Chapter 58 Xyllas POV All At Once
Xylla's Point Of View
Malapit na mag 3 months si Aria, she's growing up too fast. Hindi ko maisip na kakayanin kong alagaan siya, lalo na at wala naman akong experience sa pagpapalaki or pag-aalaga ng bata.
Yesterday, tumawag si Papa saakin. May pinapahanap siyang pangalan saakin, and nagulat din ako kung sino 'yon. It was Chiara Iris Valenti.
The woman Zarya admires. Ang babaeng nasa kaniya lahat ng wala ako.
Hindi ko rin alam bakit siya pinapahanap ni papa, aalamin ko nalang siguro kapag nakabalik na ako ng Pilipinas.
He is sick, at nanghihina na rin. As much as I want to stay with him, at alagaan siya gaya kung paano niya ako alagaan dati—may mga bagay na hindi ko maiwan lang dito.
I want to be with him, malaki ang utang na loob ko kay papa.
Siya ang tumayong ama ko dahil iniwan ako ng tunay kong tatay, siya rin ang nagpa-aral saakin.
Kaya kahit labag sa loob ko na tawagan si Iris, wala akong choice.
"gutom ka na ba?" I stared at Aria na ngayon ay nakahiga sa kaniyang crib.
Nakabihis siya ngayon, dahil balak ko sanang lumabas kami. Tinawagan ko na rin si ate Sela para samahan kami, at pumayag naman siya.
Laking pasalamat ko lang talaga na nandiyan din si ate Sela kapag kailangn ko ng tulong sa pag-aalaga kay Aria.
After namin mamaya, siguro bibisitahin ko nalang din si Zarya.
Dahil nga nakaready naman na lahat ng gamit namin, I decided na tawagan na ulit si ate Sela kung nasaan na ba siya.
Pero bago ko pa man magawa, ay nag ring na ang cellphone ko. Kinuha ko naman agad at tinignan kung sino ang tumatawag.
It's Zarya's attorney.
Bago pa man umalis si Zarya, sinabi niya na lahat ng mga dapat kong malaman. Kaya iniwan niya saakin ang responsibilidad sa kaso ng ate niya. Patago kasi siyang nagpa imbistiga, kasi kahit naman ako hindi ko hahayaan na basta nalang mamatay si Ate Yana ng walang hustisya.
I quickly answered the phone call, at agad naman nagsalita si Attorney.
"Good morning, miss Russel." Bati niya saakin, seryoso ang tono niya.
"Good morning attorney, do we have any information today?" Tanong ko naman kaagad.
Mabuti nalang at magaling siyang mag english, at nagkakaintindihan kami. Kasi kung hindi, jusko hindi ako marunong mag Italian.
"Sì. And this is a very important information, so we need to meet. As soon as possible." mas lalo pang naging seryoso ang tono niya.
Kinabahan naman ako sa sinabi niya, palagi naman kaming nagkikita para mag-usap. Pero ngayon, parang kakaiba talaga ang naramdaman ko.
"Send me the address, Attorney." agad ko namang sabi.
"Just meet me at my office, please come quick."
Agad ko namang binaba ang tawag, mas lalong bumigat ang naramdaman ko.
Why do I need to go there quickly? at bakit sa office niya talaga? palagi naman kami nagkikita sa mga cafè lang dito, ganon ba talaga kaimportante ang sasabihin niya?
"Xylla?" Narinig kong tawag saakin galing sa labas ng pinto.
Boses ni ate Sela 'yon, kaya agad kong pinagbuksan. Ang ganda ng timing niya, p'wede akong umalis kaagad.
"Ate Sela, aalis po muna ako. Bantayan niyo po muna si Aria, kikitain ko ang abogado ni Zarya." Paalam ko sa kaniya nang makapasok na siya sa condo.
"Ha? Akala ko ba aalis tayo?" I could see the confusion in her face, pero wala na akong panahon para magpaliwanag pa.
"Importante lang po, ikaw na lang muna bahala kay Aria."
