Jay's POV
The laughter was still echoing faintly in the marble hall as we turned to leave.Freya was still muttering insults under her breath, Rakki trying (and failing) to calm her down, while Mica and Ella were replaying the argument like it was some kind of live drama episode.
I should've felt victorious.
Instead… something felt off.
A strange, sharp smell slipped into the air.
At first, it was faint—almost unnoticeable beneath the perfume, polish, and chaos.
Then it thickened.
"Do you guys smell that?" I asked, slowing my steps.
No one answered immediately.
Then—
Rakki swayed.
"Jay… I feel…" Her sentence broke.
Freya blinked hard. "What the—"
The world tilted.The floor rushed up to meet me.Voices blurred. Shapes melted. My limbs felt heavy, like they weren't mine anymore.
The last thing I saw...was the chandelier above, spinning.
And then—Darkness.
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My eyes flickered open to a cold, dim room. My head felt like it had been hit by a freight train. I tried to move my hands, but they were bound to a metal chair.
"Finally awake?"
A man stood in front of me. He was silhouetted against a harsh overhead light, his presence oppressive. He looked young but had eyes that had seen too much malice.
"Who are you?" I croaked, my throat parched from the gas.
"I am Sato," he replied, a chillingly calm smile playing on his lips.
I gritted my teeth, fear warring with a sudden surge of adrenaline. "What do you want from me?"
"You? Nothing personally," Sato said, pacing around my chair like a predator. "But Yuri... he really loves you. You were his fiancee, and I want revenge from him."
I let out a harsh, dry laugh. "Revenge? Then you're wasting your time. Our engagement is over. If you want a piece of him, go take it from him directly. Don't use me as a shield."
Sato leaned in close, his shadow stretching across the floor. "You don't understand. I want it this way. Hurting him is a momentary sting. Taking what he values most? That is a permanent scar."
I looked around the room, seeing the other girls slumped in chairs, still unconscious or just beginning to stir from the gas. "Then why kidnap everyone? If I'm the target, why involve my friends?"
He smirked, pacing with a cold, calculated rhythm."You don't understand, baby girl.The more pieces on the board…The more interesting the game."
Freya, who had clearly been awake longer than I realized, spat on the floor. "You're pathetic. A coward hiding behind masks and mist because you can't face a man on your own."
Sato's face darkened with rage. He signaled to one of his men, a hulking brute standing near the shadows. "Silence her. Use whatever force is necessary."
Author's POV
The man sneered and lunged toward Freya, raising a heavy fist to strike her while she was still bound. My heart hammered against my ribs as I struggled against my restraints, screaming for him to stop.
CRACK.
The sound echoed through the room. The man's head snapped back as a heavy object collided with his skull. He crumpled to the floor instantly.
Everyone froze. Standing there, chest heaving and eyes blazing with a primal fury, was Jay. She had managed to slip her restraints while Sato was distracted by his own arrogance.
"Don't you touch her," Jay hissed.
Sato snarled, "Get her! Now!"
Several men lunged at Jay from the other side of the room. What followed was a display of brutal efficiency. Jay didn't just fight; she dismantled them. She caught the first man's punch, redirected his momentum, and delivered a strike to his solar plexus that left him gasping.
She spun, using the momentum to plant a lightning-fast kick into the second man's temple. He hit the floor and stayed down.
The third man tried to tackle her from behind, but Jay flipped him over her shoulder, his back hitting the concrete with a sickening thud.
She was a whirlwind of controlled violence, neutralizing the threats before they could even coordinate an attack.
In the chaos, one of the kidnappers tried to sneak up on our Chef from the back. "Watch out!" Freya yelled.
Honey moved with unexpected speed. She didn't wait for him to reach her; she stepped into his space and delivered a powerful punch to his jaw. The man's eyes rolled back, and he laid flat on the floor.
Another tried to rush from behind, but Rakki stepped in, blocking the strike with her forearm and sending him stumbling back with a forceful shove.
Freya, finally free of her ropes, grabbed a nearby piece of equipment and joined the defense.
Mica moved quickly to Grace's side, shielding her and ensuring she stayed safe while the room turned into a battlefield.
Just as the tide seemed to be turning, the heavy doors were kicked open. Section E burst in, led by the Arrays and Percy.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. Keifer's eyes scanned the room frantically until they locked onto Jay.
"Jay! Are you okay?" he roared.
"I'm fine," Jay said, standing over the fallen men. "End this."
Sato, seeing his men defeated, grew desperate. He pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Jay. "STOP! Everyone back!"
The room went silent. Sato's hand shook as he aimed. "Kneel down, Keifer! Kneel down or she's gone!"
Keifer's face went pale. He began to lower himself, his pride vanishing in the face of the threat to Jay. He was about to let his knees hit the floor when a deafening shot rang out.
Sato's gun flew from his hand as a bullet grazed his arm. He let out a scream, clutching his injury. We turned to see Yuri standing at the entrance with the police, her weapon drawn and steady.
Section E immediately lunged at the remaining kidnappers. Keifer flew across the room, tackling Sato and punching him with concentrated rage until the man was unconscious.
Jay's POV
The adrenaline finally began to fade. The lingering effects of the gas took hold, and my vision blurred. I felt myself falling.
"Jay!"
Keifer caught me before I hit the ground. He scooped me up into his arms, his heart hammering against mine. "I've got you," he whispered. "You're safe now."
He carried me out past the sirens and the chaos, heading straight for the hospital as the world went dark.
A/n
Guys tell me about.your thought...
I know this chapter is a boy short but don't worry I will upload one more today..