CHAPTER 20
1385 Words
ABALA si Nylah sa pag-aayos ng mga papel sa kaniyang lamesa nang tumunog ang cellphone niya na nakapatong sa mga folder. Sinulyapan niya kung sino ang tumatawag at kusang gumuhit ang ngiti sa kaniyang labi ng makitang ang pangalan ng nakababatang kapatid ang nasa screen.
“Ate Nylah!” masiglang bati ni Nadeen nang sagutin niya ang tawag nito. Biological sister niya ito. Apat na taon ang tanda niya rito.
Bahagyang natawa si Nylah nang marinig niya ang accent ni Nadeen sa pagtawag nito ng ‘Ate’ sa kaniya. Konti lang ang alam ni Nadeen na Tagalog words dahil hindi naman niya ito natuturuan lagi. But she advised her sister to learn the language para hindi ito mahirapan kapag pumunta ito ng Pilipinas.
Medyo may progress naman ito kahit papaano dahil nakakapagsalita at nakakaintindi naman na ito.
“Napatawag ka?” tanong ni Nylah. “Kumusta pala ang pag-aaral mo?” Nadeen was already in her third year of college.
Nadeen grunted. “It’s good.”
Kumunot ang nuo ni Nylah. “I hear a ‘but’,” she said. Nakikita na niya ngayon na naka-pout na ang kapatid niya. “What is it? Tell me.”
“Kael was so annoying,” Nadeen said as she grimaced. “His men always follow me around.”
“Well, I told him to protect you.”
“I know, Ate. But they are so annoying. I can’t do what I want because they are around. Good thing Ashton was not afraid of them.”
That name caught Nylah’s attention. Parang walang nababanggit sa kaniya si Kael na pangalang ganun. “Ashton?” she asked.
Napatakip ng bibig si Nadeen na nasa kabilang linya.
“Sino siya, Nadeen?” Nylah asked in a firm and protective tone.
“Ate…”
Nylah sighed. “Nadeen, I don’t care who he is to you. All I want is for you to be careful. Masyadong delikado na ngayon ang panahon. Alam mo naman hindi tayo galing sa ordinaryong pamilya. Danger always loomed around for us.”
“I know, Ate. But Ashton is a good man.”
Natigilan si Nylah at bahagyang nakaramdam ng pagkabahala. Now, even if she won’t ask Kael why they were guarding Nadeen, as her sister told her was because of this man. Nadeen just said that man is good, which means she had made a friend with him.
Her sister was not good to strangers. Lagi itong lumalayo sa mga tao dahil na rin sa karanasan nila noong bata sila. Strangers are not good, at least that what they both know. Pero iba ngayon dahil nagsalita ang kapatid niya para sa ibang tao. Nadeen was defending this man — Ashton. Na-curious tuloy siya kung sino ito.
“Ate, Ashton is really a good man. He’s from the Philippines. He was about to finish his Master’s degree and going back home so—”
“Teka lang!” Pigil ni Nylah. “He—what? Finish his Master’s degree? So hindi kayo magka-edad?”
“Hindi, Ate.”
“Guy friend or boyfriend?” Nylah asked.
“Ate, isn’t that the same?”
Napairap si Nylah sa hangin. “This man—Ashton… is he your boyfriend?” tanong niya sa seryosong boses. She’s the eldest sister. Kaya dapat maging protective siya sa kapatid niya.
“Admirer?” patanong na sagot ni Nadeen.
“Bakit parang hindi ka sigurado?”
“Ate, I will introduce him to you.”
Tumaas ang isang kilay ni Nylah at sumandal sa kinauupuan. “You’re coming here?”
“Yes, Ate.”
Ngumiti si Nylah. “Okay. Make sure you introduce him to me.”
“No problem, Ate. By the way, where’s my cute nephew?”
Sinulyapan ni Nylah si Evron na nakatuloy sa kama. “Asleep.”
“Oh. I want to talk to him.”
