Jay Jay's POV
My phone shrieked on the passenger seat. Sienna. I barely touched the screen before her venomous voice filled the car.
["He's in the garden, Jay Jay. If you aren't here in ten minutes, I'll show Keigan what happens to people who get in my way. Tick-tock."]
"Don't you touch him!" I shouted, but the line went dead.
I accelerated toward the mansion, my focus entirely on the road and the clock. While navigating the turns, I tried calling Keifer.
Pick up, please. It went straight to voicemail.
"Keifer, it's Jay Jay! Sienna has Keigan at the mansion garden! Get there now!" I left the message and tossed the phone, skidding to a halt at the estate gates.
I sprinted to the back garden. Keigan, who was only sixteen and like a brother to me, was tied up near the fountain.
"Jay Jay! Save me!" Keigan yelled, fear evident in his eyes. "She's lost it! She's trying to kill me!"
"Let him go, Sienna!" I commanded. Four of her hired enforcers stepped forward to block me.
I didn't hesitate. I moved through the first two, using their momentum against them. It was a blur of blocks and strikes as I fought through the group, driven by the need to reach Keigan.
Once the path was clear, I rushed to Keigan and began frantically untying the ropes.
"I've got you," I whispered, pulling the last knot free.
But Sienna was already back on her feet, lunging forward with a sharp object aimed at Keigan. Without thinking, I threw myself in front of him. I felt a sharp, burning sting in my side as the point caught me.
I stumbled back, my breath hitching as I saw the crimson stain spreading on my shirt. The sight of the blood made the world tilt, the old trauma surfaced, making my heart race and my vision swim.
Sienna stood over us, a cold sneer on her face. "Look at you, Jay Jay. Risking everything for a boy who isn't even blood. When Keifer gets here, I'll make sure he thinks you were the one who put him in danger. You're finished."
I pressed my hand against my side, fighting the lightheadedness and the fear of the blood.
I looked up at her with a defiant, grin.
"You really think a little bit of red is going to stop me?" I challenged, my voice steady despite the pain. "You can tell Keifer whatever fairytales you want, but Keigan is standing right there. He's the witness to your downfall. When Keifer finds out you touched his brother, there won't be a corner of this world where you can hide. You're not a player in this family, Sienna—you're just a temporary guest who overstayed her welcome."
Jay Jay's POV
The world was spinning. The sight of my own blood seeping through my fingers made my knees weak, the old trauma clawing at my throat. But Keigan was shaking behind me, and I couldn't fail him.
I lunged at Sienna, but she was fast. She dodged my swing and drove her thumb directly into the fresh stab wound in my stomach.
"Agh!" I screamed, the pain white-hot and blinding. I collapsed to the grass, my strength draining into the soil.
"You're so pathetic," Sienna hissed, looking down at me. "Always playing the hero for a family that hates you."
"I don't... play," I wheezed, trying to grab her ankle. "I protect what's mine. Something you'll never understand because nobody has ever truly belonged to you."
Sienna's face contorted with rage. She didn't look at me; she looked at Keigan. Before I could crawl to him, she swung a heavy stone garden ornament, catching Keigan right on the temple.
"NO!" I shrieked.
Keigan's eyes rolled back, and he slumped over, his head hitting the stone edge of the fountain with a sickening thud. He didn't move. He wasn't breathing right.
"Keigan? Keigan, look at me!" I dragged myself toward him, my hands shaking as I reached for his pulse. "Keigan, please, wake up. It's Jay Jay. Open your eyes!"
SLAP!
The force of Sienna's hand sent my head snapping to the side. My vision went black for a second.
"Stop talking to him," Sienna snarled, grabbing a handful of my hair and forcing me to look at her. "He's not going to wake up until I've told Keifer exactly how you attacked us both. You're a stray, Jay Jay. A stray that Keifer is about to put down."
I spat blood onto her expensive shoes, a jagged, broken laugh escaping my lips.
