The atmosphere in the penthouse was thick enough to cut with a knife. Yuri Hanamitchi was slumped in a designer armchair, looking like a ghost, while Keifer paced the floor like a caged predator.
"I don't trust him, Jay," Keifer muttered, his hand hovering near the hidden holster at his hip. "He's a snake. Snakes don't change their skin just because they're tired."
"He's bleeding, Keifer," Jay-jay countered, her eyes scanning the room. "And if what he says about Ci-N's brother is true—"
She was interrupted by a soft, rhythmic clicking sound. Click. Click. Click.
The door to the penthouse didn't open; it was already unlocked. Seraphina Von Heist strolled in, still wearing her silk robe, but this time she was holding a tablet and a glass of expensive wine. She didn't look surprised to see Yuri. In fact, she looked bored.
"You're late, Yuri," Seraphina said, taking a seat next to him as if they were old college friends. "I told you the back entrance was faster, but you always did have a flair for the dramatic."
Jay-jay's eyes widened. She looked from Seraphina to Yuri, then back to Keifer. "Wait... the 'Ice Queen' and the 'Ghost' are working together? Since when?"
"Since the moment the Elders decided to replace the Hanamitchi family with a more... obedient puppet," Seraphina explained, scrolling through her tablet. "Yuri provided the intel, and I provided the logistics. We've been tracking the Executioner's Protocol for weeks."
Keifer stepped forward, his eyes burning. "And you lived across the hall from us this entire time, playing games, while you knew they were targeting our families?"
"I was protecting you, Keifer," Seraphina said, her voice softening in a way Jay-jay had never heard before. She stood up and walked toward Keifer, ignoring Jay-jay entirely. "I moved here to make sure you didn't get caught in the crossfire. The others? They're collateral. But you... you were always the priority."
Jay-jay felt a strange, hot prickle in her chest. It wasn't just anger—it was the Section E "Mutya" protective instinct. She noticed the way Seraphina's eyes lingered on Keifer's shoulders, the way her voice lowered to a purr, and the way she completely disregarded Jay-jay's presence.
"Wait a minute," Jay-jay said, stepping between them. "You didn't move here to 'fix things.' You moved here because you're still hung up on your 'Star Pupil' from Switzerland!"
The room went silent. Yuri let out a dry, hacking cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
"Oh, Mutya," Yuri smirked from the chair. "You finally noticed? Seraphina didn't graduate top of the class because she wanted the diploma. She wanted the man standing next to her on the podium."
Seraphina didn't blush—she was too professional for that—but her jaw tightened. She looked at Jay-jay with genuine disdain. "He was destined for greatness, Jay-jay. He was supposed to lead the Watson Group alongside someone who understood the weight of the crown. Not someone who brings 'bibingka' to a war zone."
Keifer looked like he wanted to jump out of a window to avoid the drama. "Seraphina, stop. I married Jay-jay because she's the only thing in this world that isn't a calculation. If you're here to help, help. If you're here to audition for a role that's already taken, get out."
Jay-jay felt a surge of pride, but she wasn't done. She turned to Seraphina, her "palaban" side taking over.
"Listen, 'Information Architect,'" Jay-jay said, poking Seraphina in the shoulder. "You might be able to hack a bank or sing opera in the shower, but Keifer is my husband. You can help us save Ci-N's brother because it's the right thing to do, but if I see you sniffing around him again, I'm going to show you exactly why they called me the Mutya of a class full of gangsters."
Seraphina looked at the finger on her shoulder, then at Jay-jay's fiery expression. A small, twisted smile appeared on her face. "Finally. The girl has teeth."
"As much as I enjoy the catfight," Yuri interrupted, standing up with great effort, "we have exactly three hours before the Elders move Ci-N's brother to the offshore facility. Seraphina has the coordinates. I have the security codes. And Keifer has the muscle."
He looked at Jay-jay. "And the Mutya? She has the heart. Which is exactly what we're going to need, because the person guarding the kid isn't a soldier."
"Who is it?" Keifer asked.
Yuri's expression turned grim. "It's someone from the old Section E. Someone we all thought was dead."