Hindi ko naman na hinantay pa ang sagot niya, pinuntahan ko na si Aria na natutulog and I kissed her on the forehead. I quickly grabbed my purse, at ang susi ng sasakyan ni Zarya.
"Mag-ingat ka, iha." Paalala ni ate Sela bago ako lumabas ng condo.
Nginitian ko lang siya at umalis na rin kaagad.
______
"Good morning again, attorney." I greeted him bago pa man ako umupo.
Right after I got here, dumiretso na agad ako sa office niya.
"I won't pro-long this conversation anymore, miss Russel." He started speaking.
"What is it, attorney? Do we have any leads?" I asked.
He opened a folder, at agad na pinakita saakin. Tinuro niya ang isang page, at hindi ko naman mabasa ang nakasulat doon dahil nga Italian.
He tapped the thick folder stamped. "This came in this morning. All the evidence, all the names, and the warrant's already signed. Now we know exactly why they dragged their feet for so long."
Evidences? Warrant? Does this mean...alam na kung sino ang suspect ng papatay sa kanila ni Yana??
Sino?? Who would have done such thing? sino ang mga demonyong gagawa nito??
"Attorney, who is the suspect in Yana's death?" I asked him directly, ayaw ko nang magpaligoy ligoy pa.
He stared at me like he doesn't wanna say it. But he has no choice, he opened another page.
Sa page na 'yon, may dalawang lalaki sa taas. Mukha silang foreigner, they are skinny, at puno ng tattoo.
I stared at them, at hindi ko alam kung sino ang tinititigan ko kaya napatingin na lang ako kay Attorney.
"These are the shooter." Attorney pointed his finger to those two men.
"So these are the men who killed Ate Yana? are they captured?! Are they inside of the cell?! Did the cops—"
"They have been captured, and already in prison." He cut me off immediately.
"So that's it?! They are captured?! Imprisoned?! That's all they got from killing two people?" I sarcastically asked. Hindi ko na napigilan ang galit ko.
"Unfortunately, yes. For now—"
I stared at him in disbelief, ganon ganon lang?! "What?!"
Bakit for now?? So they are just sitting there inside of the cell, and waiting for their meals? I want them punished as soon as possible, dapat maramdaman nila ang ginawa nilang kawalang hiyaan.
"Because there is a master mind." He said, and that broke my thoughts.
Master mind? Ibig sabihin may nag utos talaga na ipapatay sila ate Yana?! For what? At what cost? Sino naman ang gagawa non sa kanila?!
Hindi na ako nakasagot, he just flipped to another page of the folder.
There, I saw a picture of a man. He looks american to me, mukhang mayaman, and professional. He looks familiar pero hindi ko masabi kung paano. I couldn't remember seeing his face pero habang tinitignan ko, parang may nakikita ako sa mukha niya.
I looked at attorney, confused. Agad naman siyang nag flip ng page ulit, and it was still a picture of that same man. Pero may pangalan na.
Putangina??
Eric Valenti.....
Eric Valenti ang pangalan na nakalagay sa ibabaw ng picture niya.
Valenti....
Hindi. Baka kaapilyido lang ni Iris, at baka...baka kamukha lang din niya.
I tried to gaslight myself pero parang mabigat talaga sa pakiramdam.
"Attorney, who is that man?" Tanong ko habang naka kunot ang noo dahil sa pagtataka.
"This is Eric Valenti, the mastermind and the reason behind Mr. Walter, and Miss De Luca's death." He paused for a while, at tinignan ako. Parang may sasabihin siyang hindi maganda. "He is also the father of Isaac Walter."
What?! How...fuck?! If he is the father of Isaac, by all means...ama rin siya ni Iris?? And worst, he ordered to kill his son?? Anak niya mismo? Pinapatay niya??
"What? I...I don't understand, attorney. Why would he do that?!" I shook my head, and looked at him. Gulong gulo talaga ako, kasi bakit naman niya ipapa-patay ang anak niya?
Attorney closed the folder first, and put it aside. Humarap siya ng maiigi saakin, and looked at me like he was about to say some revelations.
"Based on the statement of shooters, Isaac was never part of the shooting plan.
