Kiefer (POV)
I was at the airport, walking toward the private plane, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.
Jay.
Yuri.
Was it really right for me to go to London?
Even if I boarded that plane, even if I forced myself to leave, I already knew my mind would stay here with them.
But I had no choice.
The monster was already in London, and I could not afford to take risks.
When I reached the plane, Kiegen was already waiting for me.
The moment I saw him, I knew something was wrong.
He looked the same, but something in his eyes felt different.
Colder.
Distant.
Like he had already decided to stop being my brother.
Still, I pushed the thought away. He was my brother. I trusted him.
"Sorry, I'm late," I said as I walked toward the plane.
"Is it her again?" he asked immediately.
I stopped.
"She went missing, Kiegen," I said, my voice cracking. "Someone took her from the hospital."
His expression darkened.
"So it's really her again." His voice rose. "Kuya, you don't care about us anymore. You always think about her, even when our lives are at stake."
"It's not like that, Kiegen," I snapped, anger flashing through me. "Just because you're helping me doesn't mean you can talk to me like that."
"Why not?" he shot back. "You're not the same anymore. You promised me that if I helped you, you would be here. But you haven't been. You've been missing meetings. You've been disappearing."
I froze.
For a second, he did not look like the Kiegen I knew.
"I'm here now," I said through clenched teeth. "Even when every part of me is screaming that I should be out there looking for her, I'm still standing here for you... for us."
He stayed silent.
"You think this is easy for me?" I shouted. "You said it yourself—I broke her. And now I'm walking into a war because I'm trying to protect you and Keiran."
"If you think I could ever forget Jay Jay, Kiegen, then you really do not know me at all."
I looked at him, my chest tight with anger and pain.
"I think about her every second I breathe. For me, she is like blood to my heart. Without her, it still bleeds, but it forgets how to beat."
He stayed silent.
"She is the reason I'm still happy," I continued. "You and Kieran are important to me, too. I would do anything for both of you."
I took a deep breath.
"But if I want to live... if I want to be truly happy... then I need her."
My voice broke a little, but I did not look away.
"I love her. And nothing in this damn world can change that. Not time. Not distance. Not even her."
For a moment, I could only think about Jay.
About the way she loved me without asking for anything in return.
About the way she stayed beside me even when I gave her nothing but pain.
"I have never wanted anything this much in my life," I said quietly. "She loved me the same way Mom did."
I swallowed hard.
"Without expecting anything from me."
"If I were trapped in the dark, she would be the star that shines for me."
I closed my eyes for a second, thinking about her.
"She is my star. The one person who could still find me, no matter how lost I became."
A small smile appeared on my face.
"She is not just someone I love. She is part of every piece of my life."
I looked down at my hands.
"No matter where I go, no matter how far I run, somehow she is always there."
I let out a quiet breath.
"And maybe that is why I can never let her go."
"Because without her... everything feels dark."
After that, Kiegen stopped talking to me.
Completely.
Sometimes he would smile at me like nothing was wrong.
Other times, he was cold enough to make me feel like a stranger.
From then on, we only spoke when necessary.
Like business partners.
Not brothers.
Two weeks later… in London…
I sat alone in the cabin.
Jay-Jay still had not been found.
I did not know how I survived two weeks without feeling her touch or seeing her smile.
It was killing me.
I had become more like a machine than a person.
I barely slept four hours every night.
Tomorrow was finally my birthday.
The day I could officially claim my inheritance.
There had already been several shootouts, but somehow I always made it out alive.
Cole and Angelo were still searching for Jay Jay.
When I arrived in London, I got into a fight with Kiegen again. He took my phone away because I was contacting him about Jay-Jay, but luckily, I had another one hidden.
I was also going to therapy now.
Anger management.
I hated it, but I knew I needed it.
Still, every clue we found always led to a dead end.
No calls.
No ransom.
No threats.
Nothing about the inheritance.
Cole also expected someone to contact us eventually.
But Jay Jay had disappeared like air.
Without a trace.
Without a clue.
But I knew there was no such thing as a perfect crime.
There had to be a loophole somewhere.
And when I found it, I would find my way back to her.
Clyden had been helping me.
At first, I did not expect him to be nice to me because he had been acting as CEO for so long.
But he changed a lot over the past two weeks.
He gave me copies of last year's project files and told me to study them.
