Percy (POV)
I stood near the ICU, staring at the red light above the door. I thought I knew everything about Jay-Jay. After hearing what Cole Kuya said, no wonder she did that to herself.
Those words stayed in my head.
I walked to the washroom to clean the blood off my hands. As the water ran over my skin, Jay-Jay's blood slowly disappeared into the sink. But no matter how much I washed, I could still see it. Her body is getting cold and light, like she's dead.
I could still see her smiling while she was covered in blood.
I splashed cold water on my face, trying to force myself to calm down.
This was not the end.
She was alive.
She still had me.
But the fear of losing someone you love was hell.
I could still make her happy.
I kept repeating those words in my head.
Get yourself together, Percy.
Your sister needs you now.
I wasn't going to leave her alone anymore.
When I first heard about her from Dad and Kuya, I wanted to meet her immediately.
If that accident hadn't damaged my spine, I would have already been by her side.
Instead, I was stuck in a hospital bed for years.
Mom and Cole insisted I stay in New York until I fully recovered.
That was why I asked David to take care of her.
But she still got hurt.
I had the chance to take her with me.
She asked me to.
I should have listened.
I slammed my fist against the wall over and over until my hand went numb.
I failed her as a kuya.
I walked to the hospital terrace to clear my mind.
My phone rang.
It was Mom.
I took a deep breath before answering.
"Hi, Mom," I said, forcing a smile into my voice.
"Did you and Jare finally meet Jay-Jay?" she asked excitedly. "Don't tell me you forgot about me already. You boys didn't even call me all day. You must be enjoying time with your sister."
I bit my lip to stop myself from crying.
"She was lovely, Mom," I said softly. "She was really happy to see us. We just talked a lot."
It was a lie.
I didn't want her to worry.
"Can I talk to her?" she asked immediately.
"No," I answered too quickly. "She's tired. I'll call you when she wakes up. I'm tired too, Mom. I think I'm going to rest." My mouth felt bitter.
"Too bad," she said with a laugh. "I wanted to hear her voice, too. Tell Jare to call me. I keep trying to reach him, but he's not answering. And do you know where Cole is?"
"No, Mom. Kuya probably buried himself in work again. You know how he is."
"Yeah," she said softly. "The house feels empty without all of you. Come back to New York soon. I miss you, boys. I already bought so many dresses for Jay,, finally I can have a daughter in the house...I even decorated her room...I can't wait to see her."
"Good night, Mom."
"Good night."
The moment the call ended, a tear slipped down my cheek.
I wiped it away quickly and walked back toward the ICU.
Jare was supposed to be there alone. He needs me.
But when I got there, I saw him stumbling in the hallway.
There was blood on the side of his head.
He could barely stand.
I rushed to him and held him up.
Then he looked at me and said someone had taken Jay-Jay.
We called Kuya.
But before he could say anything else, Jare collapsed.
I carried him to the emergency room.
My hands were covered in blood again.
Why was this happening to us?
Two days ago, they were smiling like nothing in the world could hurt them.
Now they were both unconscious.
Now they were both fighting for their lives.
I wanted to stay strong.
But I was breaking too.
The doctors took Jare in for treatment.
I finished the hospital formalities.
Luckily, I found him; he had not lost too much blood.
He had passed out because of the sleeping gas.
Then I saw Kuya running toward me.
The moment he saw the blood on my clothes, his face changed.
"Did you get hurt?" he asked immediately. "Is that your blood?"
I shook my head.
"It's Jare's," I whispered and added.
"He's getting treatment; he got...bleeding. "I looked at my hand…the blood was still warm, "Kuya..I would have protected them if I hadn't left them alone," I said.
I tried to stay calm.
I really did.
"A-Aries was also in the ICU; they both are suffering...I hate that I can't do anything about it. That hurts more," I said.
But my voice was shaking.
My hands were trembling.
And my clothes were covered in Jay-Jay's and Jare's blood.
It felt like no matter how much I tried to protect them, I was always too late.
Third person (POV)
After hearing that, Kiefer, Angelo, and Cole moved at the same time.
All three got into their cars without wasting a second. They drove like madmen—one for his sister, one who looked at her like a daughter more than a sister, and one for the girl they could not lose.
The drive from Kingsground to the hospital normally took forty-five minutes, but they made it in twenty.
None of them cared about parking. They barely even shut the car doors before rushing inside the hospital.
By the time they reached the corridor, chaos had already taken over.
Everyone looked panicked.
Jare and Aries were both being treated.
Cole (POV)
I thought they would be safe in the hospital.
Shit. I should have put security around them.
The second I stepped onto the ICU floor, my chest tightened.
The glass door was shattered.
A fire extinguisher was lying on the floor.
Some of the Section E kids were collapsed on the ground, half awake, half unconscious. Chairs were overturned. Bags were scattered everywhere.
The moment they saw us—Kiefer, Angelo, and me—they rushed toward us.
"Kuya!"
"Kiefer!"
