JASPHER MARIANO'S POV —
The Fernandez house was exactly how I remembered it.
Too quiet.
Too polished.
Too full of people who thought silence could bury the truth.
They were all there when I walked in.
Angelo stood near the head of the room, arms crossed like authority still belonged to him.
Gema sat rigid beside Jeana, fingers laced tightly together.
Aries leaned against the wall, jaw clenched, anger radiating off him like a warning.
Jeana looked… cornered.
And the lola—she watched me with old eyes that had seen this coming long before today.
No one spoke.
I didn't greet them.
I placed the folder on the table.
It landed with a sound that cut through the room like a blade.
"Sign," I said calmly.
Angelo scoffed. "You walk in after years and think you can take her?"
I looked at him then.
Really looked.
"You don't get to decide what I think," I said evenly. "You only get to decide how much this costs you."
Jeana stood abruptly. "You abandoned her!"
That word.
It almost made me laugh.
"You hid her," I said, voice low and deadly. "You erased me. Don't confuse survival with abandonment."
I slid the papers closer.
"Guardianship transfer," I continued. "Effective immediately."
Gema shook her head. "We won't sign this."
Angelo leaned forward. "You'll never get her."
That was when I let the room feel who I really was.
I straightened slowly.
"You forget," I said quietly, "that everything you stand on exists because I allow it to."
Angelo stiffened.
I pulled my phone out and set it on the table.
"Your shipping contracts," I said, eyes locked on his. "Your offshore accounts. Your quiet investors who prefer their names never surface."
Jeana's face drained of color.
"One call," I continued, "and your company doesn't collapse—it burns. Publicly."
Silence slammed into the room.
"You wouldn't," Angelo said tightly.
I tilted my head. "I already did. This is me offering mercy."
Jeana's hands trembled.
"This isn't about power," she whispered. "She's my daughter."
I leaned closer.
"She stopped being safe the moment you taught her lies were love."
I turned the folder toward her.
"Sign."
Jeana stared at the papers like they might explode.
Then—
She signed.
The pen shook in her hand.
Angelo cursed under his breath.
Gema swallowed hard, eyes shining. "Where… where are you taking her?"
I didn't soften.
"Away," I said. "From Fernandez blood. From this family. From everything that broke her."
Angelo slammed his hand on the table. "You can't erase us!"
I met his glare without blinking.
"She already erased you," I said coldly. "Tonight."
I picked up the signed documents.
As I turned to leave, the lola spoke quietly behind me.
"Take care of her."
I paused.
Without looking back, I said, "I will spend the rest of my life making up for what I lost."
Then I walked out.
The night air hit my face as I stepped into the car.
Airport.
Home.
My daughter was waiting.
And this time—
No one would take her from me again.
KEIFER'S POV —
I learned early that love is a liability.
In my family, it was currency.
My father didn't raise sons—he raised assets. Every smile had a price. Every weakness was catalogued. When my mother loved too openly, too honestly, they took her from me. Dressed it up as fate. As an accident.
I knew better.
That was the day I became a Watson.
Cold. Precise. Untouchable.
And then Jay happened.
She wasn't supposed to.
She laughed without calculating the cost. Trusted without asking for collateral. Looked at me like I wasn't something sharp hiding behind skin.
My family noticed.
They always do.
"She's your weakness," they said.
And weaknesses get exploited.
So I did the only thing I knew how to do.
I became cruel first.
If she hated me, they couldn't use her.
If she thought I never loved her, she wouldn't be leverage.
That was the lie I told myself.
Now I was drunk, sitting in the dark, glass burning my throat like punishment.
The house felt hollow. Every room echoed with things I hadn't said.
My phone buzzed.
Edrix.
I ignored it.
It buzzed again.
Rory.
I answered.
"She's leaving," Edrix said without preamble.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
"Leaving where?" I demanded.
Rory's voice cut in, sharp. "Country. Tonight. Airport. Private terminal. Mariano-level extraction."
The glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
No.
Not like this.
I stood so fast the room spun.
"They're already moving," Edrix said. "Percy's involved. Her dad too."
My breath came shallow.
If she left—
There would be no fixing this.
No apology big enough. No explanation that didn't come too late.
I grabbed my keys and ran.
The engine roared as I slammed the accelerator down. Speed climbed—120… 125… 130.
The city blurred into streaks of light.
My phone kept buzzing.
One by one—
Cin.Yuri.felix.Rory.Edrix.
All sixteen of us.
Every idiot who thought loyalty could survive secrets.
Headlights appeared in my mirrors.
They were following me.
Not to stop me.
To witness it.
The airport lights cut through the night like a verdict.
I skidded into the lot, tires screaming. We spilled out of our cars like men running toward execution.
And then—
The sound.
Engines overhead.
I looked up.
The plane was already moving down the runway.
No.
"No—no, wait—" I whispered, running forward even though I knew I was too late.
The jet lifted.
Slow at first.
Then inevitable.
I dropped to my knees.
Something tore out of my chest—raw, animal, humiliating.
Tears streamed down my face, hot and uncontrollable.
Around me, the others broke too.
Cin covered his face, sobbing.
Yuri collapsed backward, staring at the sky like it had betrayed him.
Felix punched the ground until his knuckles bled.
David stood frozen, silent tears sliding down his jaw.
Sixteen boys.
Sixteen failures.
The plane climbed higher.
Taking her with it.
"I loved you," I choked, voice breaking apart. "I loved you enough to ruin you… and still lost you."
The sky swallowed the aircraft.
And with it—
The last chance I had to tell her the truth...
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✨ HAPPY NEW YEAR READERSSS..✨
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT YEAR AHEAD AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ALL MY BOOKS TILL THIS TIME IT REALLY MEANS A LOT.....
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~nsaw