SAM'S POV
"Pusasan mo na." Rinig kong saad ng isang lalake sa may bandang likuran ko and then a squeaking sound of some metals followed.
I didn't turned to that way as I just kept staring at my clasped hands before me.
This is it. I have to do this before I move on to the last step of this mission. I just have to hear his voice.
Inhaling deeply, I prepared myself for the second wave of the storm kahit na ang lakas na ng tibok ng puso ko.
Alam ko na kung kanino ang singsing na'yon and all I have to do here is to confirm my first suspicion.
Ang magaling kong ama ang itinuturo ng file na'yon kaya naman ngayon, kailangan kong makita at marinig man lang ang boses nito.
I stiffened on my seat when I suddenly felt a presence towering over me. Dahilan para mahagip ko ang hininga ko dahil sa kaba while my clasped hands started to get clammy.
"Samantha?..."
I felt like the air in my lungs was suddenly stolen from me when that voice beside me uttered my name. Eyes as wide as saucers as I just stayed frozen on my seat.
That voice! That same voice from the past!
"We don't need to kill her...She's dying after all.."
When that voice replayed in mind, my already swollen eyes instantly burned with hot tears again. My nerves started to tremble as I thought about it..
That voice..
It was my father's voice!
Napapapikit na lamang ako ng mga mata habang tiim ang mga bagang dahil sa mas lalo pang gumulo ngayon ang isip ko dahil dito.
Ano bang nangyayari? Bakit bigla nalang gumulo ang lahat ng ganito??
Kanina, it was Cameron's father and now, it's my own father... Sino ba talaga ang may kasalanan ng lahat ng 'to??
"You--You came.." I heard him stuttered sabay upo sa kabilang upuan sa harapan ko.
A hint of surprise and disbelief can be detected in his voice. I opened my eyes but I didn't moved in my seat. Not even glancing up to look at his face with my eyes now blurred with tears.
"Naaalala mo parin ang boses ko.."
When I heard him stated that, the clenching of my teeth tightened as my anger took over me. Dahil sa sinabi nyang 'yon, parang inamin nya rin sa'kin na sya nga ang taong 'yon.. Dahilan para tuluyan na'kong magtaas ng tingin at tingnan ito ng patalim. Mindless if he can see my swollen and teary eyes.
"It was you!"
He just heaved in a deep breath before he slowly nodded his head at me habang may munting ngiti naman ito sa labi nito.
"Tama ka, Samantha. Ako nga ang taong 'yon. Boses ko nga ang narinig mo noon." He admitted without even trying to deny it on my face.
A reaction which caused my hatred for him to escalates more.
"Y-You've killed them! It was you who killed mom and dad!" Nanginginig sa galit na sigaw ko sa kanya while I kept glaring at him and tears started to roll endlessly on my cheeks. Not minding the few people kept looking at our way now dahil sa lakas ng boses ko.
"Ikaw ang sumira sa buhay ko! Ikaw ang pumatay sa kanila!"
"Hindi ako.."
My blood instantly boiled up when he even dared to deny that. Denying that to my face without even blinking an eye. As if I would believe such lies!
"Hindi mo'ko maloloko!" Napapatayong asik ko rito. "Rinig na rinig ng dalawang tenga ko kung anong sinabi mo noon. You said 'you don't need to kill me dahil mamamatay narin naman ako. Hinding-hindi ko makalimutan ang mga sinabi mo nang araw na'yon!" Nagpipigil na asik ko sa kanya, trying to control my anger towards him para makaiwas na gumawa ng bagay na tyak pagsisisihan ko sa huli.
"Tama ka, Samantha. Sinabi ko nga 'yon.."agarang amin nito na mas lalo pang nagpanginig sa'kin sa galit.
"Sinabi ko nga 'yon pero hindi ibig sabihin nun na ako ang pumatay kina Nickandro at Susan. It was an accident, Samantha at tyempo lang na------"
"Sinungaling!" Matigas na putol ko na sa iba pang kasinungalin nya while heaving up with deep shaky breaths..
