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Episode 64

The playlist for this chapter is ' Presence - Hold on' do enjoy 🎶🎶🎶

Fernando's POV Cont'd

"For real Fernando?! Just listen to yourself speak, Fernando. What is wrong with you? Why are you being so irritating with your attitude? Can't you just calm down and let what I just said sink into your mind and your head?! Stop being blind over all this and focus for a second!" Antonio yelled dramatically and rose to his feet.

"I don't care if you hate your wife for what she did to you but keep your hate aside and look through this already! I am an attorney and I know how to dig into cases like this until the truth is out, so why can't you just give me the chance to help you? This is not about Micaela, we are talking about justice here! It's time those bastards pay for all they did to you, me, and Micaela! We were their victims, we shouldn't let them get away with it!" He yelled once more.

I really can't tell if it was the yelling from Antonio that calmed me down or if it was the point he was trying to prove to me. Suddenly I found myself in a flashback of that night again, and all I was seeing was the smirk on Raphael's face and that of his friends.

"Come sit over here with us, today is a special day for you so I have to treat you special" Raphael's voice echoes in my head.

I can't forget how foolish I was to have done what he told me. I should have known he had bad intentions toward me.

"Did you say Claudia was the one who had set up, Micaela?"

"Yes, that's right" he answered and I furrowed in disbelief.

Claudia? There was a girl that sat next to Raphael and was kissing him that same night when he asked me to come to sit with them. Because my mind was not on her, I didn't take notice of their face. But now that all this truth is surfacing, I can't help but recall the face of that lady.

I shuddered at the thought of her and I glance at Antonio."Oh no, you are right, Claudia was there that night. She was with Raphael and I didn't realize it was her until now, damnit!"

"I told you so, thank goodness you were able to remember something" he sighs in relief. "It was all a set-up by those bitches and their gang" he continues.

Silence hits me and regret began to overwhelm me. "So, Micaela is innocent?" I mumbled.

"Yes buddy, she is innocent. She was only a victim of that mysterious plotting against you two. I'm very sure she suffered the same way as you did all these years. Why did you think she wanted to take her life that day you saved her from doing so?"

"She never told me the reason behind it" came my reply. I knew she was hiding something but I couldn't tell what she was hiding.

"It's because she was too guilty to have seen you again after those years that have gone by. She wasn't just guilty that she ruined your life, but she was also in love with you. She couldn't tell you because she was afraid of losing you when you eventually found out about the past" Antonio explained and I felt guiltier.

"That lady told me there wasn't a day that went by in her life that she didn't think of you. She was worried about you especially when she found out you remained a bachelor because of your past. She was so tired of all the secrets and guilt that she wanted to commit suicide just so she can rest in peace, but then you saved her and that made her fall in love with you all over again".

"And I also fell deeply in love with her" I muttered incoherently but I guess Antonio did hear me.

"I know you still love her, Fernando. You even love her more now that you know she is carrying your child" he said quietly and took a sit beside me.

"How did you even know that?" I snorted hiding my excitement at hearing him talk about my unborn child.

"Because I know you so well, brother. We've been friends forever. Even as we speak, I can see your eyes lit up with happiness as I mentioned your baby" he chuckles and grabs the glass of whiskey on the table and had a sip of it.

"Fine, you win! I'm thrilled to know I'll be a dad soon" I flashed him a smile and he chuckles loudly.

"Congratulations man! I'm happy for you! At last, I'll be a godfather".

"Thanks. But I don't think Micaela is ready to have my child after everything I've done to her. I think she is going to get rid of that child without my permission" I gave a sad frown.

I regret all that I said in the hospital about her taking care of the baby with Antonio acting as the father.

"No doubt you treated her bad, you even told her you don't care if she was carrying your child when you got to find out at the hospital. Not just that, the whole drama that happened today is enough reason to put her off too".

"How did you expect me to react when all along I thought she deliberately raped me? If you were in my shoes you would have acted the same way or even worst. About the drama you are talking about that happened today, I don't have anything to do with that lady. I barely know her or maybe I do know her!"

"Tell me what I need to know, who is that lady?"

"I told you already I don't know her that well. Is some lady I kissed for an experiment a month or two ago".

"You mean the same lady you told me you kissed one morning just to clear out your feelings with Micaela?"

"Exactly, the same one, bro! Now she showed up out of the blue and wants to have revenge on me. Ever since that last kiss incident, today was the second time I'd set my eyes on her".

"Did she say something like she likes you and wants you two to be together?"

