Chapter 62 Truth Over Blood #3
"Yes. I'm okay." I nodded, kahit nahihirapan din ako.
It's crazy... kahit siya nasasaktan din dito, she still check on me first. How does she even do that? How does she care this much when everything is falling apart?
I gave her a sweet smile, wanting her to feel that I was right there with her, that I wasn't going anywhere.
We followed Attorney Vìllor inside the building. Every step felt heavier than the last, parang may nakadagan sa bawat galaw namin. It was cold inside, smelling like metal and cleaning supplies, and the only sounds we could hear were our footsteps echoing on the floor and our own quiet breathing.
It's been so long since I last saw him. Now... the man I'm about to face is the one who ordered my sister killed. Yung taong sumira sa buhay ni Isaac, including his own daughter's. And now I'm walking in there with Iris..., who still surely loves him.
When we reached the door, Attorney Vìllor stopped and turned to us for a moment.
"Just remember." he said quietly. "We are here for formal identification and notification. Try to stay composed as much as you can... but you are allowed to speak your truth."
We both nodded. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for, and the moment I've been dreading all at once.
Attorney Villor slowly reached for the handle and opened the door.
The door clicked shut behind us, and parang biglang sumikip yung hangin sa buong kwarto. Only one long table sat in the middle, one harsh lamp hanging right above it, and one police officer standing silent at the far corner, watching everything. And there he was....
Eric Valenti...sitting on the other side.
The second his eyes landed on us, parang nanigas ang buong katawan niya. He shot up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the floor. He didn't even glance at me first, nakatitig lang siya nang hindi makapaniwala na nandito si Iris, shock turning sharp and angry in an instant.
"Iris? What the hell are you doing here?" His voice was rough, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then he glared at me like I was some kind of trash.
That was it. Parang pumutok lahat ng pinipigil ko sa loob ko. All the pain, all the months of silence, all the grief I buried, everything just exploded out of me.
"Oh? Why?" I stepped forward, voice shaking so hard but loud enoug. "Are you scared now? Scared that your own daughter finally found out exactly who you really are? That you're nothing but a fucking criminal? That the father she trusted her whole life is just a fucking monster?"
"Shut up! Shut your goddamned mouth, you bitch!" Eric slammed his cuffed hands hard on the table, chains clanking violently. "Why did you drag my own daughter into your lies?"
"I didn't drag her anywhere!" I yelled back, tears blurring my sight but I didn't look away. "She found out the truth! The truth you tried so hard to bury! You had Yana killed! You ordered your own son's death!"
"Lies! All of this is lies!" He was practically shouting now, face red with rage. "You're just twisting everything to turn my own blood against me!"
"No one turned me against you." Iris cut in.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was so cold and steady that it silenced everything else.
Lumapit siya nang kaunti, standing right beside me, her back straight even if her hands were trembling.
"I already know every single thing, Dad. Every lie. Every order. Every life you destroyed."
Eric stared at her like he'd never seen her before. "You... you can't believe her. She's manipulating you, Iris—"
"I am not your little girl anymore." she said, voice cracking just once before it turned hard as stone. "And I am deeply, deeply humiliated to ever be called your daughter."
Attorney Vìllor stood frozen for a second, eyes wide as he looked between them. "He... he is your father?"
"Was." Iris corrected sharply, no hesitation at all. "Not anymore. I am ashamed to even admit we share the same blood."
"Enough, attorney Chiara." Attorney Vìllor stepped forward. "Calm down—both of you. This is not how this works. Sit down, please, before this gets worse for everyone."
We all moved slowly, parang wala na ring lakas kahit kakapasok lang namin dito.
Eric still glaring daggers at me, Iris sitting tall beside me, and me breathing hard, still shaking from head to toe.
Ramdam ko yung init ng galit na kumakalat sa buong katawan ko, but also...
somehow, relief. Na sa wakas, hindi na siya nakakapagtago.
Attorney Vìllor looked straight at Eric, serious as ever. "We are here to discuss facts and formal matters, not to fight. If we cannot conduct this properly, it will only hurt your case further, Mr. Valenti. Let us start over—with order."
Hindi pa nga kami nagsisimulang mag-usap ng masinsinan, and I haven't told him everything I wanted to say. But I already want to stab him to death. In that moment, I knew for sure, this fight is far from over. There will be more pain, more battles ahead.
At hindi ko hahayaan na manalo siya ulit.