Chapter 51

I received a call from Vito asking me kung may kinalaman ba ako sa pagkalat ng balita tungkol kay Arthur Villamontes. True to Lui's words, maraming tiktok videos ang biglang nagsulputan. Most of them were true... the others were exaggerations. I told Lui that we should be as truthful as possible; he said that he didn't instruct them to do that, but that maybe that's for the better. After all, who doesn't love shock value?

"Is Assia okay?" tanong ko sa kanya. As much as I didn't want her to be involved, she's right in the middle of it, too. Kung hindi rin naman dahil sa kanya ay hindi iingay nang ganito iyong kaso. It was even because of the major stunt that Vito pulled kaya maraming naka-alam sa kaso na 'to.

"Not really, but she'll be fine," he replied. "Just... take care, okay?"

"I will."

"Lui, too."

"Tell him yourself."

"Can't get ahold of him," sagot ni Vito. I bit my tongue because I knew I shouldn't tell him. Sa mga documents na nabasa ko, alam ko na madadamay at madadamay si Sancho. Alam ko na kaibigan ni Vito si Lui, pero alam ko na mas close siya kay Sancho. I just didn't want to put him in the middle of it.

But they've been friends for a long time now... surely alam ni Vito iyong tungkol sa pamilya ni Sancho. He shouldn't blame Lui and I kung siya naman talaga ang nagsimula nito.

After my brief conversation with Vito, mabilis akong nag-ayos. I would be formally filing the case today. Fina-fucking-ly. Parang isang dekada ang hinintay ko para lang magawa 'to.

Lui and I debated kung kailan i-fa-file iyong kaso. I told him na mas maunang i-file kaysa sa online smear campaign niya. But even before I could defend my stance, he reminded me of all the times I was silenced. He told me that it's better for the general public to hear about the case first and make a noise about it. Kapag maingay na, at saka ako sumama sa ingay. Hindi kagaya noon na ako lang ang nag-iingay kaya mabilis akong mapa-tahimik.

Sometimes... his mind scares me.

What I'd give to open his brain and see what's going on in there.

It felt like forever since I wore something formal. I wore my black checkered pantsuit and paired it with my cream colored French pointed heels. I straightened my hair and applied light makeup assigned from my red lips. And of course iyong binigay sa akin na relo ni Lui.

Life's been stressful lately, but it didn't mean that I have to look stressed.

Paglabas ko pa lang sa unit ko ay nakita ko na agad iyong security team na kinuha ni Lui para sa akin. I heard they're ex-special forces. Kung paano sila nakilala ni Lui? I didn't even want to know. I just gave them a brief nod. I didn't like people following me, but I also didn't want to give Lui additional headache. Least I could do for him was cooperate.

The ride was awfully quiet. I turned on the radio at pumunta sa AM station. Tama nga talaga si Lui. Pinag-uusapan doon iyong kumakalat na balita tungkol kay Villamontes. There was a speculation tungkol sa mga kasabwat doon. I mean, they were right. If they had the guts to gun down a vehicle full of people, you'd wonder kung saan sila naka-kuha ng lakas ng loob... kung sino ang back-up nila sa gobyerno na 'to.

They'd be surprised... or even frightened kung makikita nila kung sinu-sino ang kasama dito.

"Thank you," sabi ko nung salubungin ako ni Julia.

This was a murder case. Public prosecutor should be the one trying this. I thought I had to persuade her to recommend having a private prosecutor. I was so surprised nung ni hindi ko na siya kailanganing pilitin pa.

"It wasn't really much of a choice," sagot niya sa akin. I slightly arched my brow. "They know it'll be a big mess. They want their hands to remain clean."

I gave a slight scoff. "Why am I not even surprised?" sagot ko.

Sa mga ganito talaga, wala kang kaibigan. Tama na naman si Lui—everything's transactional. Parang dati lang ay iyong boss ko pa ang nagtatakip kay Villamontes... tapos ngayon ay binigay niya na lang sa akin iyong kaso dahil ayaw niyang madamay.

