Kiefer (POV)
My hand moved across the bed.
Searching for warmth.
For Jay.
Instead, my fingers met something soft.
A pillow.
My eyes snapped open.
"Jay?"
I sat up immediately.
The room was empty.
A bad feeling settled in my chest.
Then I noticed a folded note on the bedside table.
I grabbed it.
We're leaving for London.
Come with Orion later.
Bye, hubby.
I stared at it.
Then read it again.
And again.
My jaw tightened.
"How could she leave without telling me?"
My pulse started rising.
The threat was still out there.
And Jay went out with kids.
Without me.
I immediately grabbed my phone and called Clyden.
The call connected after two rings.
"What's up?" Clyden asked.
"Jay is heading to London."
I was already walking toward the closet.
Pulling on a shirt.
"She should be halfway to the airport by now."
Silence.
Then—
"Okay?"
"If she reaches London before I do, I need you to stay with her."
My voice hardened.
"Don't let her out of your sight."
The seriousness in my tone immediately caught his attention.
"Why?"
I grabbed my watch.
"Something's wrong."
"Kiefer."
"I think someone wants Jay."
The line went silent.
"What?"
My grip tightened.
"If my guess is correct..."
I opened the gun case.
"...she has always been the target."
I grabbed my keys from the table.
My mind was racing.
"Everything."
The silence on the other end of the call grew heavier.
"What do you mean?"
I walked toward the door.
My jaw clenched.
"The attack."
Another step.
"The article."
Another.
"The woman."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"Even my accident."
"Kiefer..."
Clyden's voice had changed now.
Less confused.
More concerned.
"I still don't have proof."
The admission tasted bitter.
"But every time I follow the trail..."
I paused.
Looking out the window.
"...It leads back to Jay."
The line went silent.
"Kiefer, what the hell are you talking about?"
"I'll explain everything later."
My eyes moved toward the window.
My instincts were screaming.
Something wasn't right.
"I have to go."
I ended the call.
The house became silent again.
Too silent.
I frowned.
A second ago, I had been focused on Jay.
But now...
Something felt off.
I slowly looked toward the bedroom door.
Then downstairs.
I could have sworn I heard something.
A sound.
A movement.
I stood still.
Listening.
Nothing.
Maybe I imagined it.
Maybe not.
"Is she still here?"
I muttered.
The note suddenly felt wrong in my hand.
Jay loved causing trouble.
But she wasn't careless.
A cold feeling crawled down my spine.
I quietly walked to my office.
Opened the drawer.
And took out my gun.
Just in case.
The weight felt familiar in my hand.
Comforting.
I checked the magazine.
Loaded.
Ready.
The house remained silent.
Too silent.
I moved toward the stairs.
Slowly.
Every instinct sharpened.
Every sound amplified.
My gaze swept across the hallway.
The living room.
The kitchen.
Every shadow.
Every corner.
Because if someone was inside my house—
They had already made their biggest mistake.
They had entered it while I was awake.
"Who's there?"
My voice echoed through the hallway.
I raised my weapon toward the movement.
"Come out."
Silence.
Then—
Something hit the floor.
A second later, smoke exploded through the hall.
"Shit."
Thick gray smoke swallowed everything.
My vision vanished instantly.
I couldn't see the stairs.
Couldn't see the doors.
Couldn't see anything.
Shadows moved inside the haze.
One.
Two.
Maybe more.
I couldn't tell.
My pulse slammed against my ribs.
Then something hit me.
Hard.
A burning pain exploded through my side.
I looked down.
Blood.
Warm blood was already spreading through my shirt.
"Shit..."
I pressed my hand against the wound and stumbled backward until my back hit the wall.
The smoke continued to swallow the hallway.
I couldn't see anything.
Couldn't tell where they were.
Couldn't tell how many there were.
So, I waited.
Forced myself to breathe.
Forced myself to think.
Slowly...
The smoke began to thin.
Shapes appeared through the haze.
Five figures.
Standing motionless.
Watching.
My grip tightened.
I grabbed a vase from the side table and threw it toward the opposite end of the hallway.
It shattered loudly.
The sound echoed through the house.
The figures immediately turned toward it.
Good.
That's what I needed.
I moved.
Fast.
One shadow dropped.