"You think a slap hurts?" I whispered, my eyes burning with a cold fire. "I've survived Keifer's hate while carrying his marks on my skin. You're just a secretary with a God complex. When he finds out you touched his brother... he won't just fire you. He'll erase you."
Sienna raised her hand to strike me again, her face twisted in a mask of pure evil. "He'll never find out. Because dead girls don't tell secrets."
I was gasping for air, my hand clamped over the wound in my stomach, trying to crawl back to Keigan's still body. But suddenly, Sienna's entire demeanor shifted. The predatory sneer vanished, replaced by a mask of hysterical grief.
"Keigan! Oh my god, Keigan, wake up! Baby, please!" she wailed, throwing herself over him.
I froze, my brain struggling to keep up with her acting. Then, I saw him.
Keifer was standing at the edge of the garden, his face a mask of frozen horror. He sprinted toward us, his eyes locked on his unconscious brother.
"Keifer, thank God you're here!" Sienna sobbed, her voice trembling perfectly. She held up the bloody knife—the one that had just been inside my stomach. "I tried to stop her! I tried to take the knife away from her, but she stabbed me and then she hit Keigan! She's gone mad, Keifer! She's trying to kill your family!"
The words died in my throat. I looked at the red staining the ground, my vision blurring. "Keifer, no... Keigan also is my brother..." I managed to whisper, but the sound was drowned out by Sienna's frantic cries.
Keifer didn't look at me. His focus was entirely on his brothers and the woman he thought was a victim. He moved with a terrifying efficiency, checking Keigan's pulse before looking toward the house where his younger brother, Keiren, stood trembling.
"Keiren! Go to your room and lock the door!" Keifer shouted, his voice echoing with authority and fear.
Sienna leaned into him, her face buried in his shoulder. "She just snapped, Keifer. I was so scared for the boys."
I reached out, my fingers trembling as they brushed the grass. "She's lying... look at her, she isn't even hurt..."
But the deception was complete. Keifer looked at the knife and then at me, his expression hardening into a mask of total betrayal. He didn't see the truth,he saw a threat to his family. Without a second thought, he adjusted his grip on Keigan and then reached down to lift Sienna into his arms, holding her protectively.
"Don't come near us," he said, his voice cold and final. "I'm taking them to the hospital. If you follow us, I'll call the police."
I watched, paralyzed by the sheer weight of the injustice, as he carried her away—the very person who had caused this chaos. He was shielding her, treating her like something fragile, while I was left alone in the dark, struggling to hold on.
The betrayal hurt far worse than any physical wound. I had spent so much time trying to protect this family, only to be cast aside because of a well-acted lie.
As the sound of his car faded into the distance, I looked at my hands. I needed to get help, but more than that, I needed to find a way to show him the truth before it was too late for all of us.
Keigan's POV
The darkness was a safe place. My head throbbed like a drum, and every time I tried to shift, the world tilted. I could hear them—Keifer Kuya's frantic pacing, the beep of the heart monitor, and Sienna's fake, high-pitched sobbing.
I wasn't really in a deep coma. I was awake enough to feel the cold air of the hospital, but I stayed still. I had to. If I opened my eyes now, Sienna would find another way to hurt me or Jay Jay. I needed to wait for the right moment to expose her. But hearing my brother comfort that monster made me want to scream.
Jay Jay's POV
I stumbled into the ICU hallway, my vision tunneling. I had to see Keigan. I had to know he was okay.
I saw Keifer sitting outside the glass, his head in his hands. Sienna was tucked under his arm, looking "traumatized."
"Keifer..." I whispered, leaning against the doorframe for support.
Keifer's head snapped up. The moment his eyes landed on me, the grief in them turned into a murderous, icy rage. He stood up, shielding Sienna behind him.
"You have five seconds to leave this floor before I call security and have you thrown in a cell for attempted murder," he hissed, his voice vibrating with a deadly edge.
