The Mariano house was louder than usual that evening.
Percy had music playing in the living room while digging through a bag of chips. Jay had gone upstairs to take a call, and Aries was by the window speaking quietly on his phone.
The front door opened.
Keifer stepped inside.
Percy looked up immediately."Hey! The rival lawyer has arrived."
Keifer rolled his eyes. "Percy, you invited me."
"Yeah, but it's more dramatic this way."
Keifer smirked faintly and dropped his jacket on the chair. The Mariano house felt… strangely comfortable now. Like he'd been there more times than he could count.
Percy stood up suddenly."Wait, snacks. I promised snacks."
"You already have snacks," Keifer said, pointing at the chips.
"More snacks."
Percy disappeared into the kitchen.
Across the room, Aries finished his call.
"I'll be outside," he said shortly before stepping out through the side door.
Now the living room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Keifer leaned back in his chair, glancing around the room casually.
Then he noticed it.
A white envelope sitting on the coffee table.
It had one word written on the front.
Jay.
Keifer frowned slightly.
It looked out of place. No stamp. No return address.
Just Jay's name.
He hesitated.
It's none of your business, he told himself.
But something about the envelope felt wrong.
Slowly, he picked it up.
The paper felt stiff. Recently opened.
He slid the letter out just enough to see the message inside.
His eyes scanned the words.
Then his expression changed.
The letter said:
"Drop the case.If you continue defending it, the consequences will be yours.This is your only warning."
Keifer stared at the page.
The handwriting wasn't normal handwriting. It looked printed, almost like someone tried to hide their identity.
No name.
No explanation.
Just the threat.
His jaw tightened.
"Keifer?"
Percy's voice came from the kitchen.
Keifer quickly slid the letter back into the envelope and placed it exactly where it had been.
He pulled out his phone.
Quickly.
He took a photo of the letter.
Then he slipped the phone back into his pocket just as Percy walked in with a bowl of snacks.
Percy dropped onto the couch beside him.
"You look weird," Percy said immediately.
"I always look like this."
"True."
Percy started eating chips loudly.
"So… how's court rival life going?" he asked.
Keifer leaned back slightly, pretending to relax.
But his mind was racing.
Someone had threatened Jay.
And judging by the letter…
Whoever wrote it was serious.
Across the room, the door opened again.
Aries walked back inside.
His sharp eyes briefly scanned the room.
For a split second, they landed on Keifer.
Keifer kept his expression completely calm.
Aries didn't notice anything unusual.
Good.
Because Keifer hadn't decided what to do yet.
Tell Jay?
Tell Aries?
Or figure out who sent the letter first.
Keifer glanced toward the staircase where Jay had gone earlier.
One thought repeated in his mind.
Someone was trying to scare her out of the case.
And suddenly the trial felt much bigger than just winning.