Chapter 32

Rhainne Jhammira Alethea Lopez

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I leaned against the cool wall, my mind in freefall as I replayed the conversation I had just overheard. Dad—Lolo—Ate. There were too many pieces missing, too many questions left unanswered. And the hardest part? The feeling that the entire world I knew had been built on shaky ground, held together by half-truths and secrecy.

Yan lang ang alam ko.

Hindi ako bobo para hindi marealize ang pinaparating nila kanina. I'm Ate's daughter. Anak niya ako. Pero paano?

Paano niya ako naging anak? Bakit siya?

Bakit mas kilala ko siyang Ate kesa Nanay?

Yana.

Does she know about this? I'm sure she'll be hurt. Like what I am feeling right now.

But then, just as the heavy weight of confusion and fear started to choke me, I heard the click of footsteps behind me.

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Ate ko or should I say my Mom?

“Ali” Ate Ryleigh's voice was soft, but there's a shock in it maybe because I'm here sa lugar kung saan sila nag sisigawan kanina.

"A-Ali kanina ka pa ba diyan?" kinakabahan din na turan ni Dad or hindi ko nga pala siya Dad.

That hurts bro. I'm asking attention to the person I really shouldn't asked.

Tinignan ko silang tatlo using my cold stare.

Liars.

"Yeah" I coldly said

Kita ko ang pamumutla ng muka ng dalawa.

"You're my Mother pala, Ate?" I sarcastically said

Natuod naman ito sa kinakatayuan niya, kita ko ang takot sa mata niya. Oh she's scared.

Lumabas na ang kinakatakutan niya.

"Oh maybe I shouldn't call you Ate? Hmmm what do you think?" I casually said

"A-Ali l-let me explain" she said in a low voice

Of course we really need it. Lalo na ngayon na marami rin akong katanungan sa isip ko na kelangang masagot.

Kaya ba ni minsan hindi ko siya narinig na tawaging Dad si Dad kasi hindi niya ito tunay na tatay at ang tunay niyang tatay ay si Lolo?

I straightened up, but my body was stiff, like a puppet caught in a string of lies. The only thing that felt real anymore was the cold wall beneath my palm and the trembling in my chest. I didn’t move. I just looked at her with the coldness of my eyes.

Hindi ko rin ata kakayaning makinig sakanya. Paano kung mag sinungaling nanaman siya?. But I wanna know her story.

"I didn’t expect you to overhear any of that," she continued, stepping closer. I could hear her trying to keep her voice steady, like she was talking to a child—but I wasn’t a child anymore. I was a person who had just learned her life had been a lie.

An all grown up woman who's been fooled by this world

Ang tanga ko naman ata sa part na hindi ko man lang nagawang pagdudahan ang pagkatao ko.

Pero paano ko nga naman pagdudududahan kung sino ako kung ang galing nilang pagtakpan ang totoo. They built a lie that everyone believes. Even me.

Her voice cracked a little, betraying the emotion behind her words. "I should’ve told you before. All of us should have."

I remained calm, but inside me I wanna get angry. I want to tell her everything. I wanna tell everything and make her face the truth but I can't do that. Claire wouldn't like that. Her face was strained, her usual calm demeanor replaced with guilt and fear, but it didn’t make the truth any easier to accept.

“You should've done that long time ago. Para hindi ako nanghihingi ng oras at pagmamahal sa maling tao." sagot ko at tumingin sa katabi nito na kinilala kong tatay ko.

Ako lang ba ang walang alam dito? O pati si Yana?

Gulong gulo na ako.

Her eyes softened with sadness, but there was no hiding the truth anymore. Not from me. "You’re our daughter, Ali," she began, pausing to let the words settle, and I could see the weight of the confession hanging between us. "You’re my daughter and Allisha’s."

Gosh I thought itatatanggi niya pero bakit nag naman niya itatanggi diba? I already caught them what's the point of lying.

"I already know that. Hindi yan ang gusto kong marinig." sagot ko dito

Her face twisted in pain, and she took a step closer, her voice thick with emotion. “Kuya Ryan is your uncle , Ali. Not your father.”

I step back. I know. Narinig ko na kanina pero ang sakit na kailangan pang maulit ng maulit iyon

"All this time you're just my uncle? the hell? ang galing niyo naman at napaniwala niyo ang lahat na anak niya ako." I sarcastically said

So all of this years? Ang kinilala kong tatay ay tito ko lang? At ang kinilala kong Ate ay ang totoong nanay ko—paanong babae rin ang tatay? What does she mean that I'm her daughter with Ate Allisha?

The fucked was that?

Sumasakit ang ulo ko.

IVF?