"Sasabihin mo rin ba na aksidente lang ang lahat ng mga nangyari sa'kin nitong huling buwan? You have ordered your men to kill me dahil lang sa lintik na file na'yon at ngayon sasabihin mo sa'kin na hindi ikaw ang may pakana kung bakit namatay ang mga taong nagmahal at nag-aruga sa'kin imbes na kayo mismong tunay kong mga magulang ang dapat na gumawa nun! Pero anong ginawa mo??! Kinuha mo silang lahat sa'kin! kinuha mo silang lahat sa'kin!!" Umiiyak na sumbat ko na sa kanya.
Tears kept falling on my cheeks like waterfalls while gasping for air. Hindi ko na alintana kung pinagtitinginan na kami ng ibang taong naroon sa visiting area na'yon. I just have to let out the pain and anger I had in my chest.
I noticed his eyes glistened up with tears habang napapayuko ito pero wala na'kong pakialam sa kanya. I could never feel any pity for him dahil kahit kailan, hinding-hindi ko sya ituturing na ama!
"P-Patawarin mo'ko, Samantha.. Patawarin mo'ko sa lahat ng nagawa ko sa'yo.."he started in a sob habang nakayuko parin ang ulo nito.
His shoulders started to shake as well as his sob became more loud.
"Marami akong mga masasamang nagawa sa'yo. Marami akong mga pagkukulang bilang ama mo at alam kong hinding-hindi mo'ko mapapatawad dun."
I just bit the inside of my cheeks to stop the other tears to fall from my eyes habang matalim na tinitingnan ito.
His cry and sorry would do nothing to ease the pain in my chest now. Masyado na'kong nasaktan para magpatawad. At mas lalong hindi nito magagawang kaawaan ito just because he's my father.
Sniffing, I quickly wiped the tears off of my cheeks with the back of my hand before I replied.
"Hindi mo'ko anak.."
Agad ng nagtaas ito ng tingin when I utterred that with low voice. Hurt and shock registered on his eyes habang maluha-luha itong nakatingin sa'kin.
"No." he answered with a shake of his head. "You are, Samantha. You are my daughter.. Kamukhang-kamukha mo ang mama mo.. Anyone could see that.. ikaw yong anak ko na ipinagkait sa'kin nina Rose at Nickandro noon kaya----"
"No. Isa lang ang kilala kong ama at hindi ikaw 'yon, Mr. Enriquez." Mariing putol ko na sa mga sasabihin nito while glaring down at him with my hands leaning against the surface of the table.
"Kahit kailan hindi ko kikilalaning ama ang isang taong sumira sa buhay ko. Ang isang taong walang ibang ginawa kundi patuloy na sirain ang buhay ko."
"H-Hindi ko----"
"Stop." His mouth clamped shut when I raised my hand before him para pahintuin ito.
"I won't hear any lame excuses from a human like you dahil kahit na kailan, hinding-hindi mo na mababago ang isip ko. You've taken an innocent lives before kaya nararapat lang na makulong ka rito para pagbayaran mo ang lahat ng mga kasalanang nagawa mo. " I continued with bared teeth saka agad ng tumalikod rito para umalis.
"Then if Nickandro and Susan didn't died in that accident before, kikilalanin mo ba'kong ama mo ngayon, Samantha?"
That question made me halted on my steps.
"Magagawa mo ba'kong tanggapin ngayon kung hindi 'yon nangyari sa kanila?" Tanong uli nito with a hopeful tone in his voice.
I know he was standing on his feet now while staring at the back of my head and waiting for my answer but I didn't turned to his way.
Well, simple lang naman ang sagot sa tanong na'yon. Kung hindi lang sana nangyari ang lahat ng 'yon noon, then maybe, matatanggap ko agad ito bilang tunay kong ama.
But unfortunately, that wasn't the case here.
Sobrang sakit na ng mga nangyari. Sa sobrang sakit, parang sasabog na ang dibdib ko dahil rito.
