(Author's POV)
Nothing worked.
Not Cora's voice.
Not Luna's.
Not Alex telling her to look at them.
Nothing.
Jay remained curled slightly against the sofa, tears still falling no matter how hard she tried to stop them.
Every breath came unevenly.
Every attempt to calm down seemed to make it worse.
"Jay."
Cora sat beside her immediately and wrapped both arms around her.
Holding her tightly.
Like she was afraid Jay would completely fall apart if she let go.
"It's okay."
No response.
"You're okay."
Still nothing.
Jay's hands shook against Cora's arm.
Her entire body trembling.u
Fear.
Pure fear.
The kind none of them had ever seen from her before.
"Jay, look at me."
Cora gently brushed tears from her face.
But more kept coming.
And coming.
And coming.
Like she couldn't stop.
Like something inside her had shattered beyond repair.
"Talk to us."
Luna crouched beside the sofa.
"What happened?"
Jay's lips parted.
No words came out.
Only another broken breath.
Alex exchanged a look with Deniel.
This was bad.
Much worse than they originally thought.
Because whatever had happened—
it wasn't ending.
It was getting worse.
Then finally—
Jay spoke.
Barely.
The words so broken they almost missed them.
"…he…"
Everyone immediately leaned closer.
"What?"
Jay squeezed her eyes shut.
A sob escaped.
"…Kei…"
Cora's heart dropped.
Keifer.
Of course.
It had something to do with Keifer.
"What about Keifer?"
Jay shook her head violently.
Another tear slid down her face.
"…my fault…"
Nobody understood.
"My fault…"
Her voice cracked completely.
The words barely audible.
"He…"
She couldn't finish.
Couldn't get the sentence out.
Like saying it aloud would make it real.
Cora tightened her hold around her immediately.
"Jay."
"He…"
Another sob.
Another trembling breath.
Then finally—
"…died…"
The room went silent.
Not because they believed it.
Because none of them understood.
The words weren't making sense.
Died?
What died?
Who?
How?
"Jay."
Luna kept her voice calm.
"What happened?"
But Jay wasn't really hearing them anymore.
She looked terrified.
Completely terrified.
"…because…"
A broken inhale.
"…because of me…"
Cora's expression immediately fell.
Not because she understood.
Because she didn't.
None of them did.
But one thing was painfully obvious.
Jay genuinely believed whatever she was saying.
And it was destroying her.
"Hey."
Cora gently pulled her closer.
"Listen to me."
Jay shook her head.
"No…"
"Jay."
"No…"
Her voice broke again.
"He…"
Another sob.
Another failed attempt to breathe properly.
The words became impossible to understand after that.
Fragments.
Pieces.
Broken sentences.
Nothing complete.
Nothing clear.
Only enough for them to know one thing.
Something had convinced Jay that Keifer was gone.
And she blamed herself for it.
The room felt helpless.
For the first time since finding her—
none of them knew what to do.
Then the briefing room doors opened.
The doctor entered.
One look at Jay was enough.
His expression changed instantly.
"How long has she been like this?"
"Since we found her."
The doctor immediately moved forward.
Carefully checking her condition while Cora continued holding her.
"Jay."
No response.
"Jay, can you hear me?"
Nothing.
Her eyes remained unfocused.
Lost somewhere far away.
The doctor sighed quietly.
Then reached into his medical bag.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked.
"Helping her."
A moment later the doctor prepared a sedative.
Cora looked down at Jay.
Still shaking.
Still crying.
Still trying to force words out that nobody could understand.
The sight hurt.
It genuinely hurt.
Because this wasn't Jay.
Not the girl they knew.
Not the girl who fought through everything.
Not the girl who always got back up.
This was someone completely broken.
The doctor carefully administered the medication.
Nothing happened immediately.
A few more trembling breaths escaped Jay.
A few more tears.
A few more broken attempts to say Keifer's name.
Then slowly—
very slowly—
the tension started leaving her body.
The trembling eased.
Her breathing became steadier.
The panic that had gripped her for so long finally began loosening its hold.
Cora never let go.
Not once.
She simply kept holding her while Jay's eyes slowly grew heavier.
Until eventually—
exhaustion won.
Jay finally drifted off.
The room became silent.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Because even though she was asleep now—
the fear remained.