Baka nga. Yun lang naman ang magagawa nila. Yeah they're rich nga pala.

"What's with your lies?. Kaya ba kay Lolo ako lumaki? Kaya ba binigay niyo ako sakanya? Sino ka ba talaga? Sino ba kayo?!" I angrily asked

My emotions are on high hindi ko na ring mapigilang sumigaw. Not now. Not knowing na She's my real fucking mother.

She let out a soft sigh and ran a hand through her hair, her eyes avoiding mine for a moment. “We wanted to protect you. We thought it was the best thing for you. I'm your Mom and Allisha is your mom also. We—we got an IVF 20 years ago si-si Allisha ang nagdala sayo—sainyo ng mga kapatid mo—you and Yana have another sibling but she died—pi-pinatay siya" umiiyak niyang sabi

I took a step back, everything spinning, dizzying in its intensity. I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I could feel the pieces of my world, my identity, slipping through my fingers like sand. The truth—*this* truth—was too much to bear.

Yana—paano nalang niya kakayanin lahat ng to? I'm okay. I'm fine but my sister. Paano siya? Can she handle this all?

Akala ko sa part na hindi ako anak ni dad lang sila nagsinungaling pati pala sa part na may kapatid pa kami?

How do I trust this people again?

I know they're hurt too.

"How? How did he or she died?" I curiously asked

Ate Ryleigh took a deep breath, her hands trembling as she tried to steady herself. Her eyes, normally filled with calm and assurance, were now clouded with guilt and sorrow. The pain in her expression was enough to make my chest tighten further, but I needed answers. The truth.

I needed to understand but I fucking can't.

mas pinangungunahan ako ng galit ngayon

I wanted to burst out.

Why do I was born to lose everything and everyone?

Bakit ba lagi nalang akong nawawalan?

What kind of curse is this?

Am I curse?

"Ali," she began, her voice softer now, but there was a hardness in her words, like she was fighting to hold back a dam of emotion. "Natatakot ako—kami. I did my best to save your sister but it was too late." She paused, swallowing hard, as though gathering the strength to say what I was not prepared to hear.

"We didn’t want you to know… because we were protecting you."

I blinked, confused. "Protecting me from what?"

From her eyes, I could see she was struggling. Struggling with something much darker than any secret she had kept from me. She looked away for a moment, as if to collect her thoughts, then her gaze locked on mine with a raw intensity.

"You were supposed to be dead," she said quietly, but her words hit me like a blow. "All of you. Yana, you, and your other sister—Rialla. All of you were supposed to die that day."

Sister? Rialla?

So Rialla pala ang pangalan ng isa kong kapatid na pinatay ng kung sino man ang kaaway ng pamilyang to.

Now it make sense kung bakit ako hinayaan ni Lolo na maging parte ng Empire.

Yes, Lolo is King.

"She were killed, Ali" Her voice broke, but she forced herself to keep going, her words sharp and clear. "When you were just 7 years old, there were people—dangerous people—who were after our family. They killed your sister, and we couldn’t let them take you or Yana too. You were all too young, and we didn’t know how to keep you safe if they thought you were still alive."

My mind was spinning, trying to make sense of it. "You fake our deaths? And make us as his daughter?" Pointing to dad "Alam niyong hindi lang yon ang paraan para maprotektahan kami sa mga taong yan"

"Yes we made everyone believe that you're—Yana and you as his daughter and luckily everyone's believe that" she whispered. "We made everyone believe you were dead. We had to make it look like all of you were gone. Because we couldn’t… we couldn’t let them take you away from us. Wala na akong maisip na solusyon pa noong panahon yon." Shes goddamn crying in front of me

"Kaya ba nagawa mo kaming ipamigay sa kapatid mo?. Or you're just afraid to face the killers" I said in a monotoned voice at sinalubong ang tingin ng tatlong taong nasa harapan ko

"H-hindi sa ganon Ali. I-it's hard for me too. Mahirap rin para saakin—saamin na malayo sayo—sainyo" she said while her voice are slowly cracking patuloy parin sa pag agos ang mga luha niya.

"Saamin? o Saakin lang?. As far as I know mag kaiba yon. Hindi bat all this time magkasama kayong tatlo habang ako nasa letcheng ibang bansa nag iisa naghahanap ng karamay." hindi ko narin mapigilang maluha.

Why do everything in my life feels so fucked up.

Agad na ang iwas ng tingin ang dalawa. Pero agad na bumalik ang tingin ni Ate at akmang lalapitan ako pero umiwas ako kaya lalo siyang naiyak.