"Boss!"
But I was not listening.
My eyes were searching for only one thing.
Then I saw Percy.
He was trying so hard not to break.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Why was this happening to my siblings?
They used to annoy me.
Now all I ever saw was them broken.
It was killing me.
I walked toward him.
Kiefer started checking the floor, asking questions, and looking for any leads he could find while also making sure the Section E kids were okay.
"Percy," I called softly.
He looked at me.
That look in his eyes…
Like he had lost his way.
Like he was blaming himself for not being there for his siblings.
He looked down at his hands. They were still covered in blood.
"Jare and Aries are getting treatment," he said quietly.
When I saw his knuckles, Without saying anything, I took off my tie and wrapped it around his bleeding knuckles.
Then I held his face in both my hands and forced him to look at me.
"You're okay, right?" I asked.
I already knew the answer.
But I was not ready to lose someone again.
He understood what I was really asking.
He nodded.
"So tell your Kuya what happened," I said quietly. "I'll get her back."
I swallowed hard before speaking again.
"Until I come back… will you take care of both of them for me?"
He nodded again.
"I mean, including you," I said. "I need all three of you to be okay."
The moment I finished talking, Percy's face broke.
"I didn't know what was happening," he said, his voice shaking. "When I got here, Jare was lying on the floor covered in blood… and he said Jay Jay was missing."
I patted his head gently and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
It was not comfort.
It was a promise.
"I'll bring her back," I said.
Then I turned and walked toward Section E.
Some of them were conscious now.
The second they saw me, everyone started talking at once.
"Boss, they—"
"There was smoke—"
"Someone locked us—"
"Jare tried to—"
"So what happened?" I roared.
Everyone froze.
Then they all started talking again.
I could not understand anything.
I lifted one finger to my lips.
"Shh."
The entire room went silent.
No one moved.
No one dared speak.
"Just answer the three questions I'm going to ask," I said coldly.
Everyone nodded.
"First… how long has Jay Jay been missing?"
"Forty-five minutes," one of them answered immediately.
"Second… who was the last person to see her?"
Everyone looked at each other.
No one answered.
Then Percy spoke quietly from behind me.
"Jare."
I nodded once.
"Third…" I said, turning to Percy. "Where did you find him?"
"Near the hallway leading to the operating theater."
For a second, I said nothing.
Then I turned and walked away.
Because if I stayed there any longer, I was going to lose control.
Angelo (POV)
I immediately went to check on Aries.
The second I saw Aries struggling to breathe, something dark flashed across my face.
His lips were pale.
His breathing was uneven.
His hands were shaking so badly that he could not even hold onto the bed properly.
For a second, I just stood there looking at him.
Then I saw the tears in his eyes.
That was enough.
"They are dead," I muttered.
I slammed my fist against the ICU glass door so hard it cracked under my hand.
"No one touches my family and walks away breathing."
KIEFER (POV)
I looked at Angelo; he muttered something. The way his jaw tightened I knew he was angry…
The way his hands curled into fists…
It was obvious he was barely holding himself back. Then I looked at Cole. He was walking away after listening to them.
"Why didn't you ask them how she went missing?" I asked.
Cole glanced at me before looking back at the destroyed hallway.
"I don't need to know every detail of how they took her," he said calmly. "Those three answers already told me everything I need to know."
He slowly looked around the floor.
"The past won't change, Kiefer. But after seeing this hallway, I can already tell what happened."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
"They separated Section E from Jay Jay first," Cole said. "They locked them inside the private room, then used some kind of sleeping gas. That's why most of them are still unconscious and why Aries couldn't breathe properly."
His eyes moved toward the shattered door and the broken glass on the floor.
"They lied about Jay Jay's condition and pretended she needed another surgery. That's how they got her out of the ICU without anyone questioning it."
He looked toward the hallway leading to the operating room.
"But Jare noticed something was wrong. He tried calling us, but the calls wouldn't connect. That means they planted a jammer somewhere near this floor."
No one said a word.
Because everything he said made sense.
He had just figured out two hours of chaos in less than five minutes just by looking around.
No wonder he ran the Mariano empire.
"I don't have time to sit here and listen to every little detail," Cole said coldly. "What matters is getting her back."
Then he looked at me.
"If you still want to hear the whole story, you can ask them later while eating popcorn."
For a second, everyone in the room just stared at him.
Even Percy looked shocked.
"How can you be so sure Jare noticed something?" I asked quietly. "Maybe he missed it."
Cole let out a dry laugh.
"Because my brother is not stupid," he said.
Then a cocky smile slowly appeared on his face.
"And if you're done asking questions," Cole said calmly, "let's talk about where they took her."
He looked down at the blood on the floor.
"Regret comes later."
Angelo looked at Cole.
Cole looked back at Angelo.
The smile on both of their faces was enough to make everyone in the room nervous.
"They chose the wrong people to mess with," Angelo said quietly.
Cole's eyes darkened.
"They already decided whose hands they're going to die in."