Then another.
Then another.
Until all five figures were on the floor.
Silence.
Nothing moved.
Nothing breathed.
The house became unnaturally quiet.
My heart was still pounding.
Blood continued dripping between my fingers.
But I ignored it.
Because something felt wrong.
Too easy.
I slowly stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
The smoke had almost disappeared now.
I could finally see them clearly.
My eyes narrowed.
They weren't moving.
Not even a little.
I crouched beside the nearest body.
Trying to see their face.
Trying to find anything that would tell me who sent them.
A tattoo.
A symbol.
Anything.
Then—
Every instinct in my body screamed.
Too late.
Pain exploded through my chest.
Then another.
Then another.
My body jerked violently.
I hit the floor.
The figures on the ground hadn't been the attackers.
They'd been bait.
The real attackers had been waiting for me to get closer.
Waiting for me to lower my guard.
And I had walked straight into their trap.
My vision blurred.
The world tilted.
Warm blood pooled beneath me.
Every breath hurt.
I tried to push myself up.
Couldn't.
My arms felt heavy.
My vision blurred.
No.
Not here.
Not now.
Jay.
My brothers.
Orion.
Their faces flashed through my mind one after another.
I forced my trembling hand into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
There was only one person I trusted to answer immediately.
Angelo.
The call connected.
"Asshole."
His irritated voice almost made me laugh.
Almost.
"Come to my house."
My voice sounded weak.
Wrong.
Angelo immediately went silent.
"Kiefer?"
"Now."
The word barely left my mouth.
"What happened?"
I leaned my head against the floor.
Everything was spinning.
"I got hurt."
The line went dead.
He'd already hung up.
Already moving.
Good.
I dropped the phone.
My eyelids felt heavy.
Too heavy.
I fought to keep my eyes open.
Thank God she wasn't here.
Seeing me like this would have broken her heart.
The thought of her crying hurt more than my wounds ever could.
If she went to London, Clyden would look after her.
I trusted him.
But as darkness crept into my vision, only one thought kept me conscious.
I had to live.
I had to make it out of this alive.
I had to go back to her.
Jay's smile flashed through my mind.
The way she stole my hoodies.
The way she argued over absolutely everything.
The way she laughed when she thought nobody was watching.
A weak smile touched my lips.
"Don't kill me yet..."
I whispered to nobody.
"She's still going to yell at me."
The darkness crept closer.
Closer.
Then—
"Kiefer!"
A familiar voice.
Distant.
But real.
My eyes opened slightly.
Through the blur, I saw someone rushing toward me.
Angelo.
Relief hit me so hard it almost hurt.
Good.
He's here.
Maybe...
Maybe I'm not dying today.
And that was the last thought I had before everything went black.
Angelo (POV)
I had just gotten home from New York.
And I still hadn't found a single clue.
Nothing that explained what was happening.
But I was sure of one thing—someone from the past was trying to hurt Jay and Kiefer.
No.
Not Jay.
Their real target was Kiefer.
Jay was just caught in the middle.
But why?
Did they want Jay?
If Kiefer died, Jay would become the heir to the Watson empire. But the Watsons had no reason to kill him now. They had already found another way to secure their future.
So who the hell was trying to crawl out of the shadows now?
"Angelo."
Ion's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
She handed me a cup of coffee before sitting beside me on the couch, casually eating a muffin.
"Long day?" she asked.
I rested my head against her shoulder and sighed.
"Hmm. It's about Jay and Kiefer. Those two are troublemakers."
She laughed.
"They fought yesterday. Maybe they've worked things out by now."
"Or maybe it's because of that article," she added.
I snorted.
"Jay probably won."
"Why?"
"Because she's stubborn. She never backs down."
Ion shook her head, smiling while eating.
Just then, my phone started ringing.
The name on the screen made me groan.
Kiefer.
"Speaking of the devil..."
Ion laughed.
I answered the call and took a sip of my coffee.
"Asshole."
"Come to my house."
Kiefer's voice was barely above a whisper.
His breathing was ragged.
"Kiefer?" I sat up straight.
"Now."
The line went dead.
"What happened?" I asked, but he had already hung up.
A bad feeling settled in my stomach.
I grabbed my keys from the table and rushed out of the house.