And the only thought running through every one of their minds was the same.
What had happened to her?
The medication didn't work immediately.
For several moments, Jay remained exactly where she was.
Curled against Cora.
Trembling.
Mumbling broken words none of them could fully understand.
Then slowly—
very slowly—
the panic began to loosen its grip.
Her breathing steadied little by little.
The tension left her shoulders.
The trembling weakened.
And eventually her eyelids started growing heavier.
"Jay."
Cora gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.
No response.
Only another exhausted blink.
Then another.
Until finally—
her head slowly tipped sideways.
Landing against Luna's shoulder.
The room fell silent.
For the first time since they had found her, she looked peaceful.
Not okay.
Just exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
Luna carefully adjusted her position so she wouldn't wake up.
But before she could do anything else—
Alex was already moving.
Carefully supporting Jay's head before it slipped any further.
"Easy."
Without another word, he gently scooped her up.
As if she weighed nothing.
As if she might break if he wasn't careful enough.
Nobody spoke while he carried her out of the briefing room.
Cora walked beside him.
Luna followed immediately behind.
Deniel remained unusually quiet.
The entire walk through the hallway felt heavier than it should have.
Because nobody knew what had happened.
Only that whatever it was—
it had completely destroyed her.
Alex finally pushed open the bedroom door.
The room was dimly lit.
Quiet.
Safe.
Exactly what Jay needed right now.
He carefully lowered her onto the bed.
Adjusting the blankets afterward.
Making sure she was comfortable.
Making sure she stayed asleep.
For a moment, nobody moved.
They simply looked at her.
At the tear stains still visible on her face.
At how exhausted she looked.
At how much pain she must have been carrying alone.
Then Alex finally stepped back.
"Let her rest."
Nobody argued.
His gaze shifted toward the others.
"We need to figure out what happened while we were gone."
Everyone nodded.
One by one they turned toward the door.
Except Luna.
She remained beside the bed.
Still watching Jay.
Still unwilling to leave.
Alex didn't tell her to.
Instead, he simply nodded once.
Then left the room with Cora and Deniel.
The bedroom door closed softly behind them.
The corridor outside felt unusually cold.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then finally—
"Check the cameras."
Deniel broke the silence.
Alex immediately nodded.
"Now."
The three of them headed toward the security room.
The walk felt longer than usual.
Questions filled every one of their minds.
What happened?
Who called her?
Why was she talking about Keifer?
Why was she convinced something terrible had happened?
The security room door opened.
Rows of monitors lit the dark space.
Alex immediately sat down.
Pulling up the footage from the briefing room.
The screen flickered.
Then began playing.
The three of them watched silently.
At first—
everything looked normal.
Jay sat alone at the table.
Reading files.
Making notes.
Reviewing information.
Nothing unusual.
Then her phone rang.
The moment she saw the number—
she froze.
Cora frowned.
"Someone called her."
The footage continued.
Jay answered.
And for a while—
she just listened.
The camera couldn't capture the voice on the other side.
But it captured her reaction.
Her expression slowly changing.
Confusion.
Shock.
Fear.
Then tears.
Deniel straightened in his chair.
The room became quieter.
The footage kept playing.
Jay was talking now.
Trying to say something.
Trying to stop herself from crying.
Failing.
The longer the call lasted—
the worse she looked.
Then suddenly—
she stood up.
Fast.
Too fast.
Like something had happened.
Like something she heard changed everything.
A few moments later she grabbed the edge of the table.
Barely keeping herself upright.
Cora's stomach tightened.
The footage continued.
Then—
a notification appeared on her phone.
Jay looked down.
Opened it.
A picture.
The camera angle couldn't show what was on the screen.
Only Jay's reaction.
And that reaction alone was enough.
Because the moment she saw it—
all the color drained from her face.
The phone slipped from her hand.
She looked completely shattered.
Like whatever was in that image had broken something inside her.
The footage continued.
Jay collapsed shortly afterward.
Trying to breathe.
Trying to stay conscious.
Trying to hold herself together.
And failing.
The room remained silent as they watched.
Nobody said a word.
Nobody moved.
Because one thing had become painfully obvious.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone had done this.
Someone had called her.
Someone had sent that picture.
And somehow—
they had known exactly how to destroy her.