Chapter 67- The Indirect Attack
Midnight in the mansion felt different.
Not scary.
Just… too still.
Like even the walls were listening.
---
Cole's phone lit up on the desk.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
---
He stared at it for a moment before picking it up.
One glance.
That was enough.
His expression changed instantly.
Not panic.
Not confusion.
Something sharper.
Heavier.
Like a decision already made.
---
Within minutes—
he was already moving.
Quiet steps through the hallway.
No sound.
No hesitation.
---
He stopped outside Care's room.
Knocked once.
Soft.
Controlled.
---
No response.
---
He knocked again.
Still nothing.
---
Then he entered.
---
Care was asleep, curled slightly under the blanket, one hand still holding a medical file she probably fell asleep reading.
Exhaustion written all over her face even in sleep.
---
Cole stared for a second.
Then gently shook her shoulder.
"Care."
Nothing.
"Care."
A little louder.
---
Her eyes snapped open instantly.
And for half a second—
she wasn't in a mansion.
She was somewhere else.
Hospitals.
Night shifts.
Emergency alarms.
Endless trauma stacked in memory.
---
Her body reacted before her mind did.
She shot up sharply—
"WHAT HAPPENED—"
---
Cole immediately placed his hand over her mouth.
Firm.
Not aggressive.
Just enough to stop the sound.
"Don't."
His voice was low.
Controlled.
"Everyone is asleep."
---
Care froze.
Blinking rapidly.
Recognition slowly returning.
Then she shoved his hand away, whispering aggressively:
"Are you insane? You scared me half to death."
Cole didn't react.
"Sorry."
He wasn't.
---
She narrowed her eyes.
"…why are you here at this hour?"
A pause.
Then he said simply:
"I have to leave."
That alone changed her expression immediately.
---
"Leave where?"
"London."
Care sat up fully now.
"Why?"
Silence.
---
Cole looked away slightly.
Just for a second.
Then back at her.
"Family emergency."
That word.
Family.
It landed weird.
Too vague.
Too avoided.
---
Care immediately sensed it.
Something was missing.
Something big.
But before she could push—
Cole already turned.
"I'll be back."
---
He walked toward the door.
Care followed quickly, still half asleep, confused.
"You can't just drop that and leave—Cole—"
---
He stopped walking.
Didn't turn fully.
Just slightly.
"Don't wake them."
Care hesitated.
Then nodded reluctantly.
---
So she followed him quietly through the hallway.
Barefoot.
Hair messy.
Still half in sleep.
---
The mansion gates were cold in the night air.
Fog lightly hanging around the forest edge.
Everything felt unreal.
---
Cole stopped there.
Facing the gate.
Not stepping through yet.
---
Care leaned slightly against the pillar, swaying a little.
Still sleepy.
"…what exactly is your family business?"
Silence.
Long enough that she thought he wouldn't answer.
---
Then Cole stepped closer.
And gently—
he placed a forehead kiss on her.
Soft.
Quick.
Almost like a promise he didn't want to say out loud.
---
Care froze completely.
"…that's not an answer."
Cole's voice was calm.
"I'll tell you when I come back."
Another pause.
Then softer:
"Trust me."
---
Care stared at him for a second.
Then sighed dramatically.
"…you're really annoying, you know that?"
"I've been told."
---
She stepped back slowly.
Watching him now.
Less sleepy.
More serious.
"…don't disappear like everyone else, okay?"
That hit differently.
---
Cole's eyes shifted slightly.
Just for a second.
Then—
"I won't."
---
He turned.
Walked through the gate.
And disappeared into the fog.
---
Care stood there a moment longer.
Then yawned loudly.
"…I hate emotional men."
And walked back inside.
---
Morning – Chaos Returns
Sunlight hit the mansion like nothing had happened.
Birds loud again.
Rhys louder than birds.
---
"WHERE IS THE HUMAN GLITCH MACHINE?!"
Lyra looked up from breakfast.
"…what?"
"COLE. HE LEFT. I WOKE UP AND HE'S GONE. THAT'S SUSPICIOUS."
Alex calmly sipped tea.
"He probably went somewhere."
Rhys pointed aggressively.
"HE DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE. HE TELEPORTS LIKE A SIDE CHARACTER WITH LORE."
---
Care walked in, yawning.
Hair still messy.
"…he went to London."
Silence.
---
Then immediate explosion.
"WHAT?!"
"WHY?!"
"WHEN?!"
"DID HE EVEN SAY GOODBYE PROPERLY?!"