"Keifer, please... just let me see him. I need to know he's breathing," I begged, clutching my stomach as fresh blood began to soak through the makeshift bandage it wasn't heavy but enough to make worse my trauma. "She lied to you. She's the one who hit him!"
"Enough!" Keifer roared, stepping into my space. He looked at me with such pure loathing that it hurt more than the knife. "Sienna is bleeding because of you. My brother is in a coma because of you. Do you have any idea how much I regret ever letting you near my family?"
Sienna let out a small, pathetic whimper. "Keifer, don't... she's dangerous. Let's just stay with Keigan."
"See?" Keifer sneered, his eyes boring into mine. "She's still worried about my brother, while you're here trying to play the victim. You are nothing but a target to me now, Jay Jay. If Keigan doesn't wake up, I won't wait for a trial. I'll end you myself."
I looked past him at Keigan, lying so still on the bed. My heart was breaking. "He's my brother too, Keifer. In every way that matters."
"Don't you dare call him that," Keifer spat, his hand twitching as if he wanted to reach for a weapon. "Get out. Now. Before I forget there are cameras here."
I backed away, the physical pain finally catching up to the emotional agony. I saw Sienna smirk over Keifer's shoulder—a tiny, triumphant curve of her lips that he couldn't see.
Keigan's POV
I heard it all. Every word Keifer said to her felt like a blow to my own chest. Wake up, I told myself. It's not right time , but listening to the girl who saved my life get treated like a murderer by the brother who was supposed to protect us both ,it's hurts.
Keifer's POV
I watched from the hospital entrance as the orderlies loaded Keigan's wheelchair into the car. He was still unresponsive, a shell of the kid he used to be. My chest burned with a mixture of protective fury and failure. I couldn't leave him here; Sienna was right, the enemy had eyes everywhere.
Then, I saw her.
Jay Jay was near the parking lot, leaning heavily against a pillar. But she wasn't alone.
David Theodore Braselton—a man known for his charm and his deep pockets—had his arm wrapped firmly around her waist. He was whispering in her ear, his face close to hers, while she seemed to cling to him.
My jaw tightened until it ached. Disgust, sharp and bitter, rose in my throat.
So this is how it is, I thought. Yesterday she was "heartbroken" over us,today, she's already found her next benefactor. Sienna was right. She's a "take-me" type of girl—always She uses her fragile act to reel men in, and David looked like he was hook, line, and sinker for it.
The pull I felt toward her earlier turned into pure venom. She wasn't an operative, she was a social climber who used blood and betrayal as her ladder. I turned my back on them, slamming the car door shut. She was beneath my notice.
Jay Jay's POV
The world was gray and tilting. Every breath felt like a serrated blade moving in my stomach. I had lost too much blood, and the trauma of seeing Keigan so still was making my heart falter. I was losing my grip on the pillar when a pair of strong hands caught me.
"Easy there," David's voice was urgent. He wasn't looking at my face; he was looking at the dark, wet stain spreading across my shirt. "My God, Jay Jay, why you have this stain of blood,are you okay. You need a doctor, now."
"I... I have to stay... Keigan..." I rasped, my fingers clutching his sleeve.
"Keigan is being taken care of. You're going to die if you don't let me help you," David insisted, pulling me closer to keep me upright.
I looked up and saw Keifer staring at us from across the lot. I wanted to scream to him, to tell him that I was dying, that David was just trying to stop me from collapsing. But the look in Keifer's eyes stopped the breath in my lungs.
It wasn't concern.
It wasn't even anger.
It was judgment.
He saw David's arm around me and assumed the worst—assumed I was already moving on, already "busy" with another man, just like Sienna said.
He didn't see the blood. He didn't see the pain.
He only saw the lie he wanted to believe.
As his car sped away, leaving me in the dust with a man I barely knew, my heart finally gave up. The physical pain was nothing compared to the realization that Keifer Watson didn't just forget me—he had replaced the memory of me with a monster.
"Let's go," I whispered to David, my voice sounding dead to my own ears. "It doesn't matter anymore."