JayJay's POV~
"Is that so?"
It's Keifer.
He's at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall in sweatpants and a damp t-shirt, hair still wet from a shower. His voice didn't rise. It never has to.
Percy — my stepbrother — snorted and stepped between us, arms crossed. "Dude. It's 6 AM. Ari's asleep. Can you not start your jealous caveman routine?"
Keifer's eyes stayed locked on me. "I heard screaming too."
My cheeks burned. "It wasn't— Look, it doesn't matter." I shoved my phone deeper into my pocket. Adrian's last text felt like it was scorching through the fabric. _The Steels aren't just roaming. They left something._
Keifer noticed. Of course he did. He stepped closer, voice dropping. "What's going on, Jay?"
"Nothing," I said too fast. "Work thing. Adrian's handling it."
His jaw ticked. That meant he didn't believe me. "You're up before dawn, you're pale, and you've been dodging me for three weeks. Don't tell me 'nothing.'"
Percy made a noise. "Okay, this is my cue to disappear before Ari wakes up to you two doing... whatever this is." He shot me a look. "You good?"
I nodded. "Stay with Ari. Don't let her out of the room."
"On it," Percy said, and slipped back into his room, pulling the door until it was cracked.
Now it was just me and Keifer in the hall.
He didn't touch me, but he was close enough that I could smell his soap. "You're lying."
"I'm not," I lied, meeting his eyes. "It's Mariano stuff. Boring board crap. You don't need to worry about it."
Keifer studied me for a beat too long. Then he exhaled through his nose, frustrated. "You telling me not to worry is exactly why I'm worried."
"I can handle it," I said, quieter. "I just need you to trust me for a few hours."
Something flickered in his expression. Hurt, maybe. But he stepped back. "Fine. Few hours." He turned toward the room. "But Jay? When you're ready to stop handling everything alone, you know where I am."
He left without another word.
I waited until his door shut, then pulled my phone out
I waited until his door shut, then pressed my back to the wall and closed my eyes for one second.
Ari couldn't wake up to chaos. Keifer couldn't know about the Steels yet.
So I slid my phone back in my pocket, walked past the main suite, and headed for the stairs instead of the elevator. If I was going to lie, I'd do it where he couldn't hear me.
The stairwell was empty and cold. My footsteps echoed off the concrete, too loud in the quiet. I took the stairs two at a time until I hit the landing between the 12th and 11th floor, then yanked my phone out.
*Me:* _What did they leave?_
The typing bubble popped up instantly.
*Adrian:* _Envelope. Slid under the front desk. Addressed to "The CEO Who Likes To Play Family."_
Ice slid down my spine.
*Me:* _You open it?_
*Adrian:* _No. You said wait. But boss, the front desk clerk said the guy who dropped it off was whistling. Said he looked "happy to be working early."_
The Steels didn't send happy people. Not unless it was a message.
*Me:* _I'm coming down. Don't let anyone else touch it. And Adrian? Keep Keifer away from the lobby._
*Adrian:* _You got it. Service elevator's clear. 3rd floor._
I shoved the phone back in my pocket and started moving again.
Three floors down, I could still hear Percy's door clicking shut above me. Ari was safe. For now.
Keifer was pissed. Understandably.
And somewhere in the lobby, the Steels had left me a love letter.
I hit the 3rd floor door with my shoulder and stepped into the service hallway. Adrian was already there, holding a sealed white envelope in gloved hands like it might bite.
"Jay," he said, no smile this time. "You're not gonna like this."
Adrian didn't hand it to me. He just held it out, eyes scanning the service hallway like he expected someone to walk in.
"What's in it?" I kept my voice low.
"Don't know." He nodded at the red-ink coordinates stamped on the front. No name. No return address. "But those? They're for the old Ridgeway warehouse. The one your dad liquidated five years ago."
Ridgeway. One of Mariano's first failed expansions. Nothing else. Not to Adrian, at least.
I took the envelope. The wax seal was a steel gear. The Steels' signature.
Adrian hesitated. "Jay. This feels bigger than board politics. If we need to loop in—"
"We don't," I cut him off. "Not yet. Not until I know what this is."
He frowned. He's been with me since I took Mariano at 22. He knows I don't scare easy. But he doesn't know Keifer knows now. He doesn't know last night happened. He doesn't know Keifer found out he has a three-year-old daughter and sat on my suite floor until 3 AM, just watching Ari sleep.
"You sure?" Adrian pressed. "Because whatever this is, it had you up at 6 AM dodging calls. And you look like you haven't slept."
"I didn't," I said. Because how do you sleep after undoing four years of lies in one night?
I broke the seal.
One photo. Grainy. Time stamp: 2:17 AM. Today.
Ari. Asleep in Percy's room, stuffed dragon clutched to her chest. The angle was from inside the suite.
My lungs stopped working.
Adrian leaned in, saw the photo, and went rigid. "That's Ari. How the hell—"
"No one talks," I snapped, shoving the photo back in the envelope. "No board. No security chief. No one. You get me the names of every person who had suite access last night. Camera duty. Keycard logs. Five minutes."
"Jay, if someone got near your daughter—"
"She's not safe," I said. That was the only truth I could give him. Not _she's Keifer's_. Not _he just found out_. Just _not safe_.
Adrian gave a short nod. "Five minutes."
The service elevator dinged. Empty.
I stepped in and hit 12.
