Chapter 41 – Distance And Shadows
The first thing JJ heard that morning—
was her phone vibrating angrily against her pillow.
She groaned dramatically without opening her eyes.
Too early.
Way too early.
Her hand blindly searched for the phone before answering half asleep.
"…if this isn't food related I'm hanging up."
Keifer's soft laugh came from the other side instantly.
And somehow—
JJ smiled immediately.
"There's my violent wife."
JJ buried her face deeper into the pillow.
"It's literally six in the morning in Manila."
"It's midnight here."
"That sounds like a personal problem, Watson."
Keifer laughed quietly again.
God.
JJ missed that sound too much.
---
Morning Calls Become Survival
These calls had quietly become routine now.
Every morning for JJ.
Every night for Keifer.
A tiny bridge between London and Manila.
Sometimes they argued.
Sometimes they just stayed silent listening to each other breathe.
But neither skipped the calls anymore.
Not once.
"What are you doing?" JJ asked sleepily.
Keifer sighed softly from the other side.
"Reading legal documents."
JJ blinked dramatically.
"That sounds disgusting."
"It is."
"Burn them."
"I considered it."
JJ laughed weakly.
Then suddenly paused when dizziness hit again.
Sharp.
Fast.
Her vision blurred slightly as she sat up.
Not now.
Please.
Keifer's voice softened immediately.
"JJ?"
She forced herself normal instantly.
"Hm?"
"You went quiet."
JJ rubbed her forehead quickly.
"Still sleepy."
Lie.
Keifer hummed softly.
"You should sleep more."
"You sound like an old man."
"And you sound like a raccoon surviving on caffeine."
"That's fair."
Silence settled softly after that.
Comfortable silence.
Then Keifer suddenly spoke quieter:
"Miss me?"
JJ rolled her eyes immediately despite smiling.
"Unfortunately."
"Only unfortunately?"
JJ smirked slightly now.
"Very unfortunately."
Keifer laughed softly again.
And somehow—
for a few minutes—
everything felt okay.
No illness.
No clan wars.
No distance.
Just them.
Then Keifer whispered quietly:
"I'll call again tonight, wifey."
JJ's chest tightened softly hearing that word again.
"Okay."
Neither wanted to hang up first.
But eventually—
the call ended.
And reality returned immediately.
---
The Walk To Section E
HVIS was chaotic as usual.
Students everywhere.
Noise everywhere.
Cin somehow already arguing with Rory before first period even started.
JJ walked beside Cin toward Section E's building carrying iced coffee while he complained dramatically about homework.
"…and THEN Felix copied my answers wrong which made MY answers wrong somehow."
JJ laughed lightly.
"That literally makes no sense."
"Exactly."
Cin continued ranting dramatically while JJ listened quietly.
Or tried to.
Because suddenly—
the ground shifted again.
JJ's steps faltered slightly.
A sharp dizzy spell hit harder than before.
Her vision blurred.
Her legs nearly gave out.
For one terrifying second—
she almost stumbled completely down the stairs.
But JJ grabbed the railing instantly.
Hard.
Breathing uneven.
Cin kept talking without noticing.
"…and then Rory accused ME like bro I'm literally the victim here—"
JJ forced herself upright immediately.
Smile.
Act normal.
Nobody noticed.
Not yet.
She swallowed hard quietly.
The dizziness passed after a few seconds.
But her hands still shook slightly around the coffee cup.
Ten months.
The doctor's voice echoed cruelly in her head again.
JJ pushed the thought away aggressively.
No.
Not now.
Not today.
So instead—
she walked beside Cin like nothing happened.
Laughing at his nonsense again.
Pretending her body wasn't quietly betraying her.
---
London Burns Quietly
Meanwhile—
London had become war.
Silent war.
Dangerous war.
Kaizer Watson stood inside his office staring at another destroyed report.
Another account frozen.
Another elder arrested.
Another shipment intercepted mysteriously.
Everything was collapsing too fast now.
And nobody understood why.
One elder spoke nervously:
"We lost three shareholders overnight."
Kaizer slammed the file shut violently.
"Find who's behind this."
"We tried."
"TRY HARDER."
Silence filled the room instantly.
Because Kaizer Watson was unraveling now.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
And somewhere—
someone was enjoying it.
---
The Ghost In The Shadows
Far away from the Watson tower—
inside a dark penthouse overlooking London—
a figure sat quietly watching multiple screens.
Financial reports.
Security footage.
Clan records.
Destroyed accounts.
Every move calculated perfectly.
One man entered the room nervously.
"Sir… Kaizer's people are panicking."
The figure remained silent.
Only fingers tapping slowly against the armrest.
Then finally—
a deep calm voice answered:
"They should."
The assistant swallowed nervously.
"Should we continue attacking the elders too?"
A pause.
Then:
"No."
The figure leaned slightly forward finally.
Face still hidden in darkness.
"Destroy everything."
Silence.
Cold silence.
The assistant immediately lowered his head.
"Yes sir."
On one screen—
Kaizer Watson's empire slowly collapsed piece by piece.
On another—
a photograph of Keifer appeared.
And beside it—
another photo.
JJ.
The hidden figure stared at it quietly for a long moment.
JJ laughed at something Cin said while hiding trembling hands behind her back.
And neither of them realized—
something enormous was already moving toward them from the shadows.