“Magkukulitan lang naman kayong dalawa.”
Natawa si Nadeen saka nagpaalam na pero bago nito pinatay ang tawag, nakiusap pa ito na kausapin niya si Kael na alisin nito ang mga bodyguard na nakasunod rito.
Kaya ang ginawa ni Nadeen tinawagan niya si Kael.
“Chief?”
“Nadeen complained to me.”
Napangiwi si Kael. “Chief—”
“Tell your bodyguard to withdraw from the frame but protect Nadeen secretly.”
“Yes, Chief.” Then Kael’s tone became serious. “Chief, I have something to report.”
“Report.”
“Chief, a new organization was moving in the underground.”
“Are they powerful than us?” tanong ni Nylah.
“Chief, Black Lotus was the most powerful mercenary organization in the underground that no one could match.”
Ngumiti si Nylah. “You really know what to say,” she said. “I don’t care who they are, Kael, as long as they won’t touch our family. If they touch the Laurent, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Chief.”
Nylah ended the call. Ibinaba niya ang cellphone at tumaas ang sulok ng kaniyang labi. “A new organization, huh?” she muttered.
But even if there are hundreds of new organizations that will rise, no one can match her Black Lotus Organization. They were the oldest organization in the Underground. The Laurent — her family — came from an Old European lineage, with roots tracing back over a century, and so as the legacy of the Black Lotus.
Laurent was known for their influence even before she was born. Her great-great-grandfather was an arms dealer and strategist during wartime, amassing a fortune supplying weapons and technology to governments. As time passed, the Laurents diversified their fortune into global shipping routes, steel manufacturing, and private security contracts, creating a quiet empire that lasted generations.
Though their wealth is old, her family remained largely in the shadows, preferring privacy and power behind the scenes rather than public recognition.
Napabuntong hininga si Nylah nang maalala niya kung paano ba nabuo ang Black Lotus.
The Laurent’s fortune was not entirely ‘clean’. A significant portion came from covert operations, arms development, and off-the-book deals that shaped governments and wars. Over time, the Laurent formed a network of elite mercenaries to protect their interests, and later it evolved into Black Lotus.
Pinaikot ni Nylah ang sing pen sa kaniyang kamay.
Her grandfather formally organized Black Lotus as the family’s private army, running it as both a business and a tool for global influence. Under his leadership, they became a myth in the underground — feared, respected, and untouchable.
Maagang namatay ang kaniyang ama na siyang dating ‘Chief’ dahil na rin sa mga kalaban nila sa underground. Their enemies were trying to take down the Black Lotus, causing her parents’ deaths. At the age of sixteen, she took over the position of her late father as the new Chief of Black Lotus.
Hindi naging madali para sa kaniya ang lahat lalo na at marami siyang kailangang pag-aralan. Day and night, she studied how the Laurent Empire and Black Lotus work — how to manipulate, scheme, and kill someone with only her words.
Then later, the power she wielded came with a price — a constant cycle of violence, betrayal, and death.
Napatingin si Nylah kay Evron.
Pero nang dumating ang anak niya, doon niya lamang na-realize na marami siyang mga bagay na hindi nakita. Both the Empire and the Black Lotus are like a gilded cage soaked in blood. So, she walked away, leaving both her family’s fortune and her position behind, choosing instead a modest life in a foreign country where no one knew her name.
Ngunit kahit lumayo siya nakakarating pa rin sa kaniya ang mga balita — many wants to kill her. They wanted her dead to take down the Black Lotus. But before they could step into the country, those enemies who wanted her death had already dropped dead to the ground.
Nylah closed her eyes. Siguro darating ang araw na babalik siya sa dati niyang buhay pero hind isa ngayon. Bata pa si Evron. Kailangan siya nito bilang ina na siyang gagabay rito. But what makes her worry right now — Evron was her son, the only heir of Laurent and the next Chief of Black Lotus. Sooner or later, Evron will step into her world.
And that was inevitable to happen.
- Writer
