those men—hardened killers who had just been ready to slit Keiren's throat—collapsed to their knees wasn't out of respect. It was primal terror. They looked at her the way a sinner looks at the Reaper. Her eyes weren't the warm, sparkling chocolate
I'd seen at dinner; they were cold, obsidian voids that seemed to swallow the light.
Then, the mask flickered.
The moment she reached for Keiren, the darkness didn't vanish, but it folded itself away. She pulled him into her arms with a tenderness that made my chest ache. It wasn't just the hug of an elder sister. It was a fierce, primal, maternal protection.
In that moment, watching her chin rest on Keiren's messy hair, a sharp, jagged memory pierced through me. I missed my mother. I missed the feeling of being held so tightly that the rest of the world felt like it couldn't touch you
I had judged Jay for being "childish," but I realized now that her "childishness" was a choice—a gift she gave us to keep the world light. Underneath it was a woman who could burn the world down to keep her family warm.
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ANGELO POV
I wiped a spray of blood from my cheek, my eyes never leaving Jay. I had always prided myself on being the "blade" of this family—the one who saw the threats before they arrived.
I looked at the discarded weapons on the ground. Forty elite assassins from the Iron Talon and Shadow Hand—units we in the underworld whispered about in hushed tones—had just surrendered to a nineteen-year-old girl without her firing a single bullet.
A chilling realization washed over me: Jay was never needed our protection
All those times we hovered over her, all those times Keifer worried about her safety, or we thought we were "protecting" her... it was a farce. She didn't stay with us because she needed a roof or a guard detail. She stayed because she chose to. She allowed us to feel like her protectors because she loved us.
I looked at her now, shielding Keiren's eyes. This was the same girl who cried for three hours last week because her favorite Snorlax plushie got a small rip in the seam. That girl was a warrior. A Queen. And I felt a sudden, sharp surge of humility. We weren't her guardians; we were her pride. And heaven help anyone who tried to take her from her den.
But no matter who she is , she will always be my little troublemaker.
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KEIFER POV
I couldn't move. My heart was doing a frantic double-beat—half from the adrenaline of the fight, and half from the sheer, staggering awe of the woman standing in the center of the carnage.
I knew Jay could fight. I'd seen her moves, her speed, her instincts. But I didn't know this. I didn't know she held the leash of the very shadows that haunted my own nightmares. To see forty men—men I was prepared to die fighting—bow to her as if she were a dark goddess... it changed everything.
She was my Queen. I had called her that as a term of endearment, a title of affection. But seeing her now, I realized it wasn't a nickname. It was a fact.
The way she handled that coward who held the knife—it was surgical. She was lethal, yet she didn't let the darkness consume her. She pushed the violence away the second Keiren was safe. But the questions began to roar in my mind.
Who are you, Jay?
What is your real identity? First hidden ceo of ' JJM ' ! How deep does the "Bloody Crimson" legend go? I looked at the girl I love , realizing that for every layer I peeled back, there were a hundred more I hadn't even glimpsed. I didn't feel fear, though. I felt a burning, possessive pride. And a desperate need to know every single secret she carried.
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Others POV
PERCY POV
I stared at my "baby sistah," my jaw practically on the gravel. I thought I was the cool one in the family. I'm a high-level hacker, but she... she just deactivated an entire army with a look. I feel like I've been playing with toy cars while she's been driving tanks.
ARIES POV
My shoulder was bleeding, but I didn't feel the pain. I didnt see the girl who cried over food.I just saw the way she stood on that fountain. She looked like a general from the old world. I have never seen her like that. But in that all , my Jay-Jay, my sister is still their.
JOSH POV
I always thought she was just "one of the girls." Seeing her in that tactical gear, with that Glock tucked into her back... I've never felt more safe and more intimidated at the same time.
CIN POV
JAY-JAY , the girl who hit me for stealing her food. Scared of a ghost.Who still looks like a child like me.Is a Mafia. OH GOD! I will make sure to not irritate her again.
YURI POV
Silence is my language, but even I wanted to scream in shock. Her movement when she grabbed that man's wrist—it was faster than my blades. She isn't just a fighter; she's the apex.
FREYA POV
I was shaking, clutching Ion's hand. Jay saved us. She wasn't the girl who needed our help with her dress anymore. She was the wall between us and death. I felt a new kind of reverence for her.
ION POV
I saw the rip in her blue silk dress earlier. She tore beauty away to reveal the beast. She looks different but she stills the sunshine I know.Amd I protect her no matter what.
RAKKI POV
I've seen some scary things , but Jay's eyes... they were like looking into a deep well with no bottom. She's a mystery wrapped in a nightmare, and I love her for it.
MIA POV
Ate Jay is a superhero. She's scary, but she's our scary superhero.I love her and I will protect her if needed.
FELIX POV
I just kept thinking... Note to self: Never, ever forget to bring her the right snacks ever again.
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Author's POV
The tension was broken by Percy. He stepped forward, his voice uncharacteristically small. "Baby sistah... who are they? And why... why were they so scared of you?"
Jay turned. The coldness in her eyes receded, replaced by a weary, soulful exhaustion. She looked at each of us—her brothers, her sisters, Keifer.
"I know you have questions," Jay said, her voice soft but steady. "I know I look like a stranger to you right now. But I can't give you the full truth today. Not yet."
She took a deep breath, looking toward the horizon. "I will tell you everything. Every name, every sin, every part of the Bloody Crimson. I'll tell you on my eighteenth birthday. Until then... do you still trust me?"
Keifer was the first to step forward, taking her hand. One by one, we all nodded. There was no hesitation. The "Bloody Crimson" had saved our lives, but Jay had captured our hearts long ago. We gave her our silence as a gift of trust.
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JAY POV
The adrenaline was starting to crash, leaving my limbs feeling like lead. I needed to wash the scent of gunpowder and fear off my skin.
I retreated to our suite, the heavy silence of the house following me. I stripped off the tactical gear, the black carbon fiber feeling cold as I shed it. I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water scald away the "Bloody Crimson" until only Jay remained.
I stepped out, wrapping a plush white towel around my body and another around my damp hair. The steam filled the room, blurring the edges of reality. I felt vulnerable, but for the first time in an hour, I felt like I could breathe.
Suddenly, a shadow moved.
Before I could reach for the dagger I'd left on the vanity, a pair of strong arms pinned me against the cool marble wall. I gasped, my heart leaping into my throat, until I met a pair of familiar, burning eyes.
"Keifer," I breathed.
He was still in his white dress shirt, now ruined with blood and dirt. His hair was a mess, and his breath was slightly ragged. He had me trapped between his body and the wall, his hands firmly on either side of my shoulders.
I felt a spark of my old sass return, a defense mechanism against the intensity in his gaze. "After seeing everything downstairs... you still have the guts to pin me, Watson? Aren't you afraid I'll break your wrist too?"
Keifer didn't flinch. Instead, a slow, dangerous smirk spread across his face—the look of a man who had seen a dragon and decided he wanted to keep it.
"After seeing them terrified of you?" he whispered, leaning in until his lips brushed my ear. "I don't feel fear, Jay. I feel proud. I'm incredibly proud that the woman who can make an entire army of assassins drop to their knees is the same woman who turns bright red when I kiss her neck."
I felt the heat rush to my face. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, really?" He moved his hand from the wall, trailing his fingers down my arm, making my skin prickle. "I love that the 'Bloody Crimson' is terrified of me in a completely different way. You're blushing, Jay."
"I am not! It's the steam from the shower!" I stammered, my heart racing for an entirely different reason than it had been on the roof.
"Is that so?" he murmured. He took my hand and placed it over his own heart. It was thudding wildly. Then he moved his other hand to the small of my back, pulling me inches closer.
I looked up at him, completely flustered, my "Queen" persona melting into a puddle of shy, frantic emotions. "Keifer, stop it..."
"See?" He chuckled, a deep, rich sound that vibrated through my chest. "This is what I mean. You can handle a blade, you can handle a gang, but you can't handle me. That's the version of you I get to keep."
He leaned in, giving me a lingering, soft kiss on the lips that felt like a seal of protection. "Change your clothes. The others are waiting for dinner, and I think we all need to feel like a family again."
Before I could respond, he let go and vanished back into the bedroom, leaving me standing there, shivering and completely red-faced.
I leaned against the wall, sliding down slightly as I touched my forehead.
He's unbelievable, I thought, a small, genuine smile tugging at my lips.
Downstairs, I had been a legend. I had been a nightmare. I had been a Queen. But here, in the steam of a quiet bathroom, I was just Jay. And somehow, being "terrified" of Keifer Watson was the most powerful I had ever felt.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The "Bloody Crimson" was still there, lurking in the depths of my eyes, ready to come back if the world ever threatened my family again. But for tonight, I would put on my pajamas, eat dinner with my brothers, and be exactly who they needed me to be.
I had a birthday to prepare for. And a boy named Ram to erase.
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A/n
First of all, I am so sorry for not posting these past few days! Life got a bit hectic, but I am back with this intense update!
Also, a small request to my lovely readers: please don't hate on Andres or Ashtine just yet. They are human, and like everyone else, they have right to live normal life. Let's not judge them without knowing the full truth—remember, a half-truth is often more dangerous than a lie.
What did you think of everyone's reactions to the "Bloody Crimson"? Were you surprised by Keigan's change of heart?
Let's aim for 30+ comments 🎯 for the next update! I love reading your theories! Love you all! 👋 😘