The morning sun in London was gray and clinical, reflecting the cold atmosphere of the Watson Global headquarters. Jay-jay sat at her glass desk, her eyes red-rimmed but her expression as sharp as a razor. She was staring at a shredded piece of navy-blue fabric—the remnants of a Section E tie that had arrived in an unmarked envelope that morning.
The elevator chimed, but it wasn't the rhythmic, heavy step of Keifer. It was a frantic, heavy running sound.
Jay-jay froze. She knew that deep, booming voice, usually so steady, now cracking with a raw, terrifying pain.
The double glass doors to the executive suite burst open. Felix stood there, his eyes bloodshot, his face a mask of fury and exhaustion from a twelve-hour flight he clearly couldn't afford. Behind him, two massive security guards were trying to grab his arms, but he was powerful, shaking them off like they were nothing.
"Felix?" Jay-jay whispered, standing up slowly.
"Don't call my name!" Felix roared, breaking free from a guard and lunging across her desk. He grabbed the lapels of her expensive blazer, his large hands shaking her. "Look at me, Jay-jay! Look at what you did! Edrix's lola is being moved to a public ward because the insurance bounced! Josh had to sell his bike! Why?! Was the London life that much better than us?!"
"Security, get him out," Jay-jay said, her voice trembling despite her effort to stay stone-faced.
"No! Let me go!" Felix grappled with the guards, a violent physical scuffle breaking out right in the middle of the office. He knocked over a heavy crystal vase, glass shattering across the floor—a perfect metaphor for their friendship.
In the chaos, Felix managed to swing a fist, not hitting Jay-jay, but slamming it onto her desk with enough force to send her laptop and the shredded tie flying. "You're a monster, Jay-jay! We loved you! We would have died for you! I was the one who always told the boys to trust you!"
"What is the meaning of this noise?"
The room went cold. Keifer stepped out of his inner office, looking immaculate in a black three-piece suit, though his eyes were still clouded from the night before. He looked at the shattered glass, the struggling guards, and the broken man from his past.
"Felix," Keifer said, his voice flat and emotionless.
"Keifer! Tell her!" Felix choked out, his voice cracking as the guards finally pinned his arms. "Tell her she can't do this! You're the King! You're supposed to protect Section E! You're supposed to protect her from becoming like your grandfather!"
Keifer walked over, standing between Felix and Jay-jay. He looked at Jay-jay, seeing the way she was biting her lip so hard it was starting to bleed. Then he looked at Felix.
"She already made her choice, Felix," Keifer said, his voice like a death sentence. "The girl you knew died at the airport. This is just a Watson employee. Get him out of here. If he shows up again, call the police."
"You're both dead to me!" Felix screamed as the guards dragged him toward the elevator. "Both of you! I hope this cold city eats you alive! Don't you ever come back to the Philippines!"
The elevator doors closed, cutting off his cries
Silence returned to the office, heavier than before. Jay-jay began to pick up the pieces of shattered glass, her fingers bleeding as she gripped a sharp shard.
"Don't," Keifer said, stepping on her hand to stop her. Not to hurt her, but to keep her still. "Let the cleaners do it. You have a meeting with the Grandfather's auditors in ten minutes. Try not to bleed on the paperwork. It's unprofessional."
He walked away, but Jay-jay saw his hand trembling in his pocket. He was hurting as much as she was, but the "Cold King" couldn't afford to show mercy.
Jay-jay looked at the blood on her finger and the shredded tie on the floor.