"So ano? yun na ba lahat ng katotohanan o may gusto pa kayong idagdag na hindi ko alam" diin kong sabi sa mga to

"The incident, it was a car incident. We-we took chance of that, you were been in a coma when you're just 7 years old. We almost lost the three of you at sa takot ni Ryleigh na mawala kayo kinausap niya ako na akuin kayo bilang anak ko. I know it doesn't make sense kung paano kayo maalis sa panganib kung isa rin akong Lopez it's because you're not just the heiress of Lopez but also the Alvares parehong makapangyarihang pamilya sa industiya. They couldn't let you rein in the industry kaya gumawa sila ng paraan para mapabagsak ang dalawang pamilya at yun ay kayo. Noong nagising ka you can't remember anything and I don't know kung may naaalala kana ngayon but I guess you don't. We took chance of your amnesia, doon nag simula ang lahat. Ikaw ang napuruhan sa nangyaring aksidente cause base on the investigation you tried to block your sisters but hindi mo na nagawang protektahan si Rialla that's why she—she died. We almost lost the both of you but lumalaban ka noong mga panahong yon. You're fighting for your life. Sa mga araw na nag pa-flat line ka halos mabaliw ang magulang mo. They can't lose you like how they lose your sister. They sabotage the break of the car na sinakyan niyo nung panahong yon. Galing kayo sa school noon pauwi sa bahay mabagal lang naman ang pagpapatakbo nung sasakyan kaso bigla siyang bumilis dahil yun pala sira ang mga part ng sasakyan at doon nangyari walang kamalay malay ang mga kapatid mo kasi nagkukwentuhan sila ikaw naman ay busy nakatingin sa daan kaya nagawa mong takpan si Yana mula sa impact. Nahuli namin ang taong salarin but we know he's not the boss kasi kahit na nalaman ng publiko na you're dead or should I say pinalabas naming patay na kayo ay patuloy parin ang death threat. Kaya after you recover we decided that dalhin ka sa ibang bansa." Mahaba niyang turan

How? Paanong hindi ko man lang alam sa sarili ko na may kulang sa akin.....a piece of my memory are missing. Now tell me am I really smart.

Patuloy parin sa pag iyak si Ate habang si Lolo ay nakatingin saakin. Maybe he's waiting for me to burst out.

That old man knows me.

I could feel the weight of his words sinking in. My head felt heavy, my thoughts swirling.

"I-I didn't remember any of t-that, could I possibly remember it?" nanghihina ako.

Panaginip lang ba to?. What kind of nightmare this was. But then again hindi pala panaginip lang ang lahat.

I took a step back, trying to process the magnitude of his words. The truth felt like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest, suffocating me. It wasn’t just the shock of what he was saying—it was the fear. The fact that everything I had known, everything I had trusted, had been a lie.

But what tear at me the most was the pain in her voice. The way she had said *we couldn’t let them take you away from us*.

Maiintindihan ko naman. Hindi yung parang buong buhay ko nanghuhula ako kung sino ba ako.

Bakit ba ang fucked up ng buhay ko?. Kung kelan nagiging maayos ako saka nagkakaganto ang lahat. Karma ko ba to sa lahat ng taong nasaktan ko?

Ate's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and she stepped forward, reaching out as if to comfort me, but then pulling back. "Because we wanted to protect you, Ali. We didn’t want to drag you into this world—this dark world of secrets and lies. We wanted you to have a chance to grow up... to feel normal. We thought if you didn’t know the truth, you could live a life that wasn’t filled with fear. A life without the shadow of danger looming over you."

I whispered, my voice raw with the weight of it all. "I needed to understand who I really am. Alam niyong hindi habang buhay matatakbuhan yan."

She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I know, Ali. And I’m sorry. I wish I could have told you earlier. But it wasn’t safe. Not until now. Now, things have changed. The people who were after us were still here. So, you have to understand. This isn’t just about the past. It’s about keeping you safe *now*."

I can keep myself protected

I was born to be a fighter.

I stood there, barely able to breathe as everything I knew began to shatter. My father wasn’t my father. But they had protected me. They had given up everything—*everything*—to give me a chance at a normal life. To let me live.

To let us live.

But now... now the truth had come crashing down, and all I had were more questions. More things to piece together.

I was *their* daughter. But who was I, really?

The silence between us stretched, heavy with unspoken words, and I realized that the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. There was so much more to uncover, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it.

But one thing was clear—I wasn’t alone. And as much as the truth hurt, it was mine now. And I would have to find a way to live with it.

I stood there, still processing everything, my thoughts a storm of confusion and anger. It felt like I had been ripped apart, my reality torn to shreds. But deep inside, something was stirring—a fierce need to *know*. To understand everything that had been kept from me for so long.

