MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Sixty-Nine: The New Enemy
---
The call came at midnight.
Jay was in the study with Keifer, going over the security footage from the minimart again, frame by frame, looking for something they had missed. The woman in the black mask was there. And then she wasn't. There was no trail. No car. No shadow. No nothing. She appeared. She saved. She disappeared.
Her phone buzzed. Freya's name flashed on the screen.
"You need to come to the warehouse," Freya said. Her voice was tight. "Now."
Jay stood up. Keifer was beside her. "What happened?"
Freya was quiet for a moment. "We found something. Something we should have seen a long time ago."
---
The warehouse at the edge of the Port of Manila was dark when they arrived.
The rain was falling, soft and steady, washing the city clean. Jay walked through the doors, Keifer beside her, her girls around her. The meeting room was lit with harsh fluorescent lights. The table was steel. The walls were lined with screens. Mica was at her laptop, her face pale, her hands shaking. Calix was beside her, his hand on her shoulder.
Rakki was at the table, her face hard, her hands empty. Ci N was beside her, his phone in his pocket, his face pale. Freya stood by the door, Erdix beside her. Care was with Cole. Grace was with Denzel. Kit was with Mayo. Ella was in the corner, her hands folded, her face calm.
Percy was there. Aries was beside him. Alex was in the corner. Lyra's corner. His hands were in his pockets. His face was blank. His eyes were on the screens.
Jay stood at the head of the table. "What did you find?"
Mica looked up. Her face was pale. Her voice was steady. "The money. From Keizer. From Kiko. From Ava. It didn't stop when they died. It kept moving. It kept flowing. It kept—" She stopped. Her hands were shaking.
"Kept what?" Jay asked.
Mica turned her laptop. The screen showed numbers. Accounts. Transfers. Dates. Times. A web of money that stretched across the world. Manila. Singapore. Hong Kong. Macau. Europe. America. Everywhere.
"There's someone else," Mica said. "Someone who's been funding all of them. Keizer. Kiko. Ava. Sato. All of them. Someone who's been pulling the strings from the beginning. Someone we've never seen. Someone we've never heard of."
The room was silent.
"Who?" Keifer asked.
Mica's fingers moved. The screen changed. A name appeared. A face. A man with cold eyes and a sharp smile. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. European. A face none of them had ever seen before.
Michel Larsen.
Jay stared at the screen. At the stranger's face. At the man who had been behind everything. "Who is he?"
Mica's voice was low. "He's a ghost. There's almost nothing on him. No background. No history. No family. He appeared twenty years ago, out of nowhere, with money and power and connections. He's been building an empire in the shadows. Funding wars. Playing families against each other. Watching them destroy themselves."
She clicked. The screen filled with names. Keizer. Kiko. Ava. Sato. Yuri. All of them connected to the same source. All of them working for the same man.
"He's been funding the war from the beginning," Mica said. "He's been playing all of you. The Marianos. The Watsons. Everyone. He wanted the war to continue. He wanted both families to destroy each other. He wanted to watch you burn."
Jay's hands were shaking. Her face was pale. Keifer was beside her. His hand was in hers.
"Michel Larsen," Percy said. His voice was low. "Who the hell is Michel Larsen?"
Mica shook her head. "I don't know. I've been digging for weeks. There's nothing. No records. No photos. No nothing before twenty years ago. It's like he appeared out of thin air. With money. With power. With a plan."
Jay stared at the screen. At the stranger's face. At the man who had taken everything from her. "He's been watching us. He's been playing us. He's been—"
"He's been waiting," Keifer said. "Waiting for the right moment. Waiting to strike."
---
Percy walked to the window. His back was to the room. His hands were in his pockets.
"He knew," Percy said. "He knew everything. He knew about Yuri. He knew about Kiko. He knew about Ava. He knew about Sato. He knew about the letters. He knew about—"
He stopped. His voice cracked. His hands were fists.
Aries walked to him. They stood beside him. Their hand was on his back. "Percy."
Percy turned. His face was wet. "He knew about Lyra. He knew they were going to kill her. He knew and he let it happen. He let her die."
Aries pulled him close. Their arms were around him. "I know. I know."
---
Care was sitting at the table. Her hands were folded. Her face was calm.
"He was there," Care said. Her voice was low. "At the wedding. He was watching. He saw Lyra fall. He saw her die. He didn't move. He didn't try to help. He just watched."
Cole put his hand on her shoulder. "Care."
Care looked up. Her eyes were empty. "He's been playing us from the beginning. He's been playing all of us. And now—" She stopped. Her voice cracked.
Cole pulled her close. His arms were around her. "Now we stop him."
