The silence after Kaizer's exit was deafening.Even the candles on the cake had melted halfway, flickering weakly like they too wanted to disappear.
Jay didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on the doorway where Kaizer had stood — a dark ghost from her mentor's past that had somehow stepped into her present.
No one dared to speak first.
Finally, it was Percy who broke the tension."Okay, someone please tell me that wasn't the world's most traumatic surprise guest."
"Percy," Aries muttered, rubbing his temples, "read the room."
"I am reading the room. It's full of trauma and unspoken rage."
adam sighed. "That's every Tuesday with us."
Keifer stayed silent, his hand still lightly touching Jay's shoulder.She hadn't said a word since Kaizer left — not a sigh, not a whisper — just that quiet, unreadable calm that made everyone more nervous than if she'd screamed.
Lia crossed her arms, eyes hard. "Whoever told him about this place… they're close. No one else could've known."
Adam nodded grimly. "Even most of the underworld doesn't know this mansion exists. Not without her permission."
Michael added quietly, "And Kaizer doesn't come knocking unless he's sure. Someone gave him more than an address."
Raefael frowned. "Meaning?"
"Meaning," Jay said finally, her voice low but steady, "someone gave him our movements. Maybe even the invitation list."
The room went still again.
Percy glanced around nervously. "Uh, so… we're thinking mole? Spy? Evil AI?"
"Percy," Ion said flatly, "this isn't a movie."
"Everything's a movie if you survive it," Percy shot back.
Keifer ignored the banter, his eyes still on Jay. "You think it's someone from inside?"
Jay nodded once. "Someone who's been near me long enough to learn how we operate. My schedule, my house, my people."
sam exhaled. "That's… a lot of suspects."
"Too many," Jay murmured.
Lia's expression softened as she looked at Jay. "You okay, little lion?"
Jay smiled faintly. "I've been worse."
Raefael leaned back in his chair. "That video from Serina changed everything. If Kaizer's still moving, it means her plan isn't over. It's shifting."
Michael nodded. "And we're right in the middle of it."
Adam gave a half-grin. "Wouldn't be the first time."
Percy raised his hand weakly. "Can it not be this time?"
No one laughed.
Keifer looked around at the faces in the room — his cousins, Jay's friends, her gang, her allies — and exhaled. "So what's the move now?"
Jay didn't answer right away. She turned to the window, watching the night outside — the trees swaying in the cold breeze, the faint echo of the world beyond her walls.
Her voice was calm when she finally spoke."It's time to stop reacting."
Everyone looked at her.
Jay turned back, eyes burning steady. "tita Serina left something behind. She said the proof would be found where it began."
"Where it began?" Lia repeated softly. "You mean…"
Jay nodded slowly. "Greenwood."
A chill passed through the room at that name.Even the veterans — Raefael, Lia, Adam — froze.
Michael was the first to speak. "You mean that Greenwood?"
"Greenwood School," Jay confirmed. "The place tita Serina first met us. The place she trained me, where Kaizer first appeared. Everything started there."
Percy swallowed. "That place has been abandoned for years."
"Not abandoned," Jay corrected. "Forgotten."
Keifer stepped closer, his voice quiet but firm. "Then we'll go together."
Jay met his gaze — that steady warmth she always found in him. "No. We all will."
Her eyes swept across everyone — Section E, her gang, Lia and Raefael."This isn't just my fight anymore. It's ours. Section E and the rest of us. Greenwood holds answers — and maybe the next move Kaizer's planning."
Raefael gave a short nod. "Then that's our next destination."
Adam cracked his knuckles. "Finally. A field trip with vengeance."
Percy groaned. "Can we at least call it investigation? It sounds less illegal."
Cin smirked. "You saying that while packing brass knuckles?"
"Hey, self-defense is educational," Percy said defensively.
Despite the tension, a faint smile crossed Jay's lips. The chaos of Section E — it was noise, but it was her noise.
Lia placed a gentle hand on Jay's shoulder. "You sure about this?"
Jay looked up, eyes fierce but calm. "Serina trusted me with her ending. I'm going to finish her story."
Outside, thunder rolled — faint and far, like the sky itself remembering something long buried.
Inside, Jay turned to everyone, her voice steady.
"Pack up. Tomorrow morning… we're going to Greenwood."