Swallowing the hard lump on my throat, I squared up my shoulders before I silently resumed my walk palabas sa lugar na'yon without giving him an answer.
Time to go out now and hopefully , makaharap ko ang isang taong makakasagot sa lahat ng mga katanungan sa isipan ko ngayon.
Kung sino ba talaga ang dapat kong sisihin sa pagkamatay ng mga magulang ko. Was it Cameron del Fuero's father... Or my own father?...
I get into the red car I used yesterday to escape Cameron's house, kinapa ko muna ang bagay na dala-dala ko kanina pa sa bulsa ko. When I felt it in my hand, agad na'kong pumasok ng sasakyan and then drove off to my last mission today.
To end all these shits.
~~~~~~~~~~~
CAMERON'S POV
"Mr. Tañada, please let's not argue about this. The list will stay in my hands and this shouldn't be exposed to the public till it's necessary. Maraming matutumbang kompanya kapag inilabas natin ito pero marami rin naman tayong masasagasaan dahil dito." I explained to the old man sitting on my right.
A few hawkish eyes around were on me. We were having this meeting with the board for over an hour now and I'm starting to get annoyed with these men kept pestering me to expose the list of people involved in John Enriquez's illegal activities. Not that I don't want to crush those men out of the business world, nag-iingat lang ako.
I was called here for this urgent meeting with the board dahil sa mga kagustuhan ng mga tarantadong 'to na ilabas ko ang baho ng mga kalaban namin. Of course to benefit with it.
"You know these will benefit us, Mr. Del Fuero. Kapag nailabas natin ang mga katarantaduhang ginagawa ng mga kalaban natin, tyak mawawalan na tayo ng kompetensya sa negosyo natin." Came off Mr. Manansala's persuasion na nasa kabilang dulo ng mesa.
At the hear of him, a few heads slowly nodded in agreement with that.
And that frustrates me more.
Inhaling deeply, I calm myself before I answered them.
"Everyone, alam kong gusto nyo lang makatulong sa kompanya but as your CEO, that is my final decision and no more argument should be made about this. I hope you'll respect my decision with this. Kikita nga tayo ng malaki dahil dito pero marami rin naman tayong masasagasaan. And besides, I know my father didn't kept this list to use this against these people but just for Enriquez so I hope you all understand that. This meeting is adjourned. I have to go now. " I ended with finality in my voice saka agad ng tumayo and then rushed off to the door.
I can still hear complains from the conference room pero wala na'kong pakialam dun. I've got the list and that's all that matters.
Briskly walking back to my office, bubuksan ko na sana ang pintuan papasok ng opisina ko but I was stopped when my phone rang inside my jacket pocket.
Fishing it out, I checked the caller.
RADLEY CALLING.....
Sinagot ko na agad ang tawag na'yon sabay pasok sa loob ng opisina.
"I think he's starting to make a move now, sir. I saw him talked with John Enriquez yesterday at the jail and by the look of it, mukhang may hindi maganda yata itong binabalak gawin. Mukhang may nasabi sa kanya ang amo nya kaya naman nagsisimula na naman itong kumilos.."
"Where is he now?" I queried sabay upo sa swivel chair na nasa likuran ng mesa ko.
I don't need to ask him kung sinong tarantado ang tinutukoy nito ngayon dahil alam ko na kung sino ito.
"Hindi ko alam kung saan papunta ito ngayon sir but I'm tailing his car now and we're trailing along Tagaytay's road now, sir."
"Tagaytay?" Takang tanong ko sa kanya when he said that.
"And why is he heading to that way, Radley? Ano namang gagawin nya dyan?"
"That's what I'm going to find out sir."..
Napapabuga na lamang ako ng hangin dahil dun.Groaning, tumango na lamang ako ng bahagya before I replied.
"Just keep following him, Rad. Baka may kalokohan na namang binabalak na gawin 'yan."
"Yes sir. Update ko nalang kayo mamaya."