They messed up, and accidentally shoot the tire instead of their real target.
And based on the investigations, Eric Valenti ordered these men as he wanted to get rid of Yana De Luca.
Isaac wanted to leave his family, to raise the child Yana is carrying.
Which is hard to believe because on the autopsy results, Yana is not carrying a child. " He said it professionally.
While nandito ako, nalilito sa nangyayari. But it all made sense now, it was Eric Valenti....the killer of ate Yana and Isaac.
So they thought Yana is still pregnant? They wanted to kill Aria and ate Yana, na damay na lang si Isaac.
attorney continued speaking, and explaining everything to me.
"Eric was indeed smart, only if those two men didn't messed up.
Those two came all the way from states just to kill them, and they were supposed to fly back the next day.
So it would probably leave no trace, and they could just go back to their country like nothing happened.
But no one escapes the cctv's around the city, so the airports were alerted secretly.
It just took a little longer to find them, they are good at hiding. "
"So, where is this Eric Valenti?" I pressed further. Gusto kong sabihin niya na nahuli na rin si Eric na 'yan.
"He is still in the U.S, but everything is set. They tracked him back there, freeze his assets, and once the extradition is granted, they'll bring him back to face trial here. Minimum of 2 days, and he will be here."
2 days?? so Zarya needs to hear this as soon as possible.
"So in the next 2 days, Eric Valenti will be here in Italy to pay for what he has done?"
He nodded his head, parang sinasabi na tama ang mga sinabi ko. "Sì, this is exactly why miss Zarya De Luca needs to be prepared. This is a huge fight, Valenti could deny it and twist the story. Especially if he will have a good lawyer beside him."
A good lawyer....he could dodge everything with a good lawyer beside him.
There is only one person in my mind na p'wede niyang takbuhan, and most probably hindi siya kayang tanggihan nito.
Chiara Iris Valenti....
His own daughter. Malakas na abogado si Iris, and based on what I heard. Never pa siyang natalo sa kahit anong kaso na hinahawakan niya, she could twist a metal bar in court.
Kailangan malaman nito Zarya lahat. She needs to know that the reason behind ate Yana's death, is the father of her beloved woman.
I can't imagine seeing her get hurt, pero kailangan niyang malaman 'to. How could she possibly react if she finds out??? na ang tatay mismo ng babaeng pinaka-minamahal niya ang dahilan ng pagkamatay ng kapatid niya?
This would put her in misery...deep misery.
But what would Iris do if she finds out that her father is a criminal? na siyang dahilan bakit sobrang sira na si Zarya ngayon?
If ever she sees Zarya again, what would she feel?? Tutulongan niya ba ang tatay niyang criminal?
For sure masasaktan din siya dito, at dalawa sila ni Zarya ang naiipit sa sitwasyon. Kahit ako nahihirapan sa kanilang dalawa.
_____
"Kamusta ang lakad mo, Xylla?" ate Sela asked right after I entered the condo.
"Wala naman po kaming masyado pinag-usapan. Kamusta po kayo dito?" I quickly changed the topic.
Ayaw kasi ni Zarya na may iba pang makaalam tungkol dito, ang alam lang ni ate Sela ay tungkol kay Aria. And beyond that, she knows nothing more.
"Okay lang naman, hindi naman naging pasaway 'tong batang 'to." she said habang pinagtitimpla ng gatas si Aria.
Hindi naman na ako sumagot pa at ngumiti nalang.
Kahit nakabalik na ako sa condo ni Zarya, ay hindi parin ako mapakali. Gusto kong puntahan si Zarya ngayon, pero baka ayaw na naman akong kausapin.
I've tried na pumunta sa kaniya, ilang beses ko na nagawa dati. Pero hindi talaga siya nagpapakita saakin, minsan lang kapag gusto niyang makita si Aria. So this time, baka hindi na naman siya magpakita. Pero susubukan ko parin, dahil sobrang importante nito.
I was just about to step over to check Aria's crib, para lang i-check siya, pero bigla na naman nag ring ang cellphone ko sa loob ng purse.
