Blood Between Us

CHAPTER 27

THE GLOW of Mira’s laptop cast shadows on her face as she leaned forward, eyes narrowing behind her glasses. Malalim na ang gabi pero heto siya at gising pa rin. There was ten tabs open in her browsers and six cups of unfinished coffee scattered on the table.

After the accident that killed her best friend’s parents, hindi naging panatag ang kalooban niya. Suspicion grows in her and that she couldn’t shake. Hindi niya ‘to pwedeng baliwalain.

Esther was trying to move on. Pretending she was okay but Mira cannot do that.

Something didn’t sit right about the collapse. It was just Mira’s gut but she can’t ignore her gut. Para kasing may nagsasabi sa kaniya mula sa likod ng kaniyang isipan na dapat may gawin siya.

“Come on. Show me something,” she muttered. Mabilis na kumikilos ang kamay niya sa pagtipa ng keyboard.

She was in an archived database now. It was a government procurement files and inspections clearances for the building that fell. The documents were clean… to clean that made Mira suspicious.

And then she saw it.

‘STRUCTURAL REVIEW PENDING — TEMPORARILY WAVED UNDER EXPEDITED PROTOCOL.’

And it was authorized by the Internal Liaison, of Vireaux Global Logistics Division.

Naningkit ang mata ni Mira saka muling tumipa sa keyboard. Parang may mali siyang nararamdaman, so she dove deeper.

There were a lot internal memos, fragmented and partially deleted. But she retrieved the cached versions using her bypass tools. Some reference ‘priority concealment of safety inconsistencies’, and others showed canceled third-party inspections.

Then Mira saw a file and it was encrypted.

But Mira, being Mira, she cracked it after few minutes.

Pakiramdam ni Mira ay nanlamig siya nang mabasa ang isang pangalan. A project tag buried under layers of internal redirection.

SOLACE TOWER. Vireaux Global Expansion—Phase I

“That’s Esther’s project…”

Nagtaka si Mira kung bakit nasa encrypted files ang project ni Esther, eh, hindi pa naman ito tapos. On-going pa lang ang constructions nito.

Napatitig si Mira sa screen ng kaniyang laptop. And then the connections began to form. Vireaux Global had a logistics arms involved in supplying the same materials subcontracted by Esther’s parents.

But it was done by waiver, concealed report and blocked inspection access.

“Alam kaya ito ni Ciaran?” tanong ni Mira sa kaniyang sarili saka napakuyom ang kamay.

The company that Esther was learning to trust and the one that Ciaran was born into was tied to the collapsed that destroyed her world.

And if Ciaran knew…

“Or worse, if he didn’t…” Napabuntong hininga na lamang si Mira. She saved the filed into a secure offline drive, locked her laptop, and sat in silence.

Everything was about to change.

Dalawang tanong ang pumasok sa isipan ni Mira.

“Sino ang mastermind ng pagguho ng Sanchez Heights redevelopment project? And what was the motive of the Mastermind?”

Sa mga sumunod na araw, nakikipagdebate si Mira sa sarili. May mga araw na parang ayos lang ang lahat at may mga araw na mabigat pa rin sa dibdib. And this one of those days.

Nakaupo si Mira sa may sofa sa loob ng studio ni Esther. She was pretending to scroll through her phone kahit hanggang turned off and swipe lang naman ang ginagawa niya. Pero ang totoo, kanina pa siya nakamasid sa dalawang taong nasa harapan niya.

Esther sat near the window, pencil in hand, sketching something for the next tower detail. And across from her, helping organize blueprints and reviewing papers with that signature composed expression was Ciaran Vireaux.

Tumatawa si Esther sa isang sinabi ni Ciaran.

Iyong klase ng tawa na lumalabas lang kapag alam ni Esther na safe ito.

Sinabi sa kaniya ng kaibigan na hindi pa alam ni Ciaran na buntis ito. And in few days, on Ciaran’s birthday, doon nito sasabihin ang tungkol sa pagbubuntis ni Esther na magkaka-baby na sila.

Mira’s felt like her stomach twisted.

Halata na masaya si Ciaran at Esther sa isa’t-isa. At nakikita niyang mahal nila ang isa’t-isa.

At iyon ang problema ngayon ni Mira dahil noong nakaraang gabi, she uncovered a secret that could tear it all apart.

Vireaux Global. The waved inspections. The buried memos and the indirect tie to the collapsed that killed Esther’s parents.

Pero alam ni Mira—nararamdaman niya na hindi aksidente ang nangyari. It was designed by someone else.

Napabuga ng hangin si Mira habang palipat-lipat ang tingin kay Ciaran at Esther na nagtatawanan. Nakagat niya ang pang-ibabang labi.

Alam kaya ni Ciaran? Or tinatago lang niya?

Mira knew that once she told Esther everything she knew, it will break her again. And this time, baka hindi na kayanin ng kaibigan niya.

