Blood Between Us

CHAPTER 28

MIRA’S CONDO

Mira was busy on her laptop. Ang ingay ng pagtipa niya ng keyboard ang nagbibigay ng ingay sa tahimik na unit maliban na lang sa ingay ng pagnguya ni Lucien ng chips sa tabi niya. They were sitting on the couch.

“Another coffee?” Lucien offered, holding up a mug.

Mira waved Lucien off as her eyes glued to the code streaming across her screen. “Pass. I need a clear head. I just found something weird.”

Tumaas naman ang kilay ni Lucien. He leaned close to Mira, his chin nearly resting on her shoulder. Naamoy pa niya ang pabangong gamit ni Mira. She smelled like vanilla. At hindi ito masakit sa ilong.

“What kind of weird?” tanong ni Lucien.

Mira zoomed in on a blocked internal memo she’d just decrypted from a hidden Vireaux Global archive. “This was an inspection report. It was dated two weeks before the collapse. For some reason, it was flagged for foundation inconsistencies. It should have been enough to pause construction.”

Kumuyom ang kamay Lucien dahil sa posible niyang naiisip. “Then why it didn’t?”

Umiling si Mira. “That’s the thing. Someone logged in under a ‘ghost credential’ and marked the inspection as resolved to clear it out and buried it.”

Nagsalubong ang kilay ni Lucien. “You’re saying someone deliberately ignored the risk?”

Tumango si Mira. “I think someone wanted it to collapse.”

Lucien stiffened. “And you think that someone is from my family?” he asked, and he was already asking the obvious question. Kasi ‘yon na ang nakikita niya.

Tumingin si Mira kay Lucien. “The trail leads to Vireaux Global. The report had a stamp. The kind of access only senior officers or board members would have.” She looked directly at his eyes. “Lucien…”

“It’s not my brother,” he said. “I know him. He wouldn’t—”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Mira said quickly. “But someone close to him might.”

Nagkatinginan silang dalawa.

“At bukod sa inyong dalawa ni Ciaran, may isa pang tao na gumagawa ng desisyon sa Vireaux Global.”

Lucien swallowed hard.

Hindi na niya kailangan pang sabihin ang pangalan na nabuo sa kaniyang isipan.

Mira sighed.

Lucien sat back, running a hand through his hair. “If this is true, Esther’s not just mourning. She’s in danger.”

Tumango si Mira. “Kaya kita tinawag rito. I think she’s being watched. Her digital trail’s been pinged, and someone’s trying to monitor her calls and movements.”

Nagdilim ang mukha ni Lucien. “Kailangan nating sabihin kay Kuya.”

“Not yet,” Mira said. “Not until we have proof he can take to the court.”

“Pero paano kung malaman ito ni Esther?”

Mira exhaled. “Then it might be too late.” Tumingin siya kay Lucien. “The suspicious mastermind behind the collapse was your mother. Paano kung…”

Umiling si Lucien. “Kilala ko si Kuya. He won’t bat an eyelash to turn against Mom if he finds out.”

“I hope,” Mira said. Then she said, “Esther was planning something for Ciaran’s birthday.”

Napatigil si Lucien sa pag-inom ng kape at tumingin kay Mira.

“She wanted to surprise Ciaran.”

At nararamdaman ni Mira na parang may hindi magandang mangyayari.

MEANWHILE, Esther pulled her cardigan tighter around her as she stepped out of the small bookstore, clutching a brown paper bag containing a recently published book. She’d taken the long way home today, walked a bit farther than she needed to, hoping the familiar aisles and smell of old pages would calm the constant whirlwind in her chest.

Pero nang lumabas siya, may naramdaman siyang kakaiba.

Naramdaman niya na parang may nakatingin sa kaniya.

She glanced over her shoulder casually, like someone checking for traffic before crossing the street. Pero wala namang tao sa kaniyang likuran. Tanging ang mga nakaparadang kotse ang nakita niya. May nakita rin siyang lalaki na nakaupo sa isang bench sa hindi kalayuan habang abala ito sa cellphone.

Pero hindi pa rin nawala ang pakiramdam niya na may nakatingin sa kaniya.

Mabilis na naglakad si Esther patungo sa kaniyang sasakyan. She unlocked her car, tossed the bag in the passenger seat and then she froze.

There, in the corner of the side mirror, a silhouette. Not close, but still.

It was a tall figure, just standing across the street.

Mabilis siyang tumingin pero wala na ito.

Sumakay siya sa loob ng kotse saka ini-locked ang kotse. Her heart thudded in her ears as she sat there for a beat, hands gripping the wheel too tightly.

Hindi ito ang unang beses.