When I asked him why, he simply said the following:
"It is your job to learn. I had to do the same thing."
I did not find anything suspicious about him.
Still... he smiled a lot whenever he talked on the phone.
Maybe he had a girlfriend.
I heard his fiancée had died a long time ago.
I heard and learned a lot of things about Watson's family and learned some secrets.
I also heard people talking about the curse of the Watson family.
But that was bullshit.
Even if it was true, I would still become a beast if it meant protecting Jay Jay.
I would burn the entire world down for her if I had to.
That night, I read the letters Mom left for me.
That was when I realized she had chosen Angelo to act as Watson.
But somehow, Cole had already known all along that Angelo was my cousin.
But something scared me because it was too silent…like before the storm...I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I needed to be prepared.
"Where are you, Jay?" I whispered into the empty room.
"I'm going crazy."
I was alone in the cabin when the door suddenly opened.
"We're having a party for your birthday," Clyden said as he handed me an invitation.
"Why am I getting one?" I asked coldly.
"I cannot do anything about it, Kiefer," Clyden said. "I am just following the elders' orders."
He held out his hand.
"If you do not want it, then give it back to me."
"It is my birthday," I said, stepping closer to him. "Why do I still have to listen to them?"
"That is how everything works, Kiefer," he replied.
As he walked toward the door, he stopped for a second.
"I hope you enjoy the last day of being young."
Then he left.
"I always spent my birthdays with Section E. I thought this year I would spend it with Jay, but now I was going to my own birthday party like a guest."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"Time really changes everything."
I closed my eyes for a second and held the invitation tighter in my hand.
"I hope I can see Jay-Jay as my birthday gift."
My chest tightened at the thought of her.
"If you can hear me, Mom..." I whispered. "Can you grant that wish for me?"
I looked down at the invitation in my hand.
Who was I supposed to send this to?
Cole would probably get one anyway because of the Marino Empire.
Maybe I should send one to Angelo.
Ino was coming to the party too.
And if Angelo was really going to become my brother-in-law one day, then maybe helping him with his love life would earn me some points with her.
It was evening, and I was getting ready for my birthday party.
There were two parts to it.
The first was only for the main Watson family and direct blood relatives. The second was for business partners and guests.
I wore the suit Mom picked for me and walked into the hall.
There was no warmth there.
All I saw were cold faces, greedy eyes, and people who looked at me like I was something dirty beneath their shoes.
But I stayed.
Because when the clock struck midnight, every person in that room would have no choice but to bow to me, whether they liked it or not.
One of my uncles asked me to give a speech.
I knew none of them actually cared enough to listen, but I still took the microphone.
"Hello," I said calmly. "As all of you know, when the clock hits twelve, I'm not a kid anymore, I'll become the sole heir of Watson Group."
I glanced down at my watch.
"So you have exactly ten minutes to pick a side."
The room went silent.
"If you want to stand beside me, I'll welcome you."
I paused and slowly looked around the room.
"But if you bring a knife to my door, I'll welcome that too. Just remember…" I smirked. "Before you can reach me, I'll already have a dagger in your chest."
Then I stepped away from the stage and started drinking.
Some people avoided me after that.
Like I fucking cared.
Soon, the second party started.
The hall became crowded with business partners, investors, politicians, and families from different groups.
I already knew half of them because of Cole Group.
They came to greet me, congratulate me, and shake my hand.
Then Kizer entered.
The moment he walked in, my eyes immediately searched for Kieran and Kiegen.
I saw them running toward me.
Kizer stopped in front of me.
"My son," he said with a smile that made my skin crawl. "Congratulations on becoming the heir. I hope we can finally finish our unfinished business."
"I have nothing to say to you," I said coldly. "And nothing to give you."
I looked him straight in the eye.
"So get the fuck out."
His smile disappeared.
He stepped toward me, and I could already feel Kiegen and Kieran moving closer beside me.
Then Kizer pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.
I did not move.
I did not even flinch.
Clyden immediately called security.
Within seconds, people surrounded Kizer before he could get any closer.
Then he fired.
The gunshot echoed through the hall.
People screamed.
I immediately pulled Kieran and Kiegen into my arms.
At that exact moment, the massive chandelier above us came crashing down.
I threw my hands up to shield them.
Glass shattered everywhere.
Pain shot through my arms.
And then everything went black.