---
JJ blinked slowly from the couch.
"…who is London and why did they steal Cole?"
Rhys stared at her.
"…you're too sick to be funny but somehow still are."
---
Care sighed.
"Family emergency."
That shut everyone up slightly.
Because again—
Cole had no family stories.
No context.
Nothing.
---
And now he suddenly had a "family emergency."
---
Lyra lowered her voice slightly.
"…that doesn't sound like the whole truth."
Alex nodded once.
"Yeah."
---
From the window—
Care looked outside quietly.
Where the forest road disappeared into distance.
Somewhere beyond it—
Cole was already gone.
---
And for the first time since arriving at the mansion—
Care felt it clearly.
Cole wasn't just hiding things.
He was carrying something heavy enough to leave in the middle of the night without explanation.
---
What Keifer had became...?
London didn't feel like London anymore.
Not for him.
Not since she vanished.
---
Keifer Watson had changed.
Not slowly.
Not gently.
Not in a way people understood.
It was sharp.
Sudden.
Permanent.
---
The boy who used to laugh too easily, fight too loudly, love too openly—
was gone.
---
In his place stood something quieter.
Colder.
More controlled.
A version of Keifer that didn't waste emotion on anything that couldn't bring JJ back.
---
Watson Corporation's London branch had become his center now.
He rarely left it.
Rarely spoke unless necessary.
Even his presence felt heavier than before.
---
He took online classes from a glass-walled office overlooking the city.
Books open.
Reports stacked.
Screens glowing late into the night.
Not because he cared about school anymore—
but because JJ once told him she wanted him to "live long enough for both of us."
So he was doing that.
In the most literal, detached way possible.
---
On paper—
everything looked fine.
A young CEO.
A rising empire.
A disciplined heir.
---
In reality—
Section E didn't even joke anymore.
Not properly.
Not like before.
Their chaos had turned into silence stretched across countries.
---
Percy still joked sometimes.
But it didn't land anymore.
Aries became sharper, more controlled.
Angelo worked like he had forgotten how to rest.
And Keiren and Keigan—
still asked about JJ sometimes.
And every time—
the room went quiet.
---
Then Kaizer moved.
---
It wasn't loud at first.
No dramatic announcement.
Just sudden disruptions.
Supply chain failures.
Warehouse sabotage.
Shipment delays across Watson routes in London.
Small attacks.
Carefully calculated.
---
Keifer didn't react immediately.
He studied.
Tracked.
Waited.
---
Then he moved.
---
Fast.
Clean.
Efficient.
Almost terrifying.
---
By the time Percy and Aries arrived in London—
half of it was already contained.
Burned out.
Neutralized.
Locked down.
---
Percy stood in the control room, staring at the reports.
"…he did all this alone?"
Aries didn't answer immediately.
Because yes.
He did.
---
Keifer didn't even look surprised when they arrived.
Just glanced once.
Cold.
Focused.
Already moving on to the next problem.
---
Angelo stood slightly behind them, observing quietly.
Something in his expression tightened.
Because this wasn't the Keifer they used to know.
Not fully.
Not anymore.
---
"He's getting worse," Percy muttered quietly.
Aries corrected him immediately.
"No."
Pause.
Then softer:
"He's getting efficient."
---
And that was the problem.
Efficiency without emotion.
Control without softness.
Survival without warmth.
---
Then something unexpected happened.
---
Kaizer's alliance—who had been supporting the attack—
collapsed overnight.
Every financial connection.
Every backup route.
Every external aid network.
Erased.
Like it never existed.
---
No trace of who did it.
No signature.
No claim.
Nothing.
---
Angelo narrowed his eyes immediately.
"…that's not Kaizer's work."
Aries agreed instantly.
"No. That's someone cleaning the board."
Percy frowned.
"…then who the hell is helping Watson Corp from the shadows?"
Silence.
---
Keifer finally spoke without turning.
"Not helping."
A pause.
Then colder:
"Removing obstacles."
---
He looked at the screen again.
Expression unreadable.
But his voice carried something sharp underneath.
---
"Someone else is playing this war."
---
Outside the glass—
London lights stretched endlessly.
Cold.
Silent.
Unforgiving.
---
And somewhere far away—
without knowing it—
JJ was still alive.
Slowly healing.
Slowly forgetting.
Slowly being rebuilt in a place Keifer didn't even know existed yet.
---
And Keifer Watson—
the boy who once loved too loudly—
kept becoming something the world would eventually fear.