Napahigpit ang hawak ni Mira sa flashdrive na nasa bulsa ng suot niyang hood.

Sa totoo lang, nahihirapan siya at naiipit sa sitwasyon.

“Hey,” Esther’s voice pulled her from her train of thoughts. “Are you okay?”

Napakurap si Mira saka pinilit ang ngumiti kahit mahirap. “Yeah. Gutom lang siguro ako. You guys look busy.”

Ngumiti naman si Esther. “Actually, tapos na kami. We were gonna get lunch. Sama ka?”

Ciaran glanced up and nodded with a polite half-smile. “Join us.”

Nagdalawang-isip si Mira. She could go. Act normal. Play along with them and pretend she hadn;s seen what she saw.

But inside, her heart was pounding and guilt was eating her alive.

How do Mira tell her best friend that the man she was in love with might be part of the thing that broke her?

Even if it was hard, Mira nodded. “Sure,” she said. “Sama ako. Gustom na din ako, eh.”

“I’ll call Lucien,” sabi ni Ciaran saka tinawagan ang kapatid.

Napabuntong hininga si Mira saka tumingin sa labas ng studio ni Esther. The only thing she wish was that she never saw what she saw the other night. Sana hindi siya nagi-guilty ngayon.

VIREAUX PRIVATE ESTATE

The dim lighting reflected off the polished glass table, where surveillance footage flickered on multiple monitors. It was silent and precise.

Ramon, Celestine’s bodyguard, stood stiffly near the door.

Celestine swirled her glass of wine slowly, as her eyes focused on one of the screens.

“Madam,” Ramon finally said, “someone’s been snooping around the collapsed site logs. Files that were supposed to be scrubbed.”

Nagtaas ng isang kilay si Celestine. “And who was that person?” she asked.

“I can’t track them. Pero sigurado akong konektado ito kay Esther Sorrell.”

Celestine stiffened. “Ciaran?” she asked with cold voice.

Umiling si Ramon. “No, Madam. Definitely not him.”

“Then who?” she asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“I don’t know, Madam. Kung sinuman siya, magaling siyang magtago. They erase digital footprints before I can even ping the source. They know our protocols and it someone’s careful. Possibly skilled than our tech and possibly close to Esther Sorrell.”

Ibinaba ni Celestine ang hawak na wine glass habang naniningkit ang kaniyang mata. “It doesn’t matter who they are,” she said flatly. “What matters is that the Sorrells disappear for good.”

“The daughter? Esther Sorrell?”

Ngumisi si Celestine saka tumayo. She paced slowly across the room while her heels clicking on the cold tiles. “She’s the last string tying Ciaran to weakness,” she murmured. “If she’s gone, he will finally return to who he was raised to be. The Vireaux Heir and not some sentimental wreck following a doomed romance.”

Ramon hesitated. “But won’t this backfire, Madam? Young Master Ciaran might retaliate.”

Humarap si Celestine sa bodyguard habang may namumutawing malamig na ngiti sa kaniyang labi. “I’m his mother, Ramon. He may scream, cry and even hate me for a while. But in the end, I am still the one he will follow,” she said and gestured to the monitor lazily. “Start the process. I want surveillance intensified. Tap into Esther’s calls, her friends and everything about her. I want to know when she’s most vulnerable.”

“And after that?”

Celestine took a sip of her wine. “Then you,” her manicured nails pointed to Ramon, “erased her from this world. Completely.”

Natahimik si Ramon saka tumango. “Yes, Madam.”

“But before that, I want her to know that I am the responsible of the collapsed. I want her to broke down and confront Ciaran. Of course, Esther Sorrell will hate Ciaran and cursed him, in this way, Ciaran will feel that Esther Sorrell was not the woman for him.” Isang malamig na ngiti ang sumilay sa labi ni Celestine.

Ciaran was raised to be the next Vireaux Master. The heir to the multi-million-dollar Empire. Ito ang panganay kaya kailangang gumawa siya ng paraan upang manatili ito sa Vireaux. Hindi niya hahayaan na may isang taong maging kahinaan si Ciaran.

And Esther’s parents… if they only did not question the logistics and development of the Sanchez Height, they would not die in that collapse. The inconsistent logistics will surely ping on the Vireaux Global if the Sorrell will question it and she doesn’t want that to happen.

Kaya naman kailangang niyang patahimikin ang mga taong pwedeng maging tinik sa daan upang mas lalong kilalanin ang Vireaux Global sa buong mundo.

Vireaux Global will raised on the top and she will make it sure to happen with the help of Ciaran. So, she needed to clean the hindrance and weakness that will make the heir—Ciaran—to give up the Vireaux even if it means of hating her to the core.

Because she knew in the end that Ciaran will never turn his back at her because she is his biological mother.

"Esther Sorrell," she whispered while watching the monitor. “Your days were numbered.”