---
Alex was in the corner. His hands were in his pockets. His face was blank. His eyes were on the screen. On Michel Larsen's face. On the man who had killed Lyra.
"He was there," Alex said. His voice was empty. "He was there when she died. He was there when she took the bullet. He was there when she fell. He was there when—"
He stopped. His hands were fists. His face was white.
Jay walked to him. She stood beside him. Her hand was on his arm.
"We're going to find him," Jay said. "We're going to stop him. We're going to—"
"I'm going to kill him," Alex said. His voice was low. His eyes were dark. "I'm going to kill him for what he did. For Lyra. For all of them."
Jay looked at him. His face was hard. His hands were shaking.
"Alex," she said.
He pulled away. His hands were fists. "She was everything. She was the only thing that made me feel like I was real. And he took her. He took her and he watched her die. He watched her die and he didn't do anything. He didn't—"
His voice cracked. His face was wet. He couldn't finish.
Jay pulled him close. Her arms were around him. "I know. I know."
He held her. His hands were shaking. His face was in her hair. "She's gone. She's gone and he's still here. He's still alive. He's still—"
"We're going to find him," Jay said. "We're going to stop him. We're going to make him pay. For Lyra. For all of them."
---
The meeting went on for hours.
Mica laid out everything she had found. The money. The accounts. The transfers. The messages. Michel Larsen had been working in the shadows for twenty years. Funding wars. Playing families against each other. Watching them destroy themselves.
"He's been planning this for a long time," Mica said. "He has money. He has power. He has people. He's been building an army. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting to strike."
Jay stood at the map. The pins and strings were back. Michel Larsen's face was at the center. A stranger. A ghost. A man none of them had ever seen.
"Where is he now?" Jay asked.
Mica's fingers moved. "He's in Manila. He's been here for weeks. He's been watching. He's been waiting. He's been—"
She stopped. Her face went pale.
"What?" Keifer asked.
Mica looked up. "He's at the old Watson house. The one where Ava was going to marry Keifer. He's been there since the wedding. Since Lyra died. He's been waiting for you."
Jay's hands tightened on the table. "He's been waiting for us."
Keifer was beside her. His hand was on her back. "Then we don't keep him waiting."
---
The rain was falling when they left the warehouse.
Jay stood at the door, Keifer beside her, her girls around her. The city was dark. The streets were empty. The old Watson house was waiting. Michel Larsen was waiting.
Percy walked to her. His face was pale. His hands were empty.
"I'm coming with you," Percy said.
Jay looked at him. "This is our fight. Our—"
"He killed Lyra." Percy's voice was steady. "He killed her and he watched her die. He watched her die and he didn't do anything. And I'm going to be there when he pays."
Jay looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded. "Together."
Percy nodded. "Together."
---
Alex was at the car. His hands were empty. His face was blank. His eyes were on the road. The road that led to Michel Larsen. The road that led to Lyra's killer.
Jay walked to him. She stood beside him.
"Alex," she said.
He didn't look at her. "I'm going to kill him."
Jay's voice was quiet. "I know."
He looked at her. His face was hard. "She was everything. She was the only thing that made me feel like I was human. And he took her. He took her and he watched her die. He watched her die and he didn't—"
His voice cracked. He stopped.
Jay took his hand. "We're going to find him. We're going to stop him. And then—" She stopped.
He looked at her. "And then?"
She squeezed his hand. "And then we bring her home."
He stared at her. His face was wet. His hands were shaking. "She's gone. She's not coming back. She's—"
"She's not gone." Jay's voice was steady. "She's here. In our hearts. In our memories. In the corner where she used to stand. She's always here."
Alex looked at the sky. At the rain. At the darkness. "I miss her."
Jay pulled him close. Her arms were around him. "I know. I know."
---
The night was ending when they drove away.
The warehouse was behind them. The city was ahead. The old Watson house was waiting. Michel Larsen was waiting.
Jay sat in the passenger seat. Keifer was beside her. His hand was in hers.
"You're thinking," he said.
She looked at him. "I'm always thinking."
He kissed her hand. "What are you thinking about?"
She looked at the road. At the rain. At the darkness. "I'm thinking about Michel Larsen. About the man who's been watching us. The man who's been playing us. The man who—"
She stopped. Her voice cracked. Her hands were shaking.
Keifer pulled her close. His arms were around her. "We're going to find him. We're going to stop him. And then—"
She looked at him. "And then?"
He kissed her forehead. "And then we bring him to justice. For Lyra. For all of them."
She leaned against him. Her head was on his shoulder. "For Lyra."
He kissed her hair. "For Lyra."
---
END OF CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE