Chapter 31 – Blood In The Garden
"KNEEL."
Kaizer's voice echoed coldly through the garden.
The gun stayed aimed directly at Keifer.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed properly anymore.
Keifer stared at his father with pure hatred.
"Do it then," he said quietly.
JJ's head snapped toward him immediately.
"Keifer—"
But he never looked away from Kaizer.
Not once.
Kaizer tilted his head slightly.
"You'd die for pride?"
Keifer laughed softly.
Broken.
Dangerous.
"You confuse pride with disgust."
The gun clicked louder.
Keigan started crying again.
Keiren buried his face into JJ's shoulder trembling.
And then—
everything happened too fast.
Kaizer pulled the trigger.
But someone moved first.
"NO—!"
Serina Watson threw herself in front of Keifer.
Gunshots exploded through the garden.
Once.
Twice.
Silence.
Then chaos.
Serina collapsed directly into Keifer's arms.
Blood spread instantly across her chest.
Bright red.
Too much red.
Too much—
Keifer caught her before she hit the ground.
"Mom—"
His voice shattered completely.
Not cracked.
Not strained.
Broken.
Like something inside him had been ripped apart.
"Mom— MOM!"
Keigan screamed.
Keiren cried hysterically.
The entire garden erupted instantly.
Percy and Aries attacked the nearest guards in pure rage.
Cin grabbed a fallen weapon yelling:
"WHAT IS HAPPENING ANYMORE?!"
Denzel punched someone hard enough to send him into the fountain.
Rory looked seconds away from committing murder.
Even Felix lost his humor completely.
But JJ—
JJ froze.
Because all she could see—
was blood.
Blood on Serina's clothes.
Blood on Keifer's shaking hands.
Blood soaking into the grass.
And suddenly—
she wasn't in the garden anymore.
Her breathing became uneven instantly.
Too fast.
Too painful.
Hands shaking violently.
No no no—
Keiren grabbed her sleeve crying:
"Ate JJ—"
But JJ stepped back suddenly.
Then another.
Then another.
Like her body was trying to run before her mind even caught up.
Nobody noticed.
Not properly.
Because everyone was screaming.
Fighting.
Trying to save Serina.
And Keifer—
Keifer was holding his unconscious mother desperately.
Begging her to wake up.
"Mom please— please…"
That sound alone nearly destroyed JJ completely.
Then suddenly—
headlights flooded the estate.
Everyone turned instantly.
Another car entered the gardens at terrifying speed.
Not Kaizer's.
Different.
Then another behind it.
And another.
Black vehicles poured into the estate rapidly.
Kaizer's guards panicked instantly.
Doors slammed open violently.
Men dressed completely in black stepped out fast.
Armed.
Trained.
Dangerous.
Too organized to be normal security.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Even Kaizer looked caught off guard for the first time that night.
Then—
one final car stopped in the center.
The door opened slowly.
A tall figure stepped out wearing a black hoodie and a mask covering his face completely.
Cold.
Calm.
Terrifyingly controlled.
Wind moved quietly through the garden.
The masked boy looked around once.
At the guards.
At Kaizer.
At Serina bleeding in Keifer's arms.
Then his voice rang out calmly:
"Take control of the estate."
Instantly—
his men moved.
Fast.
Precise.
Professional.
Gunfire erupted again.
But this time—
Kaizer's guards started falling one by one.
The masked stranger walked through the chaos slowly like violence belonged to him.
Kaizer narrowed his eyes.
"…you."
The masked boy tilted his head slightly.
"You talk too much."
Then one of his men knocked another guard unconscious beside him.
The entire situation flipped within seconds.
But during the chaos—
Kaizer disappeared.
One moment he was there near the fountain.
The next—
gone.
One black SUV smashed through the side gates of the estate at full speed.
Aries noticed first.
"HE'S ESCAPING!"
Denzel immediately ran after the vehicle with Rory and Felix behind him—
but it was too late.
The SUV disappeared into the darkness outside the estate.
Kaizer Watson escaped.
Again.
---
JJ Breaks Completely
But JJ barely noticed anymore.
Because her breathing kept getting worse.
The blood.
The screaming.
Serina unmoving.
Keifer covered in blood—
It was too much.
Way too much.
Her legs moved before her mind could think.
JJ turned and ran.
Nobody stopped her.
Nobody even saw her leave.
Not with everything happening.
She ran past the trees blindly until her knees finally gave out behind one large tree far from the garden.
And then—
she broke completely.
JJ covered her mouth trying to silence the sobs tearing out of her.
Her body shook violently.
"No no no…"
She hated this.
Hated blood.
Hated fear.
Hated herself for running.
Then suddenly—
"JJ!"
Percy.
And behind him—
Aries.
Both looked terrified the second they found her curled behind the tree shaking uncontrollably.
Percy immediately dropped beside her.
"Baby sistah— hey hey look at me."
JJ couldn't.
Couldn't breathe properly.
Couldn't stop shaking.
Aries crouched beside her too, unusually gentle now.
"It's okay," he said quietly. "You're safe."
JJ shook her head violently.
"She was bleeding— there was so much blood—"
Her voice cracked badly.
Percy immediately pulled her into his arms tightly.
"It's okay."
JJ grabbed his hoodie desperately like she was drowning.
Percy's own eyes looked panicked now.
Because this wasn't normal fear.
This was trauma.
Real trauma.
Aries looked toward Percy silently.
Both understood immediately.
JJ was in shock.
---
Silence
After a while—
JJ stopped crying.
Too suddenly.
Too completely.
And somehow—
that scared Percy more.
She just sat there silently in his arms staring at nothing.
Blank.
Gone somewhere far away mentally.
"JJ?" Percy whispered carefully.
No answer.
Aries' jaw tightened immediately.
"We need hospital. Now."
Percy nodded instantly.
Far away—
ambulance sirens finally echoed through the estate.
Serina was rushed toward the ambulance first while Keifer stayed beside her covered in blood.
Keigan and Keiren cried uncontrollably.
Keifer looked destroyed.
Actually destroyed.
Then Percy carried JJ toward another vehicle because she still wasn't responding properly.
Her hands were freezing cold.
Eyes distant.
Silent in the worst possible way.
---
The Mask Falls
Meanwhile—
back near the estate—
the masked stranger stood calmly while his men secured the area completely.
Cin stared at him suspiciously.
"…who the hell is this guy?"
Felix whispered back:
"Bro entered like a movie villain."
Then suddenly—
one injured guard attacked from behind.
The masked boy turned sharply.
Too fast.
He blocked the attack instantly—
but during the movement—
his mask loosened.
And fell.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Everyone froze.
Rory's eyes widened first.
Then Denzel's.
Then Felix.
Then Cin.
Then David.
Then Endrix.
Shock spread across every face remaining in the garden.
Because the face revealed under the mask—
was impossible.
Completely impossible.