Yesterday, in the grocery aisle, she thought she’d seen the same jacket slip past the frozen section. The night before that, a black SUV idled too long across her condo complex before pulling away when she stepped outside.

She wasn’t sure if this was a coincidence or not anymore.

Hindi pa niya ito nasasabi kay Ciaran dahil abala naman ang binata sa trabaho nito. He has a lot of board meetings and project inspection.

Ayaw na niyang dumagdag sa alalahanin nito.

Napahawak siya sa kaniyang tiyan. “No worries, Baby. Mommy will keep you safe.”

She pulled out her phone and opened her messages.

‘Hi, are you home? Can I come over for a bit? Just… feel weird today. Wala rin kasi si Ciaran. Business trip again.’

Then a few seconds later. Mira replied, ‘Yes, of course, babe. Bring some pandesal.’

Ngumiti si Esther pero hindi ito umabot sa kaniyang mata. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she couldn’t shake the feeling that a pair of eyes was still following her.

ESTHER arrived at Mira’s condo. It was already late in the afternoon. May susi siya ng condo ni Mira kaya naman pumasok na lang siya pagkatapos niyang kumatok.

“Mira?” she called softly, stepping inside the familiar condo.

Pero walang sumagot.

The lights were dim—just the kitchen’s light casting a warm glow over the room. She stepped in quietly, holding the paper bag she’d brought, the comforting smell of fresh bread rising from it.

“Mira?” She tried again.

Pero wala pa rin.

Inisip na lamang ni Esther na baka nasa shower si Mira. Then she saw the two mugs on the counter. Kumunot ang noo niya at iniisip na baka may ibang kasama si Mira sa loob ng condo nito pero wala naman siyang marinig na ingay.

“Lumabas ba siya?”

Esther moved toward the kitchen to set the bread down when she noticed Mira’s laptop was still open. And besides, it was a spread of papers—printed email, spreadsheets, and typed memos. Probably another one of Mira’s secret hacking rabbit holes.

Hindi na sana papansinin ni Esther ang mga ito pero nakita niya ang nakasulat sa nakapaimbabaw na papel.

Isa itong printed memo galing sa ina ni Ciaran—Celestine Vireaux. At sa itaas ng memo may nakalagay na 'CONTAINMENT’ at naipadala ito sa isang taong may pangalang ‘Ramon Paz’. With the subject of the memo—Structural Breach – Ongoing Risk Management.

‘Containment is top priority. We cannot allow exposure. I expect all dissenting engineers to be silenced or paid off. The Sorrell subcontract was too much. And make sure, the Sorrell will die in an accident, and it will be caused by foundation instability.’

Nahigit ni Esther ang kaniyang hininga. Nanginig ang kaniyang kamay habang tinitignan ang ibang mga papel.

Sorrell subcontract.

Foundation instability.

Hindi namalayan ni Esther na tumulo na ang kaniyang luha. She collapsed into Mira’s desk chair as the weight of the papers she saw on each page pressed on her chest.

“It was them…” Esther murmured.

It was the Vireaux Global.

“It was his family…”

Hindi alam ni Esther kung ano ba ang dapat niyang maramdaman sa mga oras na ‘yon—galit, paghihinagpis at lungkot.

Kumuyom ang kaniyang kamay.

A sharp inhale turned into a choke.

Her parents—she remembered it. Her mother’s laugh and her father’s coffee-stained hands. It was all gone. And here, in cold ink and corporate language, was the reason. It was a cover-up and a calculated move.

“They… made sure that my parents… will die…”

Esther felt the air around her grow thin.

Ciaran…

Nanigas si Esther nang pumasok sa kaniyang isipan ang kasintahan. Agad siyang napahawak sa kaniyang tiyan.

Does he know?

Esther wanted to believe that Ciaran didn’t know what had happened. Gusto niyang maniwala na wala itong kinalaman sa planong pagpatay sa kaniyang magulang. Not literally killed by guns and knives, but by indirect killing by the collapse of the building.

But at the back of her mind, a voice had whispered, “How could he not know?”

Tumayo si Esther pero parang nawalan siya ng lakad at muli siyang napaupo. Nanlalamig siya at nanlalabo ang kaniyang paningin dahil sa luha.

Mira had said nothing even if she already knew.

She felt like a fool.

Walang buhay na natawa si Esther, and she realized that she was the girl who had fallen for the son of the woman who signed off on her parents’ death.

Esther pressed her palms to her eyes to dry her tears and tried to breathe. She was trying to believe in something again, but all she could feel was betrayal.

And the horrifying, shattering silence of everything falling apart.

The trust that was built for the man she once dreamed of being together forever was destroyed by the truth.

Esther felt betrayed, and her trust was shattered.