"Good luck, Tali," sabi niya sa akin. "Really. Good luck."

"You're not secretly praying for my downfall?" I asked, half-kidding, half-serious.

Umiling siya. "No," sagot niya sa akin. "I know I made a lot of questionable decisions before... but I read the complaints again. I was wrong. I can't believe Arthur managed to convince me that they were all liars."

I just gave Julia a small nod. What should I even tell her? That she did a good job? She's a prosecutor. It's her job to prosecutor the ones who violate the law. She let Arthur take advantage of the fact that they're friends. It's not a simple lapse of judgment dahil kahit nung patay na patay pa ako kay Lui, alam ko kapag may mali siya. I'd love him and at the same time call him out.

I could never just love blindly.

Sabay kaming pumasok ni Julia sa loob. She told me that she held off and delayed the case as long as she possibly could. Hindi rin niya alam na involved si Lui dito. I mean, alam naman ata ng lahat na may galit ako sa mga Villamontes. For all I care, they see me as a woman with personal vendetta. They're right. This was personal to me.

There was nothing grand that happened. We merely filed the motion para maging private prosecutor ako sa kaso. Paglabas namin, walang mga reporter na sumalubong. I knew that this was just the calm before the storm... but how badly I wanted the storm to come already. I wanted to stand in the middle of it.

"I guess the rumors are true," sabi ko nang maka-salubong ko si Iñigo. He was looking at me like he'd rather be anywhere in the world. I understood the feeling... but at the same time, kagaya ng laging sinasabi ni Lui, may choice tayong lahat.

"Hi," he said instead. "I heard a lot about you."

"Likewise," I replied.

It was... weird. Back in law school, of course I heard about him. Maliit lang naman ang mundo namin. I knew that one way or another, magkikita at magkikita rin kami ng mga naka-sama o naka-inuman ko dati sa mga party. Pero nakaka-tawa lang talaga na dito pa kami magkikita. To think na alam ko na kaibigan niya rin sina Vito.

I didn't know what Iñigo and I were doing. He wasn't saying a word, but I felt like I almost heard an apology come from his lips.

"This is just work," he said like he was trying to justify himself and his choices.

"Sure is," I replied.

He knew.

I knew.

We both knew.

"We know you're behind the smear campaign," sabi niya.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure," sagot niya. "But a cyber libel case will be filed."

"Come on now. It's only cyber libel if it's false."

I was looking at him. Every expression on his face was controlled. Iyon siguro ang pinagkaiba naming dalawa. He's so controlled habang kitang-kita sa mukha ko lahat ng nararamdaman ko.

"Here I thought you're smart," sabi niya habang naka-tingin sa akin at bahagyang naka-ngiti. "No criminal case was ever filed against Villamontes. And he's already dead—cannot be tried in the court of law. Anything from hereon is just speculation. You perfectly know that we can file cyber libel against each and every one of those vloggers. I'll bet that at least one of those will tell us kung sino ang may pakana ng lahat."

I didn't know if Lui's arrogance finally rubbed off on me. I just... trust him. I knew that there's no way that could be traced back to us.

"I honestly expected a lot from you," sagot ko sa kanya. "And you'll actually do me a favor by putting the spotlight in this case."

I saw him adjusting his stance. For a second, he seemed uncomfortable.

"Look, Tali," he said. "Can I call you Tali?"

I shrugged. "Sure," sagot ko. We're basically friends, anyways. He's a friend of a friend of a friend. This fucking little world that I live in.

"I've been here before. I do not enjoy doing this. Like before, I will just do my best... and hope that you'll actually do better than me."

Hindi ako nagsalita. Alam ko naman iyong sinasabi niya, but at the same time, my mind couldn't comprehend.

"They know what you're trying to do. They'll involve the Supreme Court since you're trying to question their integrity. They know you're pushing for his name to be removed from the roll."

