Keifer's POV
The drive to Jay's house felt endless, even though it was barely ten minutes. Her voice on the phone — small, shaky — kept replaying in my head. Something was wrong. Really wrong. After everything we'd just survived, the last thing I needed was another bomb dropping.
I parked crookedly outside and knocked twice before the door flew open. Jay stood there, phone clutched in her hand like a weapon, eyes wide.
"What happened?" I asked, stepping inside without waiting.
She didn't answer right away. Just pulled me toward the couch and shoved her phone into my palm. "Watch this. The whole thing."
A new message from an unknown number stared back at me. My stomach dropped before I even hit play.
"Jay‑Jay, it's me. It's Kei's mum. I need you to help me tell him the truth."
The world narrowed to the screen.
The video started — shaky footage of a garden, kids screaming with laughter. Percy splashing water. Aries yelling. Tiny Jay clutching a bear.
And me. Seven years old. Water gun raised, grinning like the world was mine.
"Hi, Mom!"
My breath caught. That voice. Her voice. Warm, teasing. "Kei, be careful."
I'd buried those memories deep. Dad said she died in a car accident when I was eight. Clean. Final. No room for ghosts.
But there she was. Off-camera, but real. Laughing. Alive in pixels.
The video ended. Another text popped up:
"Did you forget this day? You were all so happy. Before he ruined everything."
Jay watched me, biting her lip. "Keifer… what if—"
"No," I cut her off, sharper than I meant. My hands shook as I replayed it. "She's dead. Kaizer told me. Showed me papers. A grave."
"But this—"
"Could be fake," I said, standing abruptly. "Deepfake. AI. Someone screwing with us now that he's locked up."
Jay grabbed my arm. "The number sent it straight to me. Said her name. Knew we were kids together. If it's revenge—"
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I yanked it out. Same unknown number.
"Keifer. I'm alive. Kaizer faked it all to control you. Meet me. Alone. Midnight. Old mango tree from the video. Come or lose me again."
Ice flooded my veins. The garden. Our old house. Demolished years ago, but the tree… it was still there. Massive, twisted roots in an empty lot.
"Keifer," Jay whispered. "Don't go alone."
I stared at the screen, heart hammering. Part of me screamed trap. Another part — the seven-year-old screaming "Hi, Mom!" — clawed to believe.
What if she was alive? What if everything was a lie?
"I have to," I said finally, voice rough. "If there's even a chance…"
Jay's eyes filled with worry. "Then I'm coming with you."
"No." I cupped her face, forcing a calm I didn't feel. "If it's real, she'll bolt. If it's a trap… you stay safe."
She opened her mouth to argue, but I kissed her — quick, fierce. "Text Angelo. Tell him everything. If I'm not back in an hour, he knows what to do."
"Keifer—"
"Promise me."
She swallowed hard. "One hour. Then we come get you."
I nodded, grabbing my keys. The clock read 11:45.
As I stepped into the night, the air felt thick, waiting.
Mom. Alive.
Or the final twist of a dead man's knife.
The mango tree loomed ahead, shadows twisting under moonlight.
I killed the engine a block away and walked the rest. Every step heavier. Every shadow a threat.
Midnight.
No one.
Just wind rustling leaves.
Then — a figure stepped from behind the trunk. Hood up, slim. Feminine.
"Kei?"
That voice.
I froze.
She lowered the hood.
Long hair. Tired eyes. The woman from the video.
"Mom?"
My voice broke.
She smiled — small, broken. "I never left you."
Everything I knew shattered.