CHAPTER 58
WHEN HIS AURA RETURNED
JAY'S POV
Morning came quietly.
Jay opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
She was at her own mansion.
She had come here the previous night and stayed.
No Fernandez Mansion.
No questions.
No explanations.
Just her own room and silence.
Jay slowly sat up and rubbed her forehead.
She felt a little uncomfortable.
"A little head itch…"
She muttered it to herself before getting out of bed.
After changing, she walked downstairs.
The moment she entered the living room, she found Tita Serena sitting there.
Serena looked up.
Her eyes widened.
"Jay?"
Jay stopped.
"Morning."
Serena stared at her.
"What are you doing here?"
Jay blinked.
"I live here."
Serena gave her a look.
"You know what I mean."
Jay sighed.
"I stayed here last night."
"I thought you were at Fernandez Mansion."
"I wasn't."
Serena studied her face.
Jay knew exactly what she was doing.
Trying to figure her out.
Jay simply picked up her phone.
"I have somewhere to go."
"Where?"
"The base."
Serena's eyebrows lifted.
"So early?"
Jay nodded.
"I'll be back."
Serena watched her walk toward the door.
"Jay."
Jay turned.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?"
For a moment, Jay said nothing.
Then she gave her a small, reassuring look.
"I'm fine."
And she left.
---
SHADOW LEAGUE
The atmosphere inside the base was different.
Jay entered the main room.
Yuri was there.
Percy was sitting quietly.
Aries stood near the window.
All three looked toward her.
Nobody spoke.
Jay stopped.
She looked at them one by one.
"What?"
Silence.
Percy looked away.
Yuri crossed his arms.
Aries simply watched her.
Jay narrowed her eyes.
"You're acting strange."
Yuri finally spoke.
"So are you."
Jay's expression didn't change.
"I'm busy."
"With what?"
"Things you don't need to know."
That answer didn't help.
If anything, it made the silence heavier.
Jay walked toward the main table and placed her phone down.
"Where's Damien?"
"On his way," Aries answered.
Jay nodded.
A few seconds later, the doors opened.
Damien entered.
"Queen."
Jay looked at him.
"Give the orders."
Damien stepped closer.
Jay's voice remained calm.
"Kiefer Watson, Angelo Fernandez, and Tiger are to be removed from the Shadow League."
Yuri's expression immediately changed.
"What?"
Percy looked up.
"Jay—"
Aries pushed himself away from the window.
"Why?"
Jay didn't answer.
Yuri took a step toward the table.
"You're removing them?"
"Yes."
"Without telling them anything?"
"They'll receive their explanation."
"That isn't what I asked."
Jay looked directly at him.
"And I didn't ask for your permission."
Yuri went silent.
Percy exchanged a glance with Aries.
None of them understood what she was doing.
Jay picked up the files in front of her.
"Damien."
"Yes?"
"Give Kiefer, Angelo, and Tiger their letters personally."
"Understood."
"And make sure there is no unnecessary information."
Damien nodded.
Jay turned away.
Yuri stared at her.
"Jay."
She stopped.
"Are you going to explain anything?"
Jay looked over her shoulder.
"No."
Then she walked toward the inner corridor.
Yuri, Percy, and Aries remained behind.
Aries exhaled.
"She really isn't telling us anything."
Percy shook his head.
"No."
Yuri looked toward the corridor where Jay had disappeared.
"And that's exactly what worries me."
---
WATSON MANSION
Kiefer sat silently in his room.
He hadn't slept much.
His eyes were tired, his expression empty.
Kegan stood in the doorway for several seconds before finally speaking.
"What is your problem?"
Kiefer didn't look at him.
"Nothing."
"You've been sitting there like that for hours."
"I'm thinking."
"About Jay?"
Kiefer finally looked up.
There was no anger in his eyes.
Just exhaustion.
Kegan stepped inside.
"You know she's hiding something."
Kiefer looked down.
"I know."
"And?"
"And nothing."
Kegan frowned.
"You're not even going to find out?"
Kiefer was quiet for a moment.
"She'll tell me when she's ready."
It wasn't acceptance.
It wasn't surrender.
It was simply the truth.
Kiefer knew Jay was hiding something.
He knew there was a part of her life she wasn't ready to explain.
But he didn't know what it was.
And for now, he wasn't going to force it out of her.
Kegan stared at him.
"You're acting weird."
Kiefer looked at him.
"Thanks."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
A knock interrupted them.