"Not at all. The crazy girl didn't say that. She only kissed me and told me it's revenge for what I did to her and I should wait till my wife finds out about us".

"Looks like she was all out on you. She must have thought you and your wife were still together after the stunt you made on TV. I guess that's where she found your location too. Maybe she is just after ruining your marriage which is already ruined".

"Don't talk about my marriage like that!" I shunned him with a glare. Why do I feel so angry to hear my marriage is ruined when in fact I'm the one that ruined it though?

"I'm sorry. What are you going to do with the lady now?".

"She is the least of my worries right now. The most important situation to worry about is how to get Raphael and his crew arrested for what they did to us, that's one. Secondly, how to get back my ex-wife and my unborn child to live with me is another of my worries. Any other thing is not worth stressing over than these two things" I replied and took a sip of my whiskey.

"So, what's the plan? Or should I say I have an idea on how we can get Raphael and his gang including Claudia".

"Tell me about your plan" I gestured for him to continue and I listened attentively as he speaks. "Do you think your plan would work?" I ask after hearing what he had in mind.

"Yes, it will".

"Then I'm in, just tell me what you need to make that bastard pay for his crime".

"The thing is...." He was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone. "Please excuse me I have to pick up this call," he said and I gestured for him to go ahead. "Hello Sabrina, I just thought of you now".

The name rang a bell in my head and I was curious to know if it was the same Sabrina I knew.

"You mean you are speaking to the same Sabrina you and I know?" I whisper and he nods, "What is she saying? What does she want? Is my wife okay?" I asked hastily and Antonio hush me.

"Okay, I think this needs to be placed on speaker so he'll hear you," he said to the phone and did exactly what he has said.

"Hey, you freaking jerk face, asshole, douchebag! You dare had the guts to break my sister's heart! I'm going to cut your balls off and feed them to the vultures when I lay my eyes on you!" She blabs.

Antonio snorted while I rolled my eyes. "Stop blabbing, you can't do a thing to me" I tried to provoke her and Antonio gave me that warning look.

"You son of a bitch! I'll get to see you soon, just wait and see!"

"Those are just mare threats, you are too weak to....."

"Do not pay attention to him, Sabrina, he is only trying to get you pissed" Antonio cuts me off and I snorted.

"Let him bring it on, I'm sure when he sees me he wouldn't speak to me the same way he is doing right now!"

"Just calm down Sabrina, Fernando is not asking for a fight with you nor with his wife".

"Ex-wife you meant to say" she corrected my best friend and I growled.

"I'm serious Sabrina, Fernando is sorry for all that he did to your friend or sister whichever way you address her. And that is why....."

"Hold on a sec, did he ask you to tell me that?"

"No, I didn't ask him to say that. I'll love to say it in person to Micaela not to you, but...."

"But your ego wouldn't let you do that!" She intruded on me.

"Okay, calm down Sabrina, I know you are angry at my best friend but there's something you need to know. Let's not banter words anymore, I'm sure you have a reason for calling and I also have something to discuss with you which was why I said earlier that I just thought of you before your call came in".

"Fine, just because of you I'll be calm. You are right though, I have a reason for calling but maybe you should go first. What was it you wanted to discuss with me?"

Antonio shared a glance with me and I shrugged in response and mouthed a 'what' to him. He returned his gaze to the phone and cleared his throat.

"Sabrina, you are going to be our spy" Antonio announced.

"What!" Sabrina and I exclaimed in unison.

Spy? What spy? What the hell is he talking about?

"You'll be paid 1 million dollars if you....."

"I'm in!" She hastily answered without listening to the rest of Antonio's sentence. Women and money, the relationship is just too bonded to even try to separate them.

"Great! You are hired! You'll be given details as to what and who you'll be spying on. Is that clear?"

"Yes Sir!" she answered enthusiastically.

"Goodbye for now," Antonio said and hangs up. His face beams up with a smile and I raised a confused brow at him.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"You are about to find out" he chuckles and taps me on my right shoulder. "Get ready, we have a lot of work to do" he winks at me and grabs a bottle of my whiskey, and had a sip.

