Jay‑Jay's POV
The next day really did start out normal.
No suspicious cars. No lists. No guns. Just Section E's usual chaos and the smell of cafeteria food pretending to be edible. By the time classes ended, my brain was fried from math and Felix's nonstop commentary, so I walked home with Keifer, Aries, and Percy trailing behind us arguing about who was stronger.
We ate dinner at home with Angelo and Aunty Gemma, talked about school, and pretended everything was simple again. For a few hours, it almost was.
It was only later, when I was lying on my bed scrolling through our group chat, that normal shattered.
My phone buzzed with a new notification.
Unknown number:
"Jay‑Jay, watch this. Show Kiefer."
No emojis. No name. Just the message and a gray bubble with a video attached.
A shiver crawled up my spine.
"Not again," I muttered, sitting up. For a second I considered ignoring it, but curiosity and instinct wouldn't let me.
I hit play.
The video was shaky, old, like it came from one of those chunky phones from years ago. The quality was blurry, but not enough to hide the faces.
At first, all I saw was a garden — grass, sunlight, a small plastic slide, and a big mango tree in the background. Then the camera tilted, focusing on four kids running around, screaming with laughter.
Percy. Aries. A tiny version of me.
And a younger Keifer.
He couldn't have been older than seven. His hair was messier, his cheeks rounder, but the eyes were the same — bright, sharp, already hiding storms. He was chasing Percy with a water gun while Aries tried to break up the fight and mini‑me clung to a stuffed toy, yelling, "Don't shoot the bear, ulupong!"
The camera shook with laughter. A woman's voice. Warm. Soft. Familiar somehow, even though I couldn't place it.
"Kei, be careful," she said in the background. "Aries, don't push him in the mud. Percy, stop encouraging them!"
My chest tightened.
The video panned for a second, and I saw her.
A woman in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, holding the camera with one hand and waving with the other. Long hair, tired eyes that still sparkled when she looked at the kids. She moved closer to the screen for a moment, and the audio crackled as if she was covering the mic by accident.
"Say hi!" she called.
All four kids turned at once.
"HI!" tiny me shouted, waving both arms.
"Hi, Tita!" Percy yelled.
Aries grinned and saluted the camera.
Little Keifer looked up, water gun still in hand, and smiled — a real, unguarded smile that I had never seen on his face before. "Hi, Mom!"
The video paused on his face for a heartbeat too long, like whoever sent it wanted to make sure I didn't miss it. Then it cut out.
The screen went black.
My hands were suddenly cold.
Keifer's mom.
Killed by Kaizer.
Unknown number:
"Did you forget this day? You were all so happy. Before he ruined everything."
My heart started pounding.
Unknown number:
"Jay‑Jay, it's me. It's Kei's mum. I need you to help me tell him the truth."
The room tilted for a second. My brain screamed that it wasn't possible. She was supposed to be dead. Gone. Another ghost in Keifer's long list of scars.
But the video had laughter I'd never heard, angles only someone close would have filmed, and a voice that said "Kei" like she'd said it a thousand times before but why did she feel like I knew her?
I didn't even realize I was shaking until my phone nearly slipped from my hand.
There was only one person I could call.
I hit Keifer's contact and pressed the phone to my ear, my pulse thundering.
Keifer king of ulupong and my heart ❤️🥴
He picked up on the second ring. "Jay? What's wrong?"
"Can you come over?" I asked, my voice coming out thinner than I wanted. "Now. Please."
He went silent for half a second. "I'll be there in ten minutes."
I stared at the black screen, then at the still thumbnail of the video — four kids frozen mid‑laugh, and a woman just off‑camera, unseen but clearly there.
If this was a lie, it was the cruelest one yet.
If it was real…
Then everything Keifer knew about his past was about to change.