The next morning, the courthouse buzzed with its usual energy.
Lawyers hurried down the halls, assistants carried stacks of files, and the echo of footsteps filled the marble corridors.
Jay walked confidently through the hallway with Percy and Jane beside her.
Percy was talking nonstop.
"I'm telling you, if we win this case, I'm celebrating with the biggest pizza ever made."
Jane sighed. "Percy, that's not how legal victories work."
Jay smirked slightly but stayed quiet.
Her mind kept drifting back to last night.
To Keifer.
To the argument.
Stop treating me like I need protection.
The words replayed in her head.
She didn't even realize she had slowed down until Percy nudged her.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said quickly.
Across the hallway, Keifer appeared with Keigan and Keiren.
For a moment, the two groups stopped.
Jay and Keifer's eyes met.
Neither of them smiled.
Neither of them spoke.
But the tension between them was still there.
Keifer noticed something immediately though.
Jay was walking alone ahead of Percy and Jane now.
His eyes briefly scanned the hallway.
Too many people.
Too many blind corners.
Too many strangers.
The photo of the letter flashed in his mind again.
Drop the case.
He clenched his jaw slightly.
Court had not started yet.
Jay moved toward a quiet side hallway to review some files.
Percy and Jane stayed behind to argue about coffee.
Jay leaned against the wall and opened her folder.
She was so focused she didn't notice someone standing further down the hallway.
Watching.
A tall man in a dark coat stood near the staircase.
His face was partially hidden by the shadow of the hall lights.
His gaze never left Jay.
From the main corridor, Keifer spotted him.
Something about the way the man stood…
Too still.
Too focused.
Keifer's instincts immediately sharpened.
Without saying anything to his brothers, he walked down the hallway.
Straight toward Jay.
The man noticed.
And after a second, he quietly turned and disappeared down the stairs.
Keifer slowed slightly.
Suspicious.
Then he reached Jay.
Jay looked up from her files.
Her expression instantly changed.
"Oh. You again."
Keifer ignored the tone.
"Why are you standing alone here?"
Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Because I work here?"
"This hallway's empty."
"It's a courthouse, Keifer. Not a crime scene."
He glanced down the staircase briefly.
The man was gone.
Jay noticed the way Keifer kept looking around.
Her irritation returned.
"There you go again."
"What?"
"Acting like something's going to happen to me."
Keifer exhaled slowly.
"You shouldn't wander off alone right now."
Jay snapped her folder shut.
"There it is again."
"Jay—"
"No," she said firmly. "You don't get to suddenly act like my guardian."
"I'm not."
"Then stop following me."
The words hit harder than she probably meant them to.
Keifer went quiet.
Jay turned and walked back toward the main hall.
Percy waved from the other side.
"Jay! Court's starting!"
She joined them without looking back.
Keifer remained in the hallway.
His gaze shifted once more toward the staircase.
His instincts told him something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Keigan walked up behind him.
"You okay?"
Keifer nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
But his eyes were still scanning the hallway.
Somewhere in the courthouse…
Someone was watching Jay.
And Keifer had a bad feeling the warning letter wasn't the last message.
Outside the Courthouse
Across the street, inside a parked car, the same man in the dark coat sat behind the wheel.
He watched the courthouse entrance quietly.
His phone buzzed.
A message appeared on the screen.
"Did she drop the case?"
The man typed back.
"No."
Three dots appeared.
Then another message.
"Send the second warning."
The man looked back toward the courthouse doors.
Then he started the engine.