(Keifer's POV)
I knew something was wrong the second I didn't see her.
At first, it didn't hit all at once. My steps slowed as I walked back from the stall, eyes scanning the exact spot where I had left her just a couple of minutes ago.
She wasn't there.
"Jay?"
I said it casually, like she had just moved a little further ahead.
No answer.
I frowned slightly, looking around again, this time more carefully. Maybe she went toward the path, maybe she saw something, maybe—
"Jay."
Still nothing.
That's when the silence started to feel wrong.
Not quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just… wrong.
My pace picked up, my eyes moving faster now, sharper, taking in every detail—the benches, the trees, the people walking by like nothing had happened.
Too normal.
Way too normal.
And then I saw it.
Something small on the ground.
Right where she had been standing.
I stepped closer without thinking, my focus narrowing instantly. The moment I bent down and picked it up, everything else faded out.
Her bracelet.
Broken.
My grip tightened around it immediately.
No.
This wasn't her dropping something.
This wasn't an accident.
This was forced.
I straightened slowly, my eyes scanning the park again, but this time there was nothing soft about it. Every movement around me felt suspicious. Every face felt wrong.
They took her.
The thought settled in completely now.
Clear.
Cold.
Certain.
I pulled my phone out instantly.
"Edrix."
He picked up almost immediately. "Yeah?"
"I need a location," I said, already moving toward the exit. "Now."
"Whose?"
"Jay."
There was a slight pause, then the sound of typing. "Send me her number."
I hung up, sent it in seconds, and kept walking, faster now, my mind already running through everything. Who, why, how long ago—
The phone buzzed again.
"I've got her signal," Edrix said quickly. "Wait—no, hold on."
My steps slowed slightly. "What?"
"It's there… but it's not stable," he muttered. "Like it's being interfered with."
"Explain."
"Someone's blocking it," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. "Not completely, but enough to mess with tracking. This isn't random, Keif. This is intentional."
Of course it was.
"Can you break it?"
"I'm trying."
"Try faster."
"I am," he snapped lightly, then exhaled. "Give me time."
Time.
That's the one thing I didn't have.
I ended the call and got into the car, the engine starting instantly as I pulled out without hesitation. My grip on the steering wheel tightened, my jaw set as my mind kept running ahead.
They planned this.
They waited.
They knew exactly when to take her.
And that meant one thing—
this was about me.
Everyone was already at my place by the time I got there.
No explanations needed.
No wasted time.
Aries was the first one to step forward the moment I walked in. "What happened?"
"They took her," I said.
Silence followed immediately.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
Just a heavy kind of understanding.
"Who?" he asked, his voice lower now.
I didn't answer that directly.
Didn't need to.
The look on his face changed anyway.
He knew.
They all did.
Mercy leaned against the table, arms crossed tightly, while Angelo stood near the wall, watching me carefully, saying nothing.
Across the room, Edrix was already working, his laptop open, screens filled with code, maps, signals—things that would mean nothing to most people.
"To update," he said quickly without looking up, "her signal's still there, but it's getting worse. Whoever's doing this is actively messing with it. Every time I lock in, it shifts."
"So they're watching?" I asked.
"Either that," he said, typing faster now, "or they set it up that way from the start."
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay focused.
"Get me something," I said.
"I will."
The room felt tight.
Heavy.
Outside, it had already gone dark, the only light inside coming from the screens and a few lamps. No one was relaxed. No one was sitting properly.
Everyone was waiting.
For something.
Anything.
I stood near the table, the bracelet still in my hand, my thumb brushing against the broken edge without me even realizing it.
They touched her.
That thought didn't sit right.
Not even a little.
Then—
my phone rang.
The sound cut through everything instantly.
Everyone went still.
My eyes dropped to the screen.
Unknown number.
For half a second, no one spoke.
Then I answered.
"Keifer."
Silence.
Then—
a sound.
Faint.
Strained.
"—ah—"
My chest tightened instantly.
Jay.
My grip on the phone hardened, my entire focus narrowing into that one connection.
"Jay."
My voice came out sharp, controlled, but there was no hiding what was underneath it now.
And just like that—
everything became clear.
This wasn't over.
It had just begun.
(Keifer's POV)
The moment I heard her—
that small, broken sound—
everything else stopped mattering.
"Jay," I said, my voice sharper now, tighter.
There was movement on the other end. A faint shuffle. Then silence again.
Not empty silence.
Controlled silence.
And then—
a voice I knew too well.
Calm.
Cold.
Unfamiliar to anyone else.
But not to me.
"Still the same," he said. "You always react faster when it's about someone you care about."
My grip on the phone tightened.
"…you shouldn't have touched her," I said quietly.
A soft chuckle came through.
"I didn't," he replied smoothly. "Not yet."
My jaw clenched.
"Put her on."
"No," he said, just as calm. "We're talking first."
Of course we were.
It was never just about her.
It was about control.
It was always about control.
"What do you want?" I asked, cutting straight through it.
A small pause.
Then—
"Simple," he said. "Give me what's mine."
I didn't answer immediately.
Didn't need to.
We both knew what he meant.
"Property," he added, like I needed clarification. "Everything you're holding onto. Transfer it."
There it was.
Not anger.
Not revenge.
Just greed.
Just control.
"No."
The word came out flat.
Certain.
Immediate.
There was silence on the other end.
Not surprise.
Not shock.
Just a quiet shift.
"I expected that," he said after a second.
Of course he did.
"You think I'll give you anything after what you've done?" I asked, my voice still low, but sharper now.
"What I've done?" he repeated, almost amused. "You mean what I built?"
"You mean what you destroyed," I replied.
A pause.
Short.
But heavy.
Then—
a sound.
Faint.
Sharp.
"—ah—"
My entire body went still.
Jay.
My grip on the phone tightened instantly.
"What did you just do?" my voice dropped, colder now, dangerous in a way that didn't need volume.
"I didn't do anything," he said calmly. "That was your choice."
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
"Put her on."
There was a shift, a small movement, then—
"Let's make this easier," he said.
A click.
The sound changed.
Speaker.
And then—
her voice.
Broken.
Shaking.
"Keif… don't come… please…"
Everything in me snapped at once.
"Jay baby," I said immediately, my voice changing without control now. "You there?"
For a second—
nothing.
Then a small sound.
Muffled.
Weak.
But there.
Enough.
Enough for me to know she was still there.
Still holding on.
"I'm coming," I said.
It came out steady.
Certain.
No hesitation.
"No—" her voice came again, strained, desperate now. "Please don't… it's a trap…"
I closed my eyes for half a second.
Of course it was.
I knew that.
She knew that.
And it didn't change anything.
"I know," I said quietly.
There was a pause.
Heavy.
Final.
Then—
the line went dead.
I slowly lowered the phone, my expression unreadable, my grip still tight around it.
The room stayed silent.
No one asked anything.
No one needed to.
Because they all heard it.
And they all knew.
I opened my eyes again.
Cold.
Focused.
Done waiting.
"They want me there," I said.
A pause.
Then my voice dropped—
low,
final,
unchangeable.