Jay POV
The moment the message appeared...
Everything else disappeared.
The voices.
The conversations.
The people around me.
Gone.
All I could see was my phone screen.
Keifer
One message.
My fingers felt strangely cold as I opened it.
The text was short.
Too short.
Don't tell them where I am.
That was all.
At first.
Then I noticed the photo attached underneath.
And my stomach dropped.
The image was blurry.
Like it had been taken quickly.
But it was definitely Keifer.
And he looked terrible.
His lip was split.
There was dried blood near his eyebrow.
Part of his shirt was torn.
One side of his face was bruised.
For a moment...
I forgot how to breathe.
What happened?
The question repeated itself inside my head.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Then I noticed the background.
Kingsground.
Immediately my grip tightened around the phone.
What was he doing there?
Beside me, Yuri noticed my expression.
"Jay?"
I didn't answer.
"Jay."
Still nothing.
Then David looked over my shoulder.
His eyes widened.
That got everyone's attention.
Ci-n moved closer.
"What's wrong?"
Then he saw the picture.
And instantly stopped talking.
Which was rare.
Very rare.
The room suddenly felt much quieter.
Too quiet.
Then a voice spoke.
"What is it?"
Mr. Watson.
Kaizer Watson.
I looked up.
His sharp eyes were fixed on me.
Waiting.
Watching.
Something about him made me uncomfortable.
Not because he was loud.
Because he wasn't.
People like Kaizer Watson didn't need to raise their voice.
The room practically listened whenever he spoke.
I instinctively locked my phone screen.
A mistake.
Because his eyes narrowed slightly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But I noticed.
And somehow...
I got the feeling he didn't trust me.
At all.
"Nothing."
I answered.
The lie sounded terrible.
Nobody believed it.
Especially not him.
For a second I thought he would press further.
Instead he simply looked away.
As if I wasn't worth the effort.
Strangely...
That annoyed me.
A lot.
Then another voice interrupted.
"Dad."
Keagan.
Everyone looked toward him.
The tension between father and son was immediate.
Visible.
Almost uncomfortable.
Kaizer's expression hardened.
"What?"
"Did you really argue with him?"
Silence.
The entire room froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because apparently that question wasn't supposed to be asked.
Kaizer stared at his son.
Keagan stared right back.
Neither backing down.
For the first time...
I noticed something.
Keagan wasn't afraid of his father.
But he definitely wasn't close to him either.
Not even a little.
The atmosphere felt wrong.
Broken somehow.
Then Kaizer finally answered.
"That's none of your concern."
Keagan laughed.
A cold laugh.
Not the funny one from earlier.
A completely different one.
"Of course."
Even Yuri looked uncomfortable now.
Because everyone could feel it.
This family wasn't okay.
Not even close.
Then my phone vibrated again.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
Another message.
From Keifer.
This time there wasn't a photo.
Only four words.
Don't come looking.
I stared at the screen.
Then looked at the first picture again.
The bruises.
The blood.
The torn shirt.
And for some reason...
I became angry.
Very angry.
Because after disappearing all day...
After worrying everyone...
After sending a picture looking like that...
He seriously thought I was going to listen?
Yeah.
No.
Absolutely not.
Across the room, Yuri noticed my expression.
Then slowly smiled.
A smile that said he already knew exactly what I was thinking.
"Don't."
He warned.
"I'm not doing anything."
"Jay."
"I'm not."
"Jay."
"I'm not."
Ci-n immediately pointed.
"She's definitely doing something."
"One hundred percent."
David agreed.
Traitors.
All of them.
But honestly?
They were right.
Because there was no way I was sitting at home while Keifer was out there looking like that.
No chance.
Not happening.
And judging by Yuri's expression...
He already knew where tonight was heading.
👀🔥
End Chapter 📱👀✨