I just nodded at that and when a beeping tone followed, I quickly dialed Samantha's number.
Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla nalang itong napatawag sa'kin kanina tungkol sa blueprint na'yon pero parang may mali lang talaga sa pagtatanong nyang 'yon.
Knowing her, it wouldn't be a surprise kung may kalokohan na naman itong ginagawa ngayon.
I frowned when her phone just kept ringing at hindi man lang nito sinasagot ang tawag ko. I dialed her number again and I've patiently waited for her to pick up the call pero nang hindi parin ito sumasagot, I decided to cancel the call but just before I could tap the cancel button, my finger froze when she finally answered it.
"Samantha?" tawag ko agad sa pangalan nya.
"S-Sir Cameron? Kayo po ba ito, sir?"
My frown deepened when I heard Manang Rita's voice instead of hers.
"Why do you have Samantha's phone, Manang? Where is she?" I asked back instead of answering her.
"Naiwan nya po ito kanina sir. Nagmamadali po kasi syang umalis kanina matapos nyang umiyak ng----"
"Umiyak?? What do you mean? Bakit naman sya umiyak kanina, manang?" Takang tanong ko sa kanya, wondering why the hell would she cry this time.
"H-Hindi ko po alam, sir. Nadatnan ko nalang po sya kanina sa study room nyo na umiiyak ng malakas sa harapan ng painting ng mga magulang nyo. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero may kutob akong may kinalaman dun ang singsing ng papa mo."
"Singsing?" Nalilitong tanong ko rito.
"Anong singsing ang sinasabi mo, manang and why would she cry over that ring-----"
Bigla nalang akong napatigil when something had clicked in my mind... When I remembered something na maaaring dahilan kung bakit ito umiyak.
Singsing....
As I thought about it, my conversation with Liam before came back to me.
"She was only fourteen at that time and bago raw sya nawalan ng malay nun, she saw a clue na syang magtuturo sana sa may pakana nun pero dahil medyo blurry ang memory ni Ms. Samantha, wala ring nagawa yun to solve the case."
That caught my interest.
"What clue?"
"A ring. A family heirloom ring."
When Liam's voice echoed in my head, bigla na lamang akong kinabahan dahil dun. It couldn't be that ring he was telling me about.
"Sir? Nandyan pa po ba kayo sir?"
That pulled me out of my thoughts when Manang Rita asked that from the other line.
Napapahigpit nalang ang hawak ko sa phone ko just the thought of that absurd possibilities.
Hindi maaari to. Hindi maaaring ang singsing na'yon ang hinahanap nya.
"May nasabi ba sya sa'yo tungkol sa singsing, Manang?"
"Nagtanong lang naman po sya kung sa papa nyo po ba talaga ang singsing na'yon sir at nang sagutin ko, agad naman po syang umalis. May kailangan lang daw po syang puntahan at makaharap agad."
"Saan? Saan at sino ang pupuntahan nya manang?" I asked with bated breath.
"Wala pong sinabi kong saan, sir."
Napapapikit na lamang ako ng mahigpit when she informed me that, infuriated with that.
Oh good Lord. Umalis na naman ito at hindi man lang nagsabi kung saan pupunta. Agad na'kong nagpaalam sa matanda and the moment I hanged up the call, an aggravated sigh escaped from me as I leaned my back against my seat.
She wouldn't just cry for nothing. The ring must have something to do with it. My father's ring...
That fucking ring! Why would my father's ring be dragged into this case now when it was his father's fault!
Mas lalo pa'kong naguguluhan sa mga nangyayari ngayon. Pero kahit ga'no pa kagulo ang isip ko, kailangan kong mahanap ito ngayon dahil baka kung ano-ano na naman ang iniisip nitong gawin gayon.
No doubt, she must be thinking now that my father had something to do with her parents' assassination before.
With that, dali-dali na'kong tumayo and then picked up my phone from my table saka umalis na. Just thinking back what she had said this morning, I already have an idea kung saan at sino ang pupuntahan nito.
~~~~~~~~