I sighed, thinking it was Attorney Vìllor again calling back with more updates about the case. Kaya agad kong kinuha ang phone, at chineck kung sino ang tumawag. But what I saw made me froze...
Hindi si Attorney Vìllor, kundi si Iris...
Bakit siya ang tumatawag? This is the last thing I expected right now.
If I pick up, baka may masabi ako na hindi dapat. Baka madulas ako. So I pressed Decline and dropped the phone back on my palm, heart beating fast.
But only a few seconds later, it buzzed again. Pero this time, a text popped up.
Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko. Why is she here? Anong ginagawa niya dito? Kinabahan talaga ako bigla.
What if she finds out where Zarya is? What if she sees how bad Zarya's state is right now? Things will just get worse, mas lalong magugulo lahat.
Bakit ba siya nandito??
But instead of asking myself, I bit my lip, hesitating. Then I decided...I have to talk to her properly.
I quietly walked out of the condo, at dahan dahan kong sinara ang pinto para hindi marinig ni ate Sela. I pulled out my phone, at nag dial sa number niya.
She picked up on the very first ring.
"Xylla—" Nagsalita siya sa kabilang linya, sobrang hina ng boses niya.
"Anong ginagawa mo dito?" I asked straight away.
"I need to see Zarya, p-please. Alam kong alam mo kung nasaan siya." Iris said, at ramdam ko na agad ang pagpiyok niya dahil sa iyak.
"Iris, hindi ko p'wedeng sabihin—"
"This will be the time I'm going to beg you, Xylla. Please tell me where she is. Please, Xylla—kailangan ko siyang makita. Please." Umiiyak na siya habang nagsasalita.
My heart clenched hearing her cry like that. Alam kong mahal na mahal niya si Zarya, at nag aalala din siya. Alam kong nasasaktan din siya, but this isn't as simple as it seems.
"I'm sorry, Iris." I said softly but firmly. "Pero hindi talaga pwede. Tutal iniwan mo naman na siya, 'di ba? Bakit ka pa pumunta dito? Balik ka na lang sa Pilipinas. Wala kang mapapala dito."
"Xy, please. You don't know anything, xy...Tulongan mo naman ako, please take me to her." She begged on the other line, at mas lalo lang akong nasasaktan para sa kaniya.
"Hindi talaga p'wede, Chiara. Hindi mo gugustohin na makita siya ngayon, lumayo ka nalang muna sa kaniya, Chiara."
I waited for her to reply, pero hindi na siya makapagsalita dahil sa pag-iyak. Patuloy lang siyang humahagulgol, parang kanina pa talaga siya umiiyak.
And I couldn't take it anymore, ang sakit marinig na umiiyak siya. Sobrang sakit pakinggan.
I'm sorry, Iris. Sorry talaga. As much as I want to help you, hindi talaga pwede. Mas lalo lang lalala ang sitwasyon. Zarya is not in a good state right now—parang dumadagdag ka pa sa bigat na kailangan niyang dalhin.
Ginagawa ko 'to hindi dahil ayaw ko sa'yo, at ayaw kong magsama kayo ulit. Ginagawa ko 'to para kay Zarya. Alam kong masasaktan lang siya nang sobra kapag nakita ka niya ngayon. I'm protecting her, even if it hurts both of us.
I barely pressed the end call button on Iris's number nang biglang tumunog ulit yung phone ko. My heart skipped a beat—baka tumawag ulit siya, baka may masabi pa.
Pero nung tinignan ko yung screen, si Attorney Vìllor ang tumatawag.
Kakakita lang namin kanina, ah? Bakit tumatawag na naman siya agad? Did something come up? Or may nakalimutan kaming usapan?
I took a deep breath before answering. "Hello po, Attorney?"
His voice was serious, no hello or small talk. "Xylla, I need to see Zarya. Tell her to come to my office right now."
Nanigas yung buong katawan ko. Kasi paano? How am I supposed to do that? She's not even here, technically.
Hindi nga siya lumalabas e, She won't even look at me, she doesn't want to face anyone right now kahit na ako. Kahit nga si Aria nakikita niya lang kapag nami-miss na niya.