Because if the Steels had this photo, it meant they were watching. And Keifer — who just got his daughter back after four years — was going to find out someone had been in her room at 2:17 AM.
And I'd only told him the truth twelve hours ago.
-------------
(Time skip to afternoon, after jay found out nothing about the photographer)
I was sleeping in my room since I couldn't sleep last night because of an bastard 🙄
I woke up from a nightmare, in which I saw that Ariella was kidnapped and killed by my enemies
And this wasn't just a nightmare, it it a NIGHT TERROR for me
,
I walked out of the room to check on Ari but she wasn't in Percy's room
I went to every single room in the suite and Ari was nowhere to be found
I freaked out , I ran to Percy and asked him
"Where is Ari??? Do you know where she is?????!! Please tell me she's safe"
Percy's brows furrow in confusion and he asked
"What do you mean where is ari??? She was sleeping with you in your room wasn't she?"
"Yeah she was but I felt her wake up and hour or so ago"
"But Ariella never came to me , I was in my room playing video games, and she didn't come to once"
"Fuck, shit please don't don't say that , I didn't tell you before but the Steel's people were found roaming around the hotel this morning and they clicked a picture of ari from inside you room at 2:17 am ,
No no no no no no this can't happen again ,I am the worst mother ever , i let my 4 year old daughter got kidnapped right under my nose twice!"
I said panicked
Got it — removing Keifer from this scene entirely, and Percy already knows about the first kidnapping. Rewriting:
---
Percy's controller hit the floor, but he didn't look surprised. Not really. Just grim.
"Shit," he muttered. "Not again."
I couldn't breathe. The walls were too close. The suite was too quiet. No cartoons. No little feet. No _Ari_.
Percy was already moving, checking the bathroom, the closet, under the bed like he expected her to jump out. "When did you last see her?"
"An hour ago," I gasped. "I was asleep. I felt her wake up on the bed next to me. I thought— I thought she went to you. She always goes to you when she wakes up from a nightmare."
"She didn't." Percy's voice was tight. He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been in my room since lunch. Door was open. She didn't come in once."
"Fuck." I sank to the floor, my legs giving out. "Percy, the Steels. That photo from 2:17 AM. They were already in your room. In with her. And I— I went back to sleep after Adrian gave it to me."
"I know." He crouched in front of me. No judgment. Just fear. The same fear he had one year ago when I shouted out in panic at the party hysterical because Ari was nowhere to be seen in her own birthday party.
"This is my fault," I whispered. "I told myself after the first time— never again. I hired security. And I still let them get to her."
"Stop." Percy grabbed my hands. "You didn't let them do shit. You were twenty-three and alone with a baby and Mariano's enemies circling. And you're not alone now."
My phone was vibrating on the bed. Adrian. 22 missed calls.
I answered, putting it on speaker.
"Boss, tell me she's with you," Adrian said, no greeting. "Because we got a problem."
"She's gone," I said. The words tasted like ash. "Ari's gone, Adrian."
A beat of silence. Then Adrian swore, long and vicious. "The camera feeds for your floor. They looped from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM. Thirty minutes. We didn't catch it until now."
1:00 PM. Right after I fell asleep.
Percy stood up, already pulling on shoes. "I'm sweeping the hotel. You check the tablet. Find My Device still on it?"
I scrambled for Ari's tablet on the nightstand. . Dead. I held the power button. Nothing.
"Dammit," I hissed. "She played on it this morning. It should've had charge."
"Unless someone turned it off," Percy said, heading for the door. "I'm starting with the stairwells. You call the hospital. The front desk. Anywhere. If she wandered—"
"She didn't wander." I cut him off, my voice flat. "Not after that photo. The Steels have her."
Percy stopped with his hand on the door. He looked back at me, and for the first time since we were kids, my stepbrother looked scared of _me_.
"Then we don't call security," he said slowly. "Not yet. Because if they know we know, they'll move her."
I nodded. My hands stopped shaking. The panic was still there, but under it, something colder was settling in. The same thing I felt at 23 when I didn't see ari anywhere
"Get me the keycard logs," I told Adrian. The envelope from this morning was still in my jacket. I pulled it out, staring at the Steel gear seal.
(*Time skip to two hours later*)
We didn't find Ariella anywhere, and neither did we find any clue of where she is
I was crying on the couch in the suite , all of our friends standing around me and calming me down
When suddenly i heard the same familiar voice I love
Ariella's Voice
"Mommy , I am back"
She shouted and my eyes widen in confusion and shock when I saw her
I didn't think , i just ran to her and held her in a tight embrace scared if I let her go , she will disappear again
I asked my voice shaking, my face covered with wet tears and my whole body trembling
"Baby where were you !!!!????. Are you okay? Did someone lay a hand on you???!!!!"
"No, mommy and I am completely okay , i am the happy , tito Keifer is the best , he bought me ice cream and took me to the amusement park and played with me"
My brows furrow in confusion and i ask
"Tito keifer , what do you mean?"
I looked up and saw keifer and i understood everything
Ariella wasn't kidnapped she was with keifer eating ice cream!
I get up and walk towards keifer
SLAP!
My palm connected with keifer's face wash ith a loud sound
Everyone froze shocked
Ariella's eyes widened in shock , this is the first time she saw me this angry infront of her
One year ago I softened everytime ari was around because that time she was traumatized and needed comfort not my anger