Kiefer's attention shifted toward the door.
A man entered and held out an envelope.
"Mr. Watson."
Kiefer took it.
He opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Once.
Then again.
His expression changed.
"What the fuck?"
Kegan immediately looked at him.
"What happened?"
Kiefer lowered the letter.
His exhaustion disappeared from his face.
Not completely.
But enough.
He read it once more.
His position in the Shadow League had been terminated.
No warning.
No conversation.
Just a decision.
Kiefer slowly folded the letter.
Kegan watched him.
"You're angry."
Kiefer stood.
"No."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Kegan raised an eyebrow.
"Then what?"
Kiefer looked toward the window.
His mind was already moving.
Jay.
The timing.
Her silence.
The distance.
And now this.
Before, he had been too emotionally drained to think about anything else.
Now?
His head was clear.
Something had changed.
And he intended to find out what.
Kiefer's expression hardened slightly.
"Jay…"
He said her name quietly.
Then a faint smirk appeared—not because he was happy.
Because he finally had something to chase.
"You really think I'm going to leave it like this?"
Kegan stared at him.
"There he is."
Kiefer glanced at him.
"What?"
"That look."
Kiefer straightened his jacket.
"Which look?"
"The one that usually means someone is about to have a very bad day."
Kiefer gave him a calm look.
"Maybe."
He picked up his phone.
Then he walked out.
---
KING'S GROUND
Angelo and Tiger were already there.
Both had received their letters.
Tiger dropped his onto the table.
"What the hell is going on?"
Angelo shook his head.
"I don't know."
The door opened.
Kiefer walked in.
The two looked at him.
Tiger immediately noticed the difference.
"You look different."
Kiefer pulled out a chair.
"I got tired of looking miserable."
Tiger blinked.
Angelo almost smiled.
"So you're not taking this quietly?"
Kiefer leaned back.
"No."
He placed his letter on the table.
"This happened too suddenly."
Angelo nodded.
"Exactly."
Tiger frowned.
"You think someone ordered this?"
Kiefer looked at him.
"I know someone did."
"And who?"
Kiefer's eyes narrowed.
"That is what I'm going to find out."
He wasn't going to accuse Jay.
He wasn't going to accuse anyone without proof.
But something had shifted.
And Kiefer Watson was no longer sitting around waiting for answers.
He was going to find them.
---
BACK AT THE SHADOW LEAGUE BASE
Jay stood alone in the main room.
A secure message appeared on her phone.
She opened it.
Her eyes moved across the screen.
LOCATION CONFIRMED.
Another message appeared.
Japan. We found them.
Jay's expression softened for barely a second.
Yuri's mother.
Yuri's sister.
They were safe.
She had already sent people to Japan to find them.
Yuri knew nothing.
And he wasn't supposed to know yet.
Jay typed a response.
Keep them protected. Yuri must not find out until I say so.
She sent it.
Then another notification appeared.
This one was different.
Lucien Blackwood has begun another move.
Jay's eyes hardened.
"Lucien…"
She placed the phone down.
He was planning something.
She knew that much.
And while Lucien was making his move, Jay was quietly making hers.
There were people from her past she needed again.
People she hadn't spoken to in years.
People who knew a side of her that even Shadow League members rarely saw.
She opened an old contact list.
Six names.
Six people.
Six memories.
Kaia Winters.
Zara Valen.
Milan Cross.
Elara Voss.
Riven Hale.
Sienna Blake.
Jay stared at the names.
Then she stopped at one.
Her finger hovered over the call button.
A second later—
She pressed it.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then someone answered.
"Jay?"
Jay's expression changed.
For the first time that morning, she looked almost relieved.
"It's been a long time."
The voice on the other end went silent.
Then—
"Yeah."
Jay looked out through the glass wall of the base.
"I need your help."
And somewhere far away, something from Jay's past was finally beginning to move again.
◇◇◇
AUTHOR'S NOTE
WOW.
One more chapter. 🖤
We're officially opening Jay's past now, and these six names are final.
And Yuri still has NO IDEA that Jay has already sent people to Japan to protect and rescue his mother and sister.
He doesn't know.
And when he finally finds out...
Yeah.
That's going to be something. 👀
Also, Kiefer is BACK. Not broken. Not helpless.
He was hurt.
He was confused.
But the second the Shadow League decision hit—
Kiefer Watson returned to his aura.
And now he's going to start looking for answers.