What is he up to now? Who is Sabrina going to spy on?

~~~~***~~~~

Antonio's POV

A few days later, Sabrina flew to Madrid for her spy training. I hired a spymaster to put her through everything she needed to know as a spy.

Slowly, days turned into weeks and Sabrina became better at becoming a spy for us.

My best friend and I made peace with each other and began working together again. Everything seemed to be falling in place not until Sabrina and I embarked on our mission.

Sabrina surprised Fernando and me when she turned down our offer of 1 million dollars. She realized it was her friend's innocence she was going to defend and refused to accept payment for it.

A month later, I sent her to spy on Claudia in Cartagena where she was last seen, while I carried out my spy on Raphael.

I couldn't help but worry over her safety. "Hello Sabrina, how are you? What is the situation over there?"

"It's quite fun here in Cartagena! Your little friend Claudia is a queen B. I thought she must have changed, but Nah, she's the same crazy bitch who framed up my best friend years ago. She's got a little boyfriend here even when she is married to some wealthy dude" she replied and I can envision her with a smug as she said that.

"I guess it's finally time to confront her, you know what you are meant to do, right?" I ask.

"Certainly! I'm very much ready to screw her over".

"Please do all I asked from you, don't go and do otherwise. No matter what, do not touch her..."

"Of course, I'm not going to touch her, who the hell is she that I'll want to touch her?"

"That's not what I meant Sabrina. I meant to say don't hit her even though she gets offensive by her words or her attitude when you get to meet her. Understood?"

"Just pray I get the self-control to listen to her say trash to me about my friend. Because if I lose that self-control, I don't mind..."

"Sabrina! I beg you, don't screw our plans" I cut her off. Jeez! This girl is just too stubborn and temperamental.

"Okay, fine! I won't touch her, I promise".

"Thank you. I've got to go now, Raphael just arrived with a group of guys at a bar. I need to follow them now, I'll talk to you later".

"Okay. Please be careful, that jerk isn't so friendly from the pictures I've seen of him".

"You have nothing to worry about, I'll be fine. You too, take care of yourself".

"Bye for now," she said and we both hung up the call.

These past couple of weeks has been a back-and-forth trip to the US for me. My wife was almost beginning to suspect I'm meeting up with another lady not until Fernando was able to convince her into believing it was working all along that took me to the states.

During this period, I've gotten much information about Raphael. It turns out he is smuggling drugs despite the fact his father handover the construction company to him.

No one knew what he was doing behind their back, not even his dad. If such secrets get to leak out, he'll no longer be the heir of his father's company and most of his business partners will retreat from doing business with him.

This was exactly the weakness I wanted to use on him if he doesn't comply. I put on my hoodie and walked to the bar. It's showtime, yeah? Let's see how this goes, I hope everything works as planned.

As usual, Raphael and his friends were in a secluded room in the bar. I sighted two black bags on the table and they were all seated surrounding the table. His drug dealers friends were five in number while he and his bodyguard I suppose made them seven in total. Each one of them with his cigarette.

I took photos of them from a distance and I waited for them to open the two bags. In a short while, they opened up the bags and it reveals what was inside. One contains a bunch of dollars while the second bag contains packs of drugs.

"I knew that this guy was doing something shady. My suspicion of him involving in drug dealing wasn't wrong after all" I muttered to myself. "Some things never change, he grew up to be a gangster and a drug dealer after all" I mumbles aloud and snorted.

"Shhhh! What was that?" One of the guys asks the others and I immediately went into hiding.

Shit! I think they heard my voice. You are just so loud Antonio! I almost beat myself up for making a sound.

"What, Carly? Did you hear something?" I heard a voice ask and I knew that was Raphael's voice. It hasn't changed that much from that of high school.

"I think I did, someone is here with us" the guy answered and the next I heard was cocking guns.

"Damnit!" I cursed under my breath and dig out my gun from my jacket pocket. I think I'm screwed right now, if those bastards come looking for me they'll kill me. What should I do now?

"Who is there? Stop hiding and show your damn face!" One of the guys growled and I shuddered in fear. His voice sounded scary and intimidating compared to mine.

For crying out loud I'm an attorney, not an FBI agent or CIS. I don't have the skills to take down all these criminals in this room. What am I to do now?

I was gripped with suffocation and panic. Seconds went by before I slide my gun back into my jacket.

Like a scared child, I yelled, "Please don't shoot!" with hands above my head, I emerged from my hiding.

All their guns were pointed in my direction.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?!" The same guy who I had suspected I was invading their privacy asked.

"Please don't shoot, I'm not armed. I'm just here to see my longtime friend named Raphael" I squirmed on my feet.

You have no idea how scared I am right now, these guys are not the type to mess around with. The looks on their faces are really scary, they might blow my head off any minute and they won't feel bad about it.