Paano ko siya mapapapunta sa office niya?? Paano ko sasabihin sa kanya na kailangan niyang lumabas?
"Attorney, pwede niyo na po bang sabihin sa akin? I'll just pass the message to her, promise." I tried to reason gently.
"No, Xylla," he said firmly. "She's the one who pushed this case forward, she is responsible to show up for every meeting. The officer just called me, they specifically need to talk to Zarya. I need to speak to her first before anything else."
Napahawak ako sa noo ko, parang hihimatayin ako. Paano na 'to? She's not in the right state of mind right now. She can't even eat properly, paano pa kaya pupunta siya ng office? Paano ko siya kokumbinsihin eh ayaw nga niya akong harapin?
Ano bang pwede kong gawin? Anong solusyon ang meron dito? Wala naman akong magic para biglang maging okay siya. Well, only if I have one—ginawa ko na.
"Uh—okay, Attorney. I'll tell her about it." sabi ko na lang, hindi ko na alam ano pa ang sasabihin ko.
"No," he insisted. "Bring her to me right now, or take me to her. I've been asking for her presence for months now, I haven't seen her since. I won't let this pass this time, this case won't succeed if she doesn't show up."
"Yes, Attorney... I'll call you back"
"Please let's do this today," he added, his tone urgent now. "We cannot wait another day, Eric Valente will be here very soon."
"Yes po, Attorney," I whispered, then finally ended the call.
I let my hand fall to my side, phone still gripping tight. Parang ang bigat-bigat na ng lahat. One problem after another, si Iris nandito na, tapos kailangan pa ni Attorney si Zarya agad.
How am I supposed to do this? How am I able to tell Zarya everything, at paano ko rin siya matatago kay Iris??
I stood there by the doorway for a long time, thinking hard. There has to be a way. Pero paano? Paano kung lalo lang siyang magalit? Paano kung mas lalong lumala ang lagay niya?
Parang ang dami daming nag-uunahan sa isip ko, I don't even know where to start.
I was about to turn the doorknob when my phone buzzed again. Another text from Attorney Vìllor.
That was it. Frustration just washed over me so hard I wanted to scream. Ang dami nang kailangang ayusin, tapos parang lalo pang nauubusan ng oras. Why does everything have to happen all at once?
I didn't go inside. Instead I scrolled straight to that number I keep saved separately.
Ang number kung saan nasaan si Zarya. I pressed call before I could change my mind.
Bahala na lang kung kakausapin niya ako sa call, if hindi—pupuntahan ko nalang siya kaagad.
It rang twice before someone picked up.
"Good morning, Miss Russell. How may I help you?" the woman on the line asked gently.
I took a shaky breath. "Yeah—yes. Can I talk to Zarya, please?"
"Sure, we'll get her for you. A moment please," she said, then added softly, "You're lucky, though. She's in a good mood today, so I think you'll be able to talk to her."
Thank God. Thank goodness for that. Kung okay siya ngayon, baka sakaling makinig siya. Baka sakaling makapag usap kami nang maayos—though I know it probably won't be for long. I'll take whatever I can get, honestly.
I waited for a couple of minutes, then there was a little rustling sound on the other end, at alam kong hawak na niya ang phone.
"Zarya?" Sabi ko na halos nag aalinlangan pa.
"Xylla? Kamusta kayo diyan? Okay lang ba si Aria?" She asked right away.
"Aria is fine, don't worry. Okay lang kami dito." Mahinang sabi ko, bago ko ibalita sa kaniya ang dapat kong sabihin. "But there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it? may nangyari ba?" She asked, nabasa ko agad ang panic sa tono niya.
I paused for a moment. Hindi ko alam kung dapat bang sabihin ko sa kaniya ito sa tawag lang.
I was about to speak pero 'wag na lang muna sguro. Si Attorney nalang ang magsasabi sa kaniya, I would bring him to her. Maiintindihan naman siguro ni Attorney, and zarya would also understand it kapag nalaman niyang importante ito.
"Someone if looking for you, Zarya."