Jay's POV
"Or we do this the hard way."
My voice echoed across the hall.
Cold.Flat.Final.
For a second nobody moved.
Then Angelo slowly folded the paper in his hands.His eyes lifted to me.Sharp.
Dangerous.
"You think threatening us will actually work Jay Jay?" he said quietly.
Threatening.
The word almost made me laugh.
Almost.
I tilted my head slightly.
"Threatening?" I repeated softly.
"No, Kuya."My fingers tapped lightly on the folder Kalix still held.
"That was me being polite."
The air in the room shifted.
Something darker settled into my chest.
Something steady.Something powerful.
Kalix calmly pulled out another document.
But this time—He didn't hand it to Angelo.
He handed it to me.
I took it slowly.
Then stepped forward.
My shoes clicking softly against the marble floor.
Every step echoed.
Every eye followed me.
I stopped right in front of Angelo.
Close enough to see the tension in his jaw.
Close enough to see Aries watching from the side like a storm about to explode.
I held up the paper.
"You see this?" I said quietly.
Angelo didn't answer.
So I continued.
"This is a notarized statement from Mariano Legal."
I tapped the paper lightly.
"If you refuse to sign the guardianship release… the Mariano family will file a public petition."
Jeana scoffed.
"Oh please. You think that scares us?"
My gaze moved to her.
"Shut the fuck up mother dearest and don't you dare interrupt me again while I'm speaking?"
Her mouth snapped shut.
Good.
Because now the real part came.
"The petition," I continued calmly, "includes documented evidence of concealed paternity."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Even the air felt frozen.
Angelo's eyes darkened.
"What evidence?"
I smiled slightly.
But it wasn't friendly.
"DNA records."
I lifted another sheet.
"Hospital birth documentation."
Another page.
"And several signed statements."
I paused.
Then looked directly at Jeana.
"About your affair with Jashfer Mariano."
The words landed like a bomb.
Tita Gemma covered her mouth.
"Oh my God…"
Jeana's face went white.
"You wouldn't dare."
I held her gaze.
"Wouldn't I?"
My voice dropped lower.
Quieter.
More dangerous.
"Imagine the headlines."
My words came slow.
Precise.
"'Fernandez Family Conceals Illegitimate Heir of Mariano Empire.'"
A few of the Section E boys shifted uncomfortably.
Felix muttered something under his breath.
Blaster rubbed the back of his neck.
Even Yuri looked tense now.
Because suddenly—
This wasn't just family drama anymore.
This was corporate destruction.
Aries stepped forward.
His voice rough.
"You'd destroy this family just to get what you want?"
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
At the brother who had hated me for years.The brother who had known the truth the whole time.My chest tightened for half a second.
Then the feeling died.
"You destroyed it first by lying and hidding people from my life in the pretense of protecting me.."
His jaw clenched.
"That's not—"
"Not what?" I cut in.
"Not true?"
My voice sharpened.
"You knew."
The words were quiet.
But they hit harder than a scream.
"You knew I was your sister every single damn time and you chose to very conveintly ignore me. So if you can ignore my 'dramatic episode' before I'm hell as sure you can do it now too. "
His silence answered everything.
The room felt heavier.
Then I turned away from him.
Because I was done begging for his loyalty.
Done hoping for something that never existed.
My gaze moved across the room.
Every single one of them.
"You all stood there today," I said quietly.
"While he humiliated me."
No one spoke.
My eyes stopped on Keifer.
He hadn't moved.
Still leaning back.
Still watching.
But now—
His gaze was different.
Focused.
Sharp.
Almost calculating.
I stepped closer to him.
Slowly.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
"You really thought you won today," I said softly.
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Didn't you?"
He didn't answer.
But the corner of his mouth twitched.
So I leaned closer.
Just enough that only he could hear me.
"You broke the wrong girl Watson..Watch your back from now on because revenge is best served when you least expect it.."
His eyes flickered.
Just slightly.
Then I stepped back.
Turning to face the entire room again.
Kalix spoke calmly behind me.
"The petition will be filed tomorrow morning if the guardianship document remains unsigned."
Percy added casually from the side—
"And trust me…"
He shrugged.
"The press loves scandals like this..I don't care about the Mariano reputation if that's what you were thinking Angelo, what I care is how the hell can I save my baby sistah from this hell hole of yours....you just think about yourself for now...."
Angelo's jaw tightened.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Share prices.
Business partners.
Media storms.
Everything crashing down.
Jeana looked like she might collapse.
"You're blackmailing us."
I tilted my head.
"No."
I corrected calmly.
"I'm negotiating."
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
"There's also a third option."
Everyone looked at me again.
I met Angelo's gaze.
"You sign the papers."
I lifted another document.
"The engagement with Yuri is legally dissolved."
Yuri stiffened beside the couch.
"And the Mariano Group launches a joint project with Fernandez Corporation so that you won't need the pathetic money of the Hanamitchi's to save tita amd Tito's company and you're pathetic ass..."
Business.
Angelo stared at the papers for a long moment.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Exactly like Percy predicted.
But before he could speak—
Jeana suddenly stepped forward.
Her face was red.
Eyes burning.
"You think you're so clever?" she snapped at me.
Her voice trembled with rage.
"Using lawyers… using money… threatening your own family!"
My expression didn't change.
She laughed bitterly.
"Fine!"
Her hand shot forward and snatched the pen from Kalix's hand.
"If this is what you want so badly—"
The sound of the pen hitting the paper was sharp.
Angry.
Violent.
She signed her name in one furious stroke.
"—then take it!"
The signature cut across the document like a slash.
The entire room froze.
Angelo turned toward her sharply.
"Tita Jeana—"
But she shoved the papers back toward Kalix.
Her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"There!" she shouted.
"You want to stop being my daughter so badly?!"
Her finger pointed straight at me.
"Then go!"
The word echoed through the hall.
"Go to your precious Mariano family!"
Her voice cracked.
"I'm done!"
Silence swallowed the room.
Even the Section E boys looked stunned.
Kalix calmly adjusted the papers.
His voice completely professional.
"Thank you, Miss.Fernandez."
He passed the document to Angelo.
Angelo's eyes moved over the signature.
His jaw tightened.
For a moment it looked like he might tear the paper—
But he didn't.
Instead he grabbed the pen slowly.
Signed beneath her name.
Then handed the papers back.
Kalix placed them neatly inside the folder.
"Everything is finalized now. "
Just like that.
Seventeen years.
Erased with ink and anger.
Angelo looked at me one last time.
His expression unreadable.
Then Jeana spoke up..
"You're not a Fernandez anymore,Mariano
SO. GET.THE.FUCK.OUT.OF.HERE."
My chest felt hollow.
But I lifted my chin.
"Good."
Percy pushed himself off the wall.
"Well," he muttered lightly.
"That escalated quickly."
Nobody laughed.
Jeana had already turned away.
Refusing to even look at me.
Tita Gemma stood frozen near the couch.
Her eyes glossy with tears.
Aries hadn't moved.
Not once.
His fists still clenched at his sides.
His gaze locked on the floor.
And the Section E boys—
They looked like they had just watched a war end.
I turned toward the door.
My legs felt strangely heavy.
But I forced them to move.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Almost at the door—
When a voice spoke behind me.
Low.
Familiar.
"Jay."
Keifer.
My entire body went still.
The sound of my name in his voice sent a sharp ache through my chest.
But I didn't turn around.
Not yet.
Because if I looked at him now—
I didn't know if I'd stay cold.
Or completely fall apart.
And tonight…
I couldn't afford either at least not tonight of all days....