Jay pulled her mask down.
Samuel loaded tranquilizers—deadlier than bullets.
Mason cracked his neck.Alex whispered a prayer.
Jay raised her hand.
"On my mark."
Cin, David, Yuri, Felix, Calix stood behind the cars.
Cin whispered,
"Jay… please bring Adam back."
Jay didn't look back.
She couldn't.
If she did, she would break.
Instead she said,
"Always."
She lowered her hand.
"Move."
Aces followed her into the darkness.
And for the first time in years…
Jay wasn't the hunted child.
She was the predator.
Cin's voice shook so badly that even the phone speaker crackled.
"K-Keifer… she's going inside."
Keifer froze mid-step in Greenwood, his breathing stopping entirely.
"Inside what, Cin?" his voice came out low, dangerously steady.
Cin sniffed loudly, "The abandoned warehouse—Cyrus called her there. He said he'd tell her about the betrayer… and that Adam will die if she doesn't come."
Every single person in Greenwood went still.
Aries' water bottle slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a loud thud.
Percy swore under his breath, "Oh hell no—no way that dumb-headed virus...oh Cyrus is pulling this stunt."
Michael clenched his jaw. "And kaizer. Of course he'd get involved."
Silence.
Dead, terrifying silence.
Then—
"YOU LET HER GO IN THERE?!"
Cin flinched.
"I-I didn't LET—Cyrus—he threatened—Jay didn't listen—Keifer, she's already fighting inside—"
—
Cin continued, voice trembling, giving updates almost every second.
"Jay brought Samuel, Alex, and Mason with her. They're fighting Cyrus right now—she already took down four of his strongest boys."
Kit muttered, "Of course she did."
But Cin's next words made Keifer's blood freeze.
"Keifer… Adam was kidnapped. They dragged him inside earlier."
A thick, heavy silence fell.
Then—
Keifer's fist slammed into the table so hard that the entire room shook.
"CIN. LISTEN TO ME. YOU DO NOT—DO NOT—LET HER OUT OF YOUR SIGHT."
Then—
BANGA loud crash inside.
Cin yelled, "We're going in too—David, Calix, Felix—everyone— we can't leave them alone!"
"CIN DON'T—CIN! CIN—!!"
The call cut.
Keifer stared at the phone.
Cin stared at the screen.
David, Felix, Calix rushed over."Cin! What did he say?"
Cin whispered, voice cracking—
"He's coming like a storm."
Keifer slammed his foot on the accelerator.
The car lurched forward.
Red lights blurred into streaks. Horns blared behind him. Rory and Edrix barely managed to keep up in the other car.
Keifer didn't care about red lights.Didn't care about traffic cameras.Didn't care about anything.
His breathing was uneven—sharp, broken.
Because somewhere deep in his bones—
Jay was terrified.
And he could feel it like a knife.
"My fault," Keifer whispered."My fault I left her. I should've been there. Damn it—JAY—"
He punched the dashboard.
"We'll reach her," Rory said softly.
Keifer didn't hear him.
His world was already burning.
A cold dread had wrapped itself around his chest ever since Cin's words.
His friend had been kidnapped.Jay was facing Cyrus again.And now—Jay was entering a building connected to Kaizer's territory.
Worst of all?
Keifer felt it.A strange, slicing tug in his chest.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.Not fear of the fight.
Fear for her.
He whispered under his breath like a prayer, like a plea—
"Don't fall apart on me, baby. Not today. Not now."
He sped faster.
Jay moved through the dim hallway, heart pounding but posture steady.
Alex whispered behind her,"Jay… something's off. No sign of Adam. No guards. No traps. It's too clean."
Jay nodded slightly.
"Exactly why I don't like it."
The warehouse filled with footsteps.
Men in masks circled them.
Cyrus stepped forward first, smirking."Oh look. The legend of Greenwood returns."
Jay cracked her knuckles."Move. Or I'll rearrange that ugly face again."
"Still as mouthy." Cyrus whistled. "No wonder I missed you."
Jay swung first.
CRACK!
Her punch landed straight on his jaw.Cyrus staggered but laughed.
"You grew stronger."
Jay growled, "You haven't."
Then all hell broke loose.
Mason kicked one man into a crate.Alex smashed someone's ribs.Samuel moved like calm wind… until he struck, precise and terrifying.
But more men poured in.
A swarm.
A trap.
And slowly… slowly…
Jay got separated from the others.
Jay sprinted forward, slipping past a broken doorway and into a large, empty storage room.
And then she stopped.
Her breath froze.
Because tied to a chair… blood dripping down his arm…
Adam.
"Adam…" Jay whispered, stepping closer.
He immediately stiffened. "Jay—STOP—don't come near—"
But she was already kneeling, trying to untie him.
"Why didn't you call for help?! Why didn't you scream?!" she snapped.
Adam forced a smile."You hate seeing blood… I didn't want you to panic."
