Jay-Jay's POV
Keifer's grin hit me like sunlight after a storm. No shadows. No guarded edges. Just pure, unguarded joy as he held out the bracelet, beads catching the light.
"She's real?" I whispered, throwing my arms around him. "Your mom's really alive?"
He hugged me back fierce, laughing into my hair. "Yeah. All of it — the hiding, the scars from him, waiting for me to break free. She's proud of us. Of you."
Warmth bloomed in my chest. Angelo stepped up, clapping Keifer's shoulder with a rare, wide smile. "That's huge, man. Kaizer's empire just crumbled more."
"Tomorrow," Keifer said, eyes shining. "Clean call. She wants to meet everyone. Keiren, Keigan first, then… family dinner. Real one."
I pulled back, grinning. "Section E included? C-in will bring the chaos."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." He slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, simple and perfect.
We piled into Angelo's car, chatter filling the space — plans for telling the brothers, what food she might like, how Aunty Gemma would cry happy tears. No traps. No doubt. Just hope, solid and bright.
At home, the kitchen lit up with noise. Aunty Gemma hugged Keifer like her own, Angelo already texting the family group. Aries and Percy burst in mid-story, demanding details, Ella squealing from the couch.
Keifer sat beside me at the table, bracelet glinting as he laced our fingers. "Never thought I'd get this," he murmured. "Whole family. No more ghosts."
I squeezed his hand. "You earned it. We all did."
His phone buzzed — a new number.
"Kei, it's me. Tomorrow, 6pm. Eman's? Bring them all. Love, Mom."
He showed me, beaming. "She knows the place."
"Perfect," I said, kissing his cheek. "Our spot."
As laughter echoed around us — Percy plotting pranks, Aries teasing, Angelo planning security just in case — one truth settled deep.
Kaizer's chains were broken.
Family wasn't blood or lists.
It was us.
Messy, loud, unbreakable.
Tomorrow, we'd welcome her home.