The entire hall froze. You could almost hear a pin drop as Jay's gloved finger trailed down the page of the February recruit list. Her eyes—sharp, glinting beneath that mask—narrowed as each name rolled off her tongue like a death sentence.
"Adam… Michael… Sam… Aries… Percy… Ci–N… David… Felix… Eman… Denzel… Kit… Mayo… Rory… Edrix… Calix… Blaster… Josh… Eren…"
Her voice cracked a little—then completely halted.
"…Tiger. Rafael. And… Angelo… kuya?"
The last word came out in the most offended, confused, horror-movie whisper possible.
Jay blinked once. Twice. Then her jaw dropped.
Everyone standing behind the one-way mirror—Aces, Sec E, even Mason—knew the look.The "oh no, we're about to die but it's gonna be funny" look.
"Wait lang, KUYA ANGELO?!" Jay's voice cracked into a pitch dogs could hear.
Jay sat there in silence for five full seconds.Then she very calmly placed the folder on the table, smiled, and said in her deadliest calm voice:
"Everyone, meeting's adjourned. The rest of the League members — labas na muna kayo. I'll… handle this personally."
The entire hall scattered faster than smoke in a storm. Doors slammed shut.The silence that followed was heavy, dangerous… and then—
"MASOOOOOON!!!"
Jay shot up from her seat like she was about to strangle a god.Mason, who had been inching backward, immediately flinched.
"YES, BOSS?"
" ! Mason! Alex! Why are ALL my loved ones in my illegal side hustle?!"
Alex entered right at that moment — cheerful, clueless — holding a tray of drinks.
"Boss! I brought champagne to celebrate the successful recruit list!"
Jay turned to him, smile so sweet it could murder.
"Oh, perfect, Alex! You brought drinks! Great! You'll need them — for your funeral!"
Alex blinked, looked at the paper, then at Jay's face, and realized what he'd done."...Oh.""YES. OH."
Jay turned slowly—so slowly it was dramatic enough to cause an earthquake—and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You… YOU DID THIS?"
Alex immediately threw Mason under the bus. "It was Mason's fault! I didn't even know who they were! I thought they were just new recruits!"
"JUST NEW RECRUITS?" Jay repeated, voice rising an octave. "THAT 'JUST NEW RECRUIT' IS MY KUYA ANGELO! AND THAT OTHER ONE IS ARIES! DO YOU KNOW HOW SCARY THAT IS?! !! THEY'RE GOING TO BURY ME ALIVE!"
Mason quietly took a sip from Alex's other cup. "Technically, Jay, they're your older brothers, not the mafia."
Jay snapped, "THEY'RE WORSE THAN THE MAFIA!"
Jay dramatically grabbed her shoe, held it up like a weapon.
"MASON. ALEX. You both — two months' salary, cancelled. Effective immediately!"
Mason gasped, "BUT—!"Jay: "No buts! ONLY SHUTS!"
Keifer, who had just stepped inside with the rest — Adam, Sam, Michael, Aries, Percy, Ci-N, Angelo, Rafael, Tiger — stood frozen.The Aces and Sec E were smiling nervously.
Aries's expression? Stone cold.
Angelo's expression? Even colder.
And Jay? She looked like she wanted to dig a hole and move to another dimension.
Aries crossed his arms. "So… Alpha, huh?"
Jay froze mid-fake smile. "Ahaha… small world?"
The hall descended into chaos.Percy and Cin were hiding behind the couch, whispering bets on who'd survive.Edrix was filming on his phone.
Tiger whispered, "Should we… run?"Keifer muttered, "No, I want to see where this goes."
Jay popped her head up from behind the chair like a meerkat. "Mason! Delete their files! NOW! Maybe they'll disappear!"
Mason raised an eyebrow. "Jay, this isn't Minecraft."
"Then turn off the lights!" she hissed. "If they can't see me, I don't exist!"
Aries slowly walked toward her. "Jay…"
She bolted behind Keifer. "DEFEND ME, !"
Keifer blinked, unsure if he should laugh or panic. "… from your brothers?"
"Yes!" she hissed. "They're scarier than any mission I've done!"
Aries deadpanned, "Jay, step out."