The Watson estate was twenty minutes away.
I made it in twelve.
The moment I stepped inside, my blood ran cold.
"Kiefer!"
He was lying on the floor, covered in blood.
So much blood.
I dropped to my knees beside him.
"Kiefer!"
To my disbelief, the idiot actually smiled.
Then his eyes closed.
"Kiefer!"
I slapped his cheek.
No response.
He was unconscious.
"Shit."
I lifted him into my car and drove straight to Peralta Hospital.
I had already called ahead.
By the time I arrived, a stretcher was waiting outside the emergency entrance.
The medical team rushed toward us.
"What happened?" C-In demanded as we transferred Kiefer onto the stretcher.
"Save him!" I shouted. "I don't know what happened!"
The doctors wheeled him into the ER.
"Multiple gunshot wounds," one of the nurses reported. "Severe blood loss."
Suddenly, the monitor began screaming.
The steady rhythm collapsed into chaos.
"His pulse is dropping!"
"Damn it, Kiefer!" C-In cursed.
He climbed onto the side of the bed and immediately started chest compressions.
"Kiefer, get up!"
The nurses moved around him frantically.
"Doctor, we're losing him!"
"Charge the defibrillator!" C-In shouted.
The machine was brought over.
"Clear!"
His body jerked violently.
Nothing.
"Again!"
"Clear!"
Another shock.
His chest rose off the bed.
For a second, hope flashed across everyone's faces.
Then the monitor let out a long, continuous tone.
A flat line.
The room froze.
"Doctor..." a nurse whispered. "He's gone."
"No."
C-In immediately resumed compressions.
"Don't you dare say that."
His hands slammed against Kiefer's chest again and again.
"Come on, Kiefer."
The monitor remained silent.
"Doctor, stop. You're going to break his ribs."
"I don't care!"
C-In's voice cracked.
"Come on, you stubborn bastard. Fight."
Someone finally grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him back.
Tears were running down his face.
I stood there frozen.
Unable to understand what I was seeing.
Was he really dead?
Kiefer?
The man who survived everything?
"C-In..." I whispered.
Then suddenly—
"Wait!"
A nurse looked at the monitor.
Everyone turned.
"We have a pulse!"
The room erupted into motion again.
"Pulse is back!"
"Prepare the OR!"
"Move!"
Relief hit me so hard my knees nearly gave out.
As the doctors rushed Kiefer toward surgery, I could only stare after him.
For the first time in years, I was terrified of losing him.
Maybe because, in a lot of ways, Kiefer was my reflection.
The same stubbornness.
The same recklessness.
The same habit of throwing ourselves into danger without thinking about the consequences.
As soon as they wheeled him into surgery, I left the hospital and drove straight to the Watson estate.
Kiefer couldn't tell us who did this, I'd find out myself.
When I arrived, something immediately felt wrong.
The bodies were gone.
Every single one.
I rushed inside and searched the entire house.
The living room.
The study.
The hallways.
Nothing.
I followed the trail upstairs and entered Kiefer's bedroom.
A folded note sat on the bed.
My stomach tightened.
Thank God Jay wasn't here.
Seeing this would have destroyed her.
I picked up the note and slipped it into my pocket before continuing my search.
But whoever had attacked Kiefer knew exactly what they were doing.
Blood had been cleaned.
Evidence had disappeared.
Not a single shell casing remained.
It was as if the fight had never happened.
As if the attackers had never existed.
"Fuck."
I ran a hand through my hair and pulled out my phone.
Cole answered on the second ring.
"Angelo?"
"Cole, Kiefer was attacked," I said the moment he picked up.
Silence.
Then—
"What?"
His voice instantly sharpened.
"Multiple gunshot wounds. He's in surgery."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I found him bleeding out in the house."
I looked around the spotless room.
"And whoever did it cleaned the entire scene before I got here."
Another pause.
A dangerous one.
"Is he alive?" Cole asked quietly.
I swallowed.
"Barely."
The line went silent.
Then Cole spoke again.
"I'm coming."
"Don't tell Clyden."
A pause.
"What?"
"Jay is with him."
I glanced toward the note in my hand.
"If Clyden knows, Jay will know."
Cole exhaled heavily.
