Chapter 83
The Heir
Jay's POV
I didn't sleep.
Again.
At this point, sleep and I were in a toxic relationship.
I wanted it.
It didn't want me.
Simple.
The meeting from yesterday kept replaying inside my head.
Kaizer Watson.
Secret meetings.
Unknown allies.
No records.
No traces.
No mistakes.
And somehow...
That bothered me more than anything.
Because powerful people made mistakes.
Everybody did.
Yet whoever was helping Kaizer hadn't made a single one.
That was terrifying.
I finally gave up trying to sleep around four in the morning.
Which explained why I currently looked like death.
A very annoyed death.
The moment I entered the classroom, Ci-N looked up.
Then immediately pointed.
"Guys."
"No."
"Guys."
"No."
"Jay looks worse."
I dropped my bag onto the desk.
"Good morning to you too."
"I'm serious."
"That's unfortunate."
The class laughed.
Ci-N looked proud of himself.
Which was honestly concerning.
The boy needed hobbies.
Preferably far away from me.
---
Classes began.
And somehow dragged on even slower than yesterday.
During Mathematics, I caught myself staring out the window.
During English, I completely missed half the lesson.
During History, I accidentally wrote Aurora's name in my notebook instead of the answer.
A new low.
Even for me.
The worst part?
People noticed.
Especially Keifer.
The idiot kept looking over.
Not enough for it to be obvious.
Just enough to be annoying.
By lunch break, I was ready to throw somebody out of a window.
Preferably Ci-N.
---
The cafeteria was loud.
As usual.
Section E occupied their usual table.
Blaster was arguing.
Drew was complaining.
David was asleep.
Josh looked disappointed in humanity.
A normal day.
Ci-N immediately tried stealing my fries.
I slapped his hand.
"Ow."
"Good."
"You enjoy hurting me."
"More than I should."
"I knew it."
"You know nothing."
The little demon grinned.
Across the table, Keifer was laughing.
The traitor.
I narrowed my eyes.
He only laughed harder.
The idiot.
---
For a few minutes, everything felt normal.
Then Yuri spoke.
"Jay."
I looked up.
Yuri was watching me carefully.
Too carefully.
"What?"
"You've been distracted all week."
The table immediately became quiet.
Wonderful.
Exactly what I needed.
Attention.
My favorite thing.
Not.
"I'm fine."
Nobody believed me.
Not a single person.
Ci-N looked unconvinced.
Blaster looked unconvinced.
Even David somehow looked unconvinced despite being half asleep.
Keifer didn't say anything.
Which was worse.
Much worse.
Because he was watching me.
Waiting.
Thinking.
And I knew exactly what he was thinking.
She isn't telling us something.
The problem?
He was right.
---
The rest of school passed surprisingly quickly.
Maybe because I spent most of it trying not to think.
Unfortunately, that strategy failed.
Because by seven o'clock, I was once again stepping into Justice Veil headquarters.
And the atmosphere was worse than yesterday.
Much worse.
Nobody was joking.
Nobody was talking.
Noah wasn't even annoying anyone.
That alone was enough to terrify me.
The moment I entered, Sebastian handed me a file.
No greeting.
No introduction.
Just the file.
I opened it.
Then frowned.
Financial reports.
Meeting records.
Company documents.
Nothing unusual.
At first.
Then I noticed something.
A name.
Repeated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
My stomach dropped.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Because I knew that name.
Everybody did.
Mark Keifer Watson.
For a moment, I thought I was imagining it.
Then I turned the page.
The name appeared again.
Another page.
Again.
Another.
Again.
The room remained silent.
Nobody interrupted.
Nobody needed to.
Because everybody had reached the same conclusion.
I looked up.
"What the hell is this?"
Sebastian's expression darkened.
"The reason we called another meeting."
Aurora folded her arms.
"Kaizer isn't chasing money."
Nobody spoke.
Because we all understood what that meant.
The Watson inheritance was already gone.
Serina had made sure of that.
Before she died, she had transferred everything.
Every major share.
Every controlling asset.
Every protected holding.
To her son.
Mark Keifer Watson.
Kaizer couldn't take it directly.
Not legally.
Not anymore.
Which left only one option.
My blood ran cold.
"He wants Keifer."
Nobody answered.
Nobody had to.
Because the answer was written all over their faces.
---
Noah leaned back in his chair.
For once, there wasn't a joke in sight.
"Well."
Silence.
"That's bad."
An understatement.
A massive understatement.
Matteo looked ready to punch somebody.
Preferably Kaizer.
Repeatedly.
Aurora tapped the table thoughtfully.
"Show her the rest."
Sebastian slid another document across the table.
I looked down.
Then immediately wished I hadn't.
Surveillance schedules.
Meeting notes.
Movement reports.
Everything connected to one person.
Keifer.
School.
Gym.
Office visits.
Charity events.
Business meetings.
Somebody had been tracking him.
Carefully.
Systematically.
For months.
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
Because this wasn't business anymore.
This was obsession.
---
Sarah finally broke the silence.
"Kaizer is preparing something."
"Obviously," Noah muttered.
Sarah ignored him.
"Nobody spends this much time gathering information unless they're planning to act."
The room fell silent again.
Because she was right.
This wasn't curiosity.
This wasn't concern.
This was preparation.
And preparation always came before action.
---
Aurora stood up.
The room immediately focused.
"If Kaizer is building a case against Keifer, we need to know why."
Adam nodded.
"We're still searching."
"Search harder."
Nobody argued.
When Aurora used that tone, arguing became a survival issue.
---
I looked back at the documents.
Back at the name.
Back at the evidence.
And suddenly remembered something.
Keifer.
Laughing at lunch.
Arguing with Ci-N.
Stealing my fries.
Completely unaware.
The idiot had no idea.
No idea his father was moving pieces around him.
No idea he was being watched.
No idea he had become the center of something dangerous.
My grip tightened around the file.
Because whether he knew it or not...
A storm was coming.
And somehow...
I had a feeling it would reach school soon.
---
As the meeting ended, Sebastian spoke one last time.
The room paused.
"What?"
Sebastian looked at all of us.
Then said quietly:
"This is only the beginning."
Nobody laughed.
Nobody joked.
Nobody moved.
Because for the first time...
We all believed him.
---
Some inherit money. Some inherit businesses. Mark Keifer Watson inherited a war he didn't even know had begun.