Nanatali akong tahimik. What? Did he expect me to confess to the crimes I am committing? If any, I was doing the world a favor by having his name stricken off the roll of attorneys. Mabawasan man lang ng kahit isa iyong mga kriminal doon.

"What you're doing is admirable, but it is incredibly stupid—"

"Your sentiment is appreciated, but can we stick to the case?" sagot ko sa kanya.

"You can be suspended if you push for this," he said, stubbornly insisting to remain on the topic. "All I'm saying is choose your battle, Tali. This isn't worth being suspended."

I bit my tongue.

What the heck did he know about what's worthy for me?

"Focus on the criminal case."

"I will," sagot ko.

Then there was a stretch of silence.

Iñigo was looking at me like he was trying to communicate something with his eyes. Naka-tingin ako sa kanya at naghihintay sa susunod niyang sasabihin. Seconds passed by painfully slow. He said nothing. He began walking but as soon as our paths crossed, I clearly heard him say, "They know where you're hiding the witness."

Agad na bumilis iyong tibok ng puso ko. Gusto kong kunin iyong cellphone ko para tawagan si Lui, pero halos hindi ko magawa iyon dahil sa panginginig ng mga kamay ko.

Each second that passed without him answering my call felt like a stab in my chest.

I was almost tempted to use the stairs dahil sa tagal ng pagdating ng elevator. Hindi pa rin sumasagot si Lui. What the hell could he be doing para hindi siya sumagot sa tawag ko?!

I knocked like I was attempting to break down the door. Nang buksan niya iyon ay mabilis akong pumasok. I pushed him by his chest.

"Why didn't you answer my call?!" sigaw ko sa kanya at saka ko lang napansin na mukhang galing siya sa pagligo dahil tanging twalya lang iyong nasa bewang niya.

Instead of answering, he looked behind me like he was signaling them that they could leave dahil nandito naman ako sa condo niya.

"I was in the shower," he told me as soon as I heard the door behind me close. "Why are you here? Tapos ka ng magfile?" he asked.

My heart was still beating quickly inside my chest. I looked at him again. He's here. He's alive.

Lui handed me a glass of water like he knew that I was having a hard time breathing. He looked at me and waited until I was calm. And then I averted my gaze.

"Put on some clothes," I told him.

"Nothing you haven't seen before, but sure," he replied as he walked towards his room. Tahimik akong naka-tayo doon habang hawak pa rin iyong baso ng tubig. I was holding it like I was holding on for dear life.

After a few minutes, Lui emerged from his room fully clothed. He ran his fingers through his damp hair. Even from a distance, I could smell his cologne.

"What happened?" he asked.

Sinabi ko sa kanya iyong nangyari kanina. He had no reaction on his face—almost like he already knew everything that happened and everything that's bound to happen.

"Do you think Iñigo's telling the truth?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Maybe," sagot niya sa akin. "Or he's bluffing. Who fucking knows?"

I looked at him, perplexed at his reaction after I just told him that they know kung nasaan iyong witness namin—iyong nag-iisang witness namin na kasama sa mga bumaril sa van.

"What? He's fine," he said like he's certain that everything's fine. "You will have your witness."

I stared at him once again.

I had no words.

Slowly, fear was creeping in my system.

That this... fight. This was bigger than me. That Lui's right—I had lines I do not cross as compared to them who treat life like it's replaceable. Ano'ng laban ko sa mga ganong klaseng tao?

"We prepared for this—discographies, witnesses, arguments, and all," he said like he saw the chaos that was my mind and he was trying to put out the fire. "The fact that they're trying to threaten means they're on the losing side. You don't threaten when you know you're winning," he continued.

I tried to even my breathing but even that was hard.

"Lui," I called. He looked at me. For a second, there was softness in his eyes. "I feel like I'm way in over my head."

He took a step forward.

I held my breath like I always do when he's around.

"You are," he replied. "But you'll win—this much I can promise you."

**

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