#TPTG35

"Don't worry mom. I'll visit you again okay? Please, be strong. I'll do everything to get you out of here. You won't be staying here for long hm? Trust me," I said

Today, I visited my mother in prison. We were outside under the sun and I could also see all the other prisoners too.

"I will Fey. Magpapakatatag ako para sa'tin," she smiled weakly

I held her hand on the table. "Are you hurt? Wala naman bang ibang nananakit dito sa'yo?" I said referring to the other prisoners.

Who knows what type of person they are. Some are dangerous and have committed a serious crime. I get anxious dahil baka may nanakit na sa kanya.

Umiling siya. "No. If there is, I won't let them hurt me."

I smiled weakly. I know she's trying so hard to be strong right now. I admire his strenghth. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now. Baka hindi ko kayanin.

"Mom..." I called softly

She looked at me with sorrowful eyes and my heart crushed into a million pieces.

"What's w-wrong?"

Yumuko siya. "Wala naman. Naisip ko lang yung kaibigan mo na si Keith na prosecutor."

I bit my lips suppressing my tears. "He's not my friend mom."

She slowly nodded, deeply hurt as I am. I didn't want to go any further 'cause it will only open more wounds.

"Hindi na siya yung nakilala mo noon."

Her forehead creased but I can still see the pain behind her eyes. "He was a good man.."

I looked away so she couldn't see me in the verge of breaking down. "Nung mga panahon na nakatira pa ako sa mansion, those were the days where I felt trapped. It never felt like home. I felt that I had been fighting my own battles alone. That I had no one. Parang wala akong choice kundi tumayo sa sarili kong paa..."

That time I felt like I was in my lowest moment in my entire life. I was still young back then...and I get hurt easily. Hindi naman kasi ako matapang na tao...nagtatapang tapangan lang ako. My heart is young, fragile, and vulnerable...but I had to show everyone that I'm strong. I had to show that I'm not affected of how much hate they threw on me because if I did, magmumukha akong mahina.

"I'm sorry Fey. Alam kong ang dami kong pagkukulang sa'yo bilang ina at sana mapatawad mo ko. You didn't deserve to go through that. I failed to protect you...I failed as a mother," her voice broke

I shook my head. "No mom. Naiintindihan kita. I know you've been through a lot as well. I have already forgiven you."

I still have a lot of things to say to her but I don't know where to start. I have many things to apologize for. Alam kong nasaktan ko din siya.

I know she's sacrificed a lot for the family. I just failed to acknowledge that. I was consumed by anger and resentment that I forgot that she's also going through so much.

"You are my strength mom. If it wasn't for you then I wouldn't have come this far," I said. "I'm saying this to you para patatagin ka. Ang dami na nating pinagdaanan, ngayon pa ba tayo susuko? We should fight together, alright?"

She leaned forward to me and wiped my tears away. I smiled weakly and held her hand.

"You've grown strong and mature Fey. I'm proud of you.."

"I got it from you."

She sighed and looked away.

"I know you still have a lot of things to say to me but let's reserve that kapag nakalaya ka na. For now, I want you to be strong...for me...for us," I encourage her

She nodded and looked at me again. "I trust you Fey."

Umayos na ako ng tayo. "The first court hearing will start tomorrow. I want you to prepare. The Guevarra's are gonna be there. The whole clan might. We need to be strong or else we won't stand a chance. Hindi lang basta bastang tao ang kaharap natin."

I'll do the best of my abilities to prove my mother's innocence but I'll also show to them that justice is not only for the rich and powerful. Papatunayan ko sa kanila na may laban din kami.

***

I was in the middle of working on my mother's case when I heard a knock from my office. Bumukas ang pinto at tumambad sa'kin si Christian.

"Yes? Atty. De Guzman?" I asked

"Sorry to interrupt you Attorney. I know you've been working on your mother's case but I just want to know if you heard about this," he said while holding a laptop

Kumunot ang noo ko. "What is it?"

I removed the papers from my desk as he placed his laptop on it. I saw an article regarding my mother's case.

"I knew that the news would blow up. The whole nation knows about it. Kilala nila si mama na asawa ng governor. Natural lang na talagang pag-uusapan iyon ng mga tao. You know how much involved the people are in politics especially the youth," I said

"Yeah. I know but there's a video that trended about the governor speaking up the said case...and it's seems like he's claiming and spreading to everyone that your mother has intended to kill Archie. He's claiming that your mom is already guilty and doesn't need to face the court. Gusto niya agad na ikulong siya."