The only person who can save me now is Raphael, if he can admit to me being his friend then these guys won't be a threat anymore.

"Boss, do you know this dude?" One of the guys asked glancing from Raphael to me.

Raphael and I met gaze for a moment and I swear I was begging God to touch this asshole's heart not to screw me over to his gang. One, two, three, four...ten...fifteen...thirty...forty-five...

"Everyone put your guns down, that dude over there is Antonio, my Highschool mate!" Raphael announced after forty-five seconds of me counting.

Surprisingly, he lowered his gun and others followed suit.

I heave a heavy sigh of relief and muttered, "Thank you, sweet Jesus".

"Although he isn't my friend-" he added shortly after I said that.

My heart sank that instant and I gave up the little hope he had given me seconds ago. I couldn't find the voice to say something to him, it was as if all my confidence disappeared into thin air.

"I do know him. Long time no see Antonio, to what do I owe this surprise visit?" He broke the deafening silence smirking at me.

I guess he is just messing with me, son of a bitch. "Hello Raphael, it's been ages bro. You and I have a lot to talk about in private" I responded finding my confidence back again and forcing out a stiff smile.

He chuckles in response and shared a glance with his drug partners. "First you intruded on some business deal I was having-" as he said that my gaze fell to the table.

I noticed the bags I've been zipped up. Smart moves isn't it?

"Now you are asking me to send them away just to have a meaningless conversation with you? Are you sick in the head? When did we become friends?" he continues.

"Chill bro, I'm not here for trouble. I only came here to discuss something important with you which is appropriate to your ears only. But if you want others to hear about it then I'll go ahead and spill it all out. I'm here concerning what happened thirteen years ago with Fernando Perez, you remember how you....."

"That's enough!" he quiets me and I hide my smirks. "You all should excuse us, the business meeting is over" he continues glancing from one face to another.

"But boss we are just starting when this asshole worked in" one of them objected.

"Shut the fuck up and leave! I am the boss here, not you!"

They all shot him brutal glares before leaving. Or maybe not all of them, one of the guys I'd suspected to be his bodyguard stayed back.

"Are you deaf or something? I said you all should leave! I don't need your services at the moment, I can take care of myself".

"Yes, boss" he bowed and exited the room leaving just the both of us alone.

"Finally, we are alone. Let me first thank you for saving my life from the hands of your notorious friends" I flashed him a smile and took a sit.

"Don't think just because I spared your life a minute ago then that would make me not blow your head off right this minute, Antonio! Now, cut to the chase and tell me what brought you here. What is it about thirteen years ago you want to talk about?"

"I guess you already know but I'll like to remind you. You, Raphael, invited us to a party just to have my best friend to be raped. You planned with Claudia and drugged our drinks and then you two carried out your plans on Fernando and Micaela".

"That's not new" he snorted and shrugged. "Did you just figure that out?"

"Not really, I knew you planned it all out but I never knew Claudia was also involved. Both of you are so mean, you caused those two innocent people to suffer almost all their life. Do you have any idea the trauma and nightmares they went through over all these years?"

"How's that my fucking business?! I don't care if they enjoyed it or not back then, that's not my problem, okay?"

"Of course, it is your problem! I can't believe you are still the same heartless teenage boy I knew back in high school! You don't even feel remorse for what you did!"

"Shut your damn mouth or I'll blow off your head!" he snarls and pointed his gun at my head.

"Let me tell you something, that gun doesn't scare me one bit! You should be the one to be scared because your life is going to be ruined sooner than you expected. You are going to face the law as the culprit of a rape incident you planned with your gangs!"

"Stop talking nonsense. You don't even have any proof that I did that" he replied and put the gun down.

"That's what you think. How about I show you this?" I dig out my phone and showed him different pictures of himself and his drug dealing partners.

"You see this right here? If you keep denying that you weren't involved in the sexual abuse of Fernando and Micaela, I'm going to get these pictures leaked to the world and you'll see how your father's company which he had built for such a long time will fall within a flash" I threatened and his eyes dilated.

"Have you been stalking me?" He asks and I shrugged in response. "You son of a bitch!" he sneers to my face and I shuddered at his aggressiveness.

"I have two options for you. One, you'll plead guilty and serve a few years of jail terms, or two, you'll have to apologize to Fernando and Micaela including myself for what you did years ago and we will forgive you and not file any lawsuit against you. The choice is all yours, bro".

"There's no fucking way any of those options is happening. You are not leaving here alive, Antonio. You took the wrong step by coming to me!" He cocked his gun and placed it directly to my head. "Go ahead and say your last prayers before I kill you right now!"

My eyes widen and my whole body went numb. I think I've passed my limit in this attorney journey. If I die today, I guess I'll be remembered as a hero for fighting for justice for my best friend. I shut my eyes closed and began saying my last prayers.