Jay's chest twisted painfully.
She didn't notice her hands shaking.but stablised it by touching her ring ...given by keifer
Her focus was locked only on Adam.
And on the man standing behind him.
Kaizer Watson.
Laughing.
Smirking.
As if he owned the whole world.
Jay's lip curled.
"You…" she growled.
Kaizer chuckled darkly. "Oh trust me, Alpha… I'm the least of your nightmares tonight."
And that's when Jay felt it.
A shift in air.A presence behind her.
Heavy.Cold.Violent.
She turned—
And the world went white.
A thick block of wood slammed into the back of her head.
Jay stumbled, vision blurring.
Her ears rang.The ground trembled.Her knees buckled.
But Jay couldn't hear clearly.
And then—She saw him.
Tall. Wide shoulders.A familiar scent of old tobacco and cruelty.
Jay's entire body locked.Her hands shook.Her lungs stopped working.
The flashbacks hit like bullets—
Her screaming.His hands pinning her down.The pain.The bruises.The fear.The helplessness.Her begging.Her crying.Her grandmother pulling her away.The night she ran barefoot bleeding.The night she hid in the rain.The night she learned the world wasn't safe.
Jay couldn't breathe.Her vision blurred.
He stepped closer.
"You look taller," he mocked, "but still the same scared little girl."
Jay stepped back, chest tightening, ears ringing.
She didn't even hear Samuel shouting her name.
She didn't hear Adam yelling for her to run.
She didn't hear Alex and Mason fighting behind her.
All she heard was:
"You can't escape me, Jay."
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
He leaned forward, whispering with that same disgusting smile:
"Now… come here. Like you used to."
Jay's world shattered.
She was transported back to being that little girl, helpless, bleeding, begging for someone to save her.
"No…" she whispered, stumbling back. "You're dead. I—I saw—Kaizer killed—"
The man laughed. A sick, broken laugh.
"Oh, that?"He tilted his head."My twin brother died that day. Not me."
Jay's stomach dropped.
"It was easy. Let him take the fall. Let the world think I died. Then come back and finish what I started."
Jay couldn't breathe.
Her knees weakened—
But then—
Her eyes hardened.
Her trembling stopped.
Her breath steadied.
Jay's vision flickered.
Her stepdad lifted the block again.
Kaizer laughed behind him."Oh, this will be fun."
Samuel roared from behind her,"JAY! MOVE!"
But her body froze.
Her stepdad leaned in, whispering—
"You think you escaped me? You think Aces could hide you? You think Jeana could save you? Little girl… I've been waiting years for this."
Jay's breathing hitched.
Her trauma finally cracked something inside her.
Her stepfather walked toward her.
"Did you really think I'd leave you so easily?"
Jay's knees trembled.
Adam shouted, struggling."JAY RUN!!"
Jay didn't.
She froze.
Completely.
Her stepfather picked up a wooden plank—the same kind he used during those nights—
And whispered,
"This time… scream louder."
CRACK!
The wood slammed into the back of Jay's head.
Jay's eyes widened.
The world spun.
Her father's face —Cyrus's smirk —Adam screaming —Kaiser laughing —
"DON'T. TOUCH. HER."
Samuel tackled her stepdad from the side.
Jay gasped.Her knees buckled.
Her vision blurred. but stern
Her heartbeat raced.
Her hands shook uncontrollably.
Adam shouted her name again, voice cracking—
"JAY! Look at me—LOOK AT ME—don't shut down—please—"
And a rage she had locked away for years—A pain she had buried so deep—Exploded like a storm.
Jay slowly lifted her head.
Her voice shook, but it was deadly:
"Don't. Touch. My. Family."
Her stepdad smirked
Or the fire in her eyes.
Or the storm she had become.
Jay finally faced the nightmare she'd run from.
And this time—
She wasn't alone.
Far away, Keifer whispered, barely audible:
"Jay… please hold on. I'm coming."
Keifer's vision kept blurring.
Not from speed.
From panic.
Every second felt like he was losing her.
"She's scared… she's scared… she's scared—"The words looped in his mind, tearing him apart.
Cin's voice was still on speaker, but Keifer wasn't listening anymore.
All he could hear was Jay's heartbeat in his memory.All he could feel was Jay trembling in his arms during nightmares.All he could see was the little flinch she still had whenever someone shouted.
He pressed down on the accelerator until the engine threatened to explode.
He whispered between clenched teeth—
"Don't touch her.Don't you dare touch her."
His voice cracked.
"Jay… baby... I'm coming."
He didn't care about traffic, rules, or even death.Nothing mattered if she wasn't safe.
His knuckles were white.His teeth grinding.Tears stinging his eyes.
For the first time in years, Keifer prayed.
"God… let me reach her.Just let me reach her."
Harder than he ever had.
Because for the first time in his life—
Keifer Watson was terrified.
Terrified of losing the girl he loved to the monster she thought she escaped.