My eyes widened upon seeing the video. I haven't watched it yet but it says that it's trending in the country. I scrolled down and saw the overwhelming amount of comments from the netizens.

Bumalik ako sa taas at pinlay ang video.

"I believe that this shall end soon. I appreciate all your concerns and prayers to my dear nephew Archie. Saksi ako kung gaaano niya tinaguyon ang pagiging secretary niya sa pulitiko kahit sa maiksing panahon. Marami siyang naiambag sa bansa natin at hindi natin iyon dapat kalimutan."

"Governor! Ano po ang masasabi niyo ukol kay Ms. Cervantez na ngayon ay under custody na. Masasabi niyo bang mabibigyan ng hustisya ang pagkamatay ni Sec. Archie Fernandez II?" tanong ng isang reporter

"Yes. She deserves to rot in jail sa ginawa niyang pagpatay sa pagpatay sa pamangkin ko. She has no excuse. I've seen what happened. I know she intended to kill him..."

"Paano niyo po nasabi?" agad na sabi ng reporter

"Because she's a crazy woman! Baka may sakit siya sa utak. She just used me. Gusto niya lang ng pera at kapangyarihan. When I found about it, I kicked her out of the house and now she's taking revenge on me! On my family. Hindi niya alam kung hindi dahil sa'kin eh hindi siya kikilatisin ng sambayanan."

I slowly clenched my fist in anger. How dare he say that to my mother! Wala talaga siyang puso. He's a fucking monster!

Atty. De Guzman fast forwarded the video until I heard the closing statement of the governor.

"To my dear nephew Sen. Archie Fernandez II who's now in heaven. I'll make sure your death will not be in vain. He's a good person. He always has been. He didn't deserve to die in a cruel way. Alam kong hindi pa niya panahon. He's still young afterall, marami pa siyang gustong patunayan."

Good person? Nakakasuka.

They are the evil ones. They are wolves dressed in a sheep's clothing. Masyado silang nagmamalinis. They act like they never commit crimes.

"Naniniwala ako na mabibigyan din ng hustisya ang lahat. To all the viewers watching, hinihingi ko po ng buong puso ang inyong mga dasal at simpatya. Isipin niyo din ho ang dinanas ng pamilya ng pamangkin ko. They are still grieving upon their son's death. We are humbly asking for your prayers."

Christian paused the video. Napamura siya at nanatiling nakatayo sa tabi ko.

Nakakuyom padin ang kamao ko habang nakatingin sa video. My blood boils everytime I see his face. Nakita ko kung paano pa siya umiyak habang nagsasalita. Halatang nagpapaawa.

Unti-unti akong umiling. "This is all political gaslighting," I said and slammed my fist on the table

He's manipulating the people. One of his expertise. Come to think about it, I've been manipulated by him for a long time and I didn't even noticed it until now.

"He's trying to earn the sympathy of the audience and he claimed that my mom killed Archie because she's crazy? Saan niya naman nakuha ang gano'ng klaseng rason?!"

Until now, I don't even know how he ended up in politics with that brain of his. He's the crazy one. His claims were subjective and irrational.

What I meant is that these politicians or media personalities are concealing their true intentions while still trying to appeal to a base in favor of the policy using convenient information which may or may not be factually correct.

"The video received backlash from the public," he said while scrolling down to the comment section. "Here, look at the comments."

Is he in the right mind? Why would he claim that the woman is already guilty? Does he have strong evidence to prove it?

Ang dali lang talaga sa kanilang paikutin ang mga tao.

Tama lang na mamatay yung Secretary. Wala naman siyang naimbag.

The woman deserves to go to jail! Walang mamatay tao na pwedeng makawala.

Ya'll people are sick! Kung makapanghusga kayo ng tao akala mo kung sino. We don't know the truth yet so we have no right to jump to conclusions.

The reports may be misleading. Remember, ang daming kaso na naging isolated case because of the incompetency of the police. We are not sure if it's murder or not. We can't really affirm if the said woman is guilty or innocent. Let's get our facts straight shall we?

The media is indeed a scary platform. It can go terribly wrong depending on the issue. We can't really reprimand them. They have the right to voice out their opinions but sometimes, it can get out of hand. Maslalo na mabigat ang issue na pinaguusapan nila.

"I don't know which side they are. Parang halos lahat ay sa governor. Don't they remember that Sec. Archie had a dirty past before? He had crime records and was once in jail but he eventually got out of it...and don't even get me started with the governor himself," he said

Everyone has something to hide. They have skeletons inside their closet. I don't think that no one has a completely clean reputation.