"You want us to keep this from her?"
"For now."
I closed my eyes for a second.
"If she finds out Kiefer is lying in a hospital bed covered in bullets, she'll be on the first flight back."
"And you know Clyden."
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"He can't hide anything from Jay."
Cole was silent for a moment.
Then he sighed.
"Fine. I'll keep him distracted."
"Okay."
I ended the call and slipped my phone into my pocket.
When I walked back to the surgical wing, I found Aries, Jare, Percy, and section E waiting outside.
My eyebrows furrowed.
"Why are you all here?"
"C-In left a message in the group chat," David said.
I rubbed my forehead.
"Go home. There's nothing you can do by staying here."
"We don't leave our friends behind," Eman replied.
I sighed.
Of course they wouldn't.
"Are you really going to hide this from Jay?" Jare asked.
I nodded.
"She's going to hate it," Percy said.
"You want me to tell her that her husband is lying in surgery after being shot multiple times?" I snapped.
The hallway fell silent.
Before anyone could answer, a phone started ringing.
Kiefer's phone.
I looked at the screen.
Unknown Number.
"Shh."
Everyone immediately quieted down.
I answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Kiefer. It's Sakura."
I frowned.
"Sakura? Yuri's wife?"
"Yes."
She sounded relieved for a second before her tone became serious.
"Who is this?"
"Angelo. Kiefer can't answer right now."
A brief silence followed.
"What's wrong?"
"You can tell me," I said. "What happened?"
Her breathing grew uneven.
"Jay is in danger."
Every muscle in my body went rigid.
"What do you mean?"
"I was attacked when I got home."
The hallway instantly went silent.
"Who attacked you?" I asked.
"Yakuza."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"I managed to fight them off, but during the fight..." Her voice shook.
"I saw something."
"What?"
"A photograph."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"A photograph of Jay."
The color drained from my face.
Around me, the others had gone completely still.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Tell me everything."
Sakura took a shaky breath and began explaining.
The attack.
The gunfire.
The men who had broken into her house.
How they had fought back.
How the entire place had gone up in flames.
I listened without interrupting, my grip tightening around the phone with every word.
When she finished, I immediately asked,
"Where are you now?"
"I'm at the airport."
I closed my eyes for a second.
"Is everyone okay?"
"I'm heading to the Japan" she said.
I cursed under my breath.
"And Jay?"
A pause.
"She boarded her flight to London less than an hour ago."
"Okay " I said and hang up
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Jare stood up so fast his chair crashed to the floor.
"Why she going to London now?"
I slowly lowered the phone from my ear.
The attack on Kiefer.
The missing bodies.
The photograph.
But that only created more questions.
But if Jay was the target, why attack Kiefer?
Why attack Yuri?
Why start a war when they could have simply taken her?
Whoever was behind this didn't just want Jay.
They wanted us watching.
None of it made sense.
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
No.
This wasn't the end.
It was only the beginning.
Whoever was behind this wasn't finished yet.
But they wanted something else too.
If Jay was their only target, they could have taken her months ago. They didn't need gunfights, dead bodies, burning houses, and public attacks.
They could have simply kidnapped her.
So why create chaos?
Why draw our attention?
Why make sure we noticed them?
What were we missing?
"Kuya, what happened?"
Jare's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I looked up at him.
"We're leaving for London."
The entire group froze.
"What?" Percy asked.
"I'll explain on the way."
I pulled out my phone and called Cole.
He answered immediately.
"Tell everyone to head to London," I said.
"Now."
"Why?"
"Because whoever wants Jay is going to make a move soon."
I glanced toward the operating room doors.
"And because the Gale is in two days."
The line went silent.
Then Cole understood.
"You think they'll be there."
"I know they'll be there."
The Gale would attract politicians, businessmen, celebrities, crime families, and people who preferred to stay hidden in the shadows.
If someone had started a war just to get close to Jay—
They wouldn't miss an event like that.
I ended the call and looked at the others.
"Pack your bags."
My jaw tightened.
"Because whoever has been hunting from the shadows..."
I thought of Kiefer fighting for his life in surgery.
Of Yuri's burning house.
Of the photograph Sakura had found.
And of Jay, completely unaware of the storm closing around her.
"They're going to show themselves in London."