Jay dramatically dropped to her knees, palms together. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"
Angelo sighed. "You're eighteen, not five."
"I age differently under stress!!" Jay shot back.
Half the league was either crying from laughter or hiding behind tables as the siblings went full telenovela.
Aries slammed his hand on the table. "You're not supposed to be here! You promised—"
Jay interrupted, "Yes, I promised to stop when I found peace—guess what, I found adrenaline instead!"
Angelo groaned. "Jay, this league is dangerous!"
"Oh really?" she said, switching from panic to sarcasm. "I didn't notice, kuya, when the car I was driving exploded and I still won the race!"
Aries pointed a finger. "Exactly why you need to—wait. You WHAT?!"
Jay looked away. "Long story. Half the car burnt down, but I survived! The fans called it a 'phoenix win!'"
Percy whispered, "That's actually kinda cool."
Jay grinned. "See? Percy gets it!"
percy
cut in, arms crossed, voice booming, "WAIT. You're telling me my sister — my literal baby sister — has been leading a MAFIA LEAGUE?!"
Jay: "Correction! It's a power league! Not mafia!… okay, maybe a little mafia. BUT—"
Angelo rubbed his forehead. "No wonder Greenwood's investors love you. You terrify everyone!"
Jay: "THANK YOU! I MEAN— WAIT, THAT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT!"
Michael, trying to hold back laughter: "So you're the Alpha they were gossiping about?"
Jay: "Oh wow, thank you for reminding me that my own friends didn't recognize me wrapped like a human burrito."
Sam: "To be fair, you did threaten to break someone's neck five minutes ago."
Jay: "Because they CALLED ME UNWORTHY! I HAD TO DEFEND MY BRAND!"
Everyone burst out laughing. Even Mason tried to smile nervously.
The entire room erupted with laughter when Jay finally gave up, flopping onto the couch dramatically.
"Fine," she sighed, eyes half-closed. "I'll take my punishment… make it quick."
Aries smirked. "Good. no snacks for whole month ."
Jay sat up instantly. "That's worse than death!"
"Then you shouldn't have lied," Angelo said flatly.
Angelo muttered, "You are impossible."
Jay smiled sweetly. "But you still love me."
Aries ruffled her hair, half-annoyed, half-relieved. "You're lucky we do, or you'd be a ghost right now."
Jay's grin widened. "So… you're not gonna kill me?"
"Not yet," Angelo muttered.
The rest of the team peeked from their hiding spots—some clapping, some cheering.
Keifer chuckled quietly beside her, placing a steadying hand on her arm — not pulling her into a hug, just grounding her.
"You're still breathing, that's a good sign," he murmured.
Jay side-eyed him. "Don't test me, Watson. You might end up buried with Mason."
Keifer grinned, whispering, "Worth it."
Alex nodded. "And that's why I'll never recruit anyone without checking the family tree again."
Rafael, amused: "You recruited us, boss. You can't un-recruit family."
Jay facepalmed. "I didn't recruit you! I didn't recruit ANY of you! alex did!"
Mason, meekly: "In my defense,—"
Jay: "MASON, I SWEAR, ONE MORE DEFENSE AND YOU'LL BE DEFENSELESS!"
The entire hall broke into chaotic laughter.
Cin fell over from laughing too hard, Percy filmed everything "for future blackmail", and Adam muttered, "This is exactly why we don't let Jay near paperwork."
Jay threw her shoe at him. "SILENCE, YOU BETRAYER OF EXCEL SHEETS!"
Keifer caught the shoe mid air — smoothly, effortlessly — and handed it back to her.
"You'll need this for round two," he said, smirking.
Jay blinked, then grinned despite herself. "Oh my god, why are you like this?"
Keifer: "Because you love it."
Everyone: "OOOOOOOOOOH."
Jay: "SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!"
The laughter echoed off the concrete walls of the League's underground base — absurdly, wildly, stupidly normal for a group that just discovered their friend-sister-girlfriend was the most feared Alpha in the underworld.
Jay stood there, glaring at Mason and Alex, shoe in one hand, the list in the other, muttering under her breath:
"I swear, next time, I'm recruiting goldfish instead. They're quieter."
And Mason whispered to Alex, terrified, "She says that every time. But somehow, chaos always finds her."