Keifer pov
The doors to the master suite clicked shut, muffling the chaos of the mansion. Here, the air was still, scented with the familiar sandalwood and jasmine that defined our lives.
I set Jay down on the edge of the sprawling king-sized bed. My hands were still trembling—a fine, persistent vibration I couldn't stop. Now that the adrenaline had bled out of my system, the weight of what had happened was crushing my chest.
"Keifer," she whispered, reaching for my hands.
I didn't let her take them. I turned away, walking toward the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the rain-slicked London streets. "I almost lost you, Jasper. I have all the money in the world, I have the power to erase countries, and I couldn't stop him from putting a knife to your throat."
I felt her move behind me. A moment later, her arms wrapped around my waist, her head pressing into the space between my shoulder blades.
"You didn't lose me," she said, her voice muffled by my shirt.
I turned around in her arms, looking down at her. The "Monster" was gone, replaced by a man who looked utterly broken. I dropped to my knees in front of her, burying my face in her lap. My shoulders shook as the first sob finally broke through.
The second richest man in the world was weeping like a child at his wife's feet.
"I'm sorry," I choked out. "I'm so sorry I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm sorry my name is a curse that brings people like Yuri to our door."
Jay didn't say a word. She just threaded her fingers through my hair, pulling me closer, offering the only thing that could save me: her presence
An hour later, the vulnerability was tucked away behind a mask of cold granite. I walked into the grand dining hall.
The scene was intimidating. Keigan and Keiran sat at the head of the table. Around them, the boys of Section E were gathered—Moya, Kit, Denzel, Calix, and Felix. Angelo sat opposite my brothers, his eyes dark with the shared fury of the Mariano and Watson bloodlines.
Honey Bee Ryder was standing by a digital map projected onto the table.
"Yuri was a symptom, not the disease," Keigan said, his voice echoing in the hall. "He was able to track Jay because of a leak in our secondary security perimeter."
"Which I've already closed," Erdix piped in from his laptop, his face pale. "Permanently."
I took my seat at the head of the table. The silence that fell was absolute.
"From tonight," I began, my voice a low, lethal promise, "the rules change. We are no longer just a group of friends or a collection of rich families. We are a fortress."
I want Yuri's name scrubbed," I continued, looking at Honey. "I want his father to wake up to find his bank accounts empty and his reputation in the dirt. And Denzel, I want you to coordinate with Grace. Jay needs her friends around her. She needs normalcy, even if we have to manufacture it."
"And what about the exes?" Kit asked, leaning forward. "Cyrus and Merrecan? If they hear about this, they might try to crawl back."
"Let them," Keigan growled, his hand tightening around a crystal glass. "I've been looking for an excuse to show Cyrus exactly why he's an ex."
I stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. "We protect her. We protect each other. If anyone—friend, ex, or rival—threatens this family again, they don't get a trial. They get the Hanamitchi treatment."
As the boys dispersed to carry out their orders, I looked at the empty seat at the table. Jay was sleeping upstairs. The world was safe for now. But as the son of Kizer Watson, I knew that peace was just the space between two wars.