"And because of that, people are now questioning their own memory and judgement," dagdag niya

It's hard to understand if you're being manipulated as well. Sa sobrang daming rumors at fake news, misleading reports, hindi na natin alam kung ano ba talaga yung totoo.

"I don't care which side they take. I'm don't want to read any comments anymore. Please remove that away from me," I said and crossed my arms over my chest. Christian immediately removed his laptop from the desk.

As much as possible, I try to stay away from social media. It won't even help me with my mother's case. Their opinions, assumptions, claims, they don't matter to me. It's all just distractions. Wala naman akong makukuhang ebidensiya sa mga salita nila para patunayan na inosente ang mama ko.

"You know self-defense are the hardest cases to defend. It can only apply to specific circumstances. It's risky and if we don't have sufficient evidence to prove that's it's actually self-defense then the chances are slim that we'll win the case," he said

"Right that's why we must first establish the presence of an unlawful aggression on the part of the victim. Archie inflicted a severe wound on my mother and based on my her statement, he tried to choke her to death. She left with no choice but to kill him or else she'd die. Without being said, the case will be justified homicide."

"There's still have a lot of elements to prove if it's really self-defense but I'm sure will fall into place," he said

I sighed and massaged my head.

"I'll continue to investigate further of the case Fey. Maipapanalo natin 'to." Nagkatinginan kami ni Christian

I nodded. "Yes we can."

***

After work, nakipagkita ako kay Nicholas at may ibinalita siya sa'kin.

"The autopsy report came out and it is certain that a gunshot was the cause of his death," Nicholas said

I thoroughly scanned at the folders of the autopsy report.

"Something is very suspicious. May nadiskubre ako sa autopsy niya."

Kunot noo akong tumingin sa kanya. "What is it?"

"Archie owns the gun right? The bullet that was found on his body is also the same bullet na natagpuan sa katawan ni Joel..."

I blinked twice while staring at him. "So someone killed him? It wasn't suicide? He didn't jump off the building?"

If that's the case then my suspicion is right.

"Yes. You were right Attorney. No one saw what happened but that small evidence is enough to know who did it."

"Archie may own the gun...pero pwede ding hindi siya yung mismong pumatay."

"Possibly...He could have hired someone to do so. Pwedeng siya din mismo," seryoso niyang sabi

This is stressing me out. Sumasakit na ang ulo ko kakaisip. There's still missing puzzle pieces that I can't seem to connect.

"Isa pa ay...walang cctv footage na natagpuan sa opisina kung saan nangyari ang insidente."

My jaw dropped. "What? It can't be. Alam kong meron cctv doon."

That bastard! He must have deactivated it so that it can't be traced as evidence. He must have planned all of this...to kill my mother.

"Attorney! Watch out!"

I was about to speak when he suddenly grabbed my arm and we both landed on the ground. Nakayuko kaming dalawa. He was covering my body. Nakarinig ako ng sigaw ng mga tao sa paligid.

"Okay ka lang?" agad niyang sabi

Tumango ako at dali-dali niya akong tinulungan patayo. He held my arm to lift me up. "Kailangan na nating umalis dito."

The next thing I knew, we were running towards his car. We're in the middle of a street surrounded by tall buildings everywhere. Where did that bullet come from? Tumingin ako sa paligid para hanapin kung saan nanggaling ang ligaw na bala. The civillians were panicking and running around everywhere. All of us were shocked.

I noticed that my knees were scraped. My hands were bruised too but I ignored it.

I screamed when I heard another gunshot. Nakita kong natamaan ng bala ang kotse niya.

Fuck. This is no longer an accident. Someone is trying to kill me. I don't know where or who it is. My life is in danger. Everyone around me is.

Nicholas covered my head and guided me towards the car. Sabay kaming pumasok at agad niyang pinaandar ang kotse.

"Are you okay?!" agad kong tanong

He nodded while breathing heavily. "Yeah."

Oh, thank God! I thought for a second he shot by the bullet.

He was driving fast. I held the cardoor handle for support.

"It was a sniper. I saw someone in one of the buildings."

I gulped. I can't seem to calm myself down. I'm still in a state of shock!

"T-thanks for saving me..." I stuttered

He has a sharp eye. I'll give him that. If it wasn't for him, I'd be found on the street, swimming in my own blood.

He glanced at me to check if I was alright. Hindi nagtagal ay sumeryoso ulit ang mukha niya. He clenched his jaw and his hand tightened on the steering wheel.

"Are you still receiving death threats?"

I clenched my fist. "It's inevitable...for a job like mine."

My eyes were fixed on the road. I'm still in shock but anger consumed me more.

They just won't stop the killings.