Ate Ryleigh wiped her tears away, her hands shaking. I could see how badly this was hurting her, too, and it made my chest ache. I wanted to scream, to lash out, but a part of me—some part I didn’t recognize—was holding me back.

But the silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating, until I finally found my voice again.

"So what happens now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, but it carried all the weight of everything I was feeling. "Now that I know? Ano na?"

Ate Ryleigh closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to find the right words, but when she looked at me again, her gaze was sharp, determined. "Now, we protect you. More than ever."

She stepped closer, the distance between us shrinking, and I felt her pain like a tangible thing. She touched my arm, as if grounding herself in the connection, but it didn’t feel comforting—it felt like an anchor pulling me deeper into the unknown.

"And if I don't want to be protected anymore?" I shot back, my voice edged with the anger I had been holding back. "If I want to know the truth *now*? Kung ayaw ko na maging takot? Anong mangyayari? Gusto kong malaman sino pumatay sa kapatid ko."

Natigilan siya sa sinabe ko "You think this is easy for us? You think we chose this for you?" She shook her head, her voice trembling. Nasaktan ako pero bakit parang mas nasasaktan sila?

"You’re not ready, Ali. You don’t know what you’re asking for. There are people out there who will stop at nothing to get to you. To us. If you go after the truth now... there’s no turning back. We tried to find who's the suspect but we always failed to"

I'm not ready

Nagpapatawa ba siya?

They didn't even know half of my life dahil tinulak nila ako palayo. Inilayo nila ang loob ko sakanila. Who are them to decide for me?—oh yeah right she's my mother.

I took a step forward, my chest tight with frustration. "I’m not a child anymore, Ate or should I say Mom?" I said, the words sharp as I tried to steady my breathing. "I can handle this. I can handle whatever's coming. Isa pa wala kayong alam sa mga pinagdaanan ko. You didn't even know that I was prepared. I'll find that killer and ako mismo ang magbibigay ng kaparusahan sakanya" I confidently said

"Ali, please..." Ate Ryleigh’s voice cracked, but she reached for me again, her hand trembling. "I know you’re strong. I’ve always known. But strength isn’t enough when it comes to the people who want us gone. They have power. Connections. They will use everything they have to finish what they started. And it’s not just you they’ll come after—it’s everyone you love. Pero anong magagawa ko kung ngayon ay alam na ng mundo na buhay ka—kayo"

I could hear the fear in her voice now, and it made something inside me twist uncomfortably. But there was no denying it—this wasn’t some fairy tale. This was real. This was my life. And I couldn’t just let it be swept under the rug. Not anymore. If they're afraid that I might die then be it. Muntik na akong mamatay dati ngayon pa ba ako natatakot?

"I don’t care." My voice was quiet, but it was filled with a cold resolve. "I don’t care if they come after me. I don’t care if they come after me. Ako ang lalayo sainyo para hindi kayo madamay sa gulong nakatakda saakin hindi pa man ako pinapanganak sa mundong to. Stay away from me"

Ate Ryleigh took another step back, her face pale, her eyes full of conflict. She was trying to hold me back, to keep me safe.

I'm sorry if my presence is too much to handle

Pasensya na kung ako ang gulo sa pamilyang to.

"No please, Ali don't do that. Don't let us suffer, don't let us crave your presence again. I-I'm begging you don't risk your life." she whispered, her voice low and pleading.

I have never been the same. Masyado niyo na akong nasaktan noon pa man hanggang ngayon. Lahat kayo—sigaw ng utak ko

I stood there, facing her.

"I'm never the same. Hindi niyo alam lahat ng hirap na dinanas ko noon. I was looking for a parent to take care of me and raised me pero wala kayo—kahit yung kinilala kong Tatay wala. Wala kayo. Sometimes I was wondering anong ginawa ko sa mundo para maranasan yon. Akala niyo ba nagkaroon ako ng normal na buhay? Nagkakamali kayo." I said, my voice was steady, despite the storm raging inside me.

Gusto kong umiyak. Gusto kong magalit sa lahat.

I wanted to run like what I always do.

Ate Ryleigh took a deep breath, as if bracing herself for the storm that was about to hit.

"Then tell us—please tell us" she said that made me laugh—a bitter one.

"Ayokong masaktan tayo pare pareho. Just let me be. Let me be alone. Iwan niyo ako, layuan niyo ako kagaya ng ginawa niyo noon. This time I know I can handle it." mapakla kong sagot sa mga ito at nag simula na akong maglakad palayo. Palayo sakanila

I know that Lolo wouldn't mind it. Hindi niya ako pipigilan sa paglayo ko.

He knows me at alam niya kung saan ako hahanapin.

"W-where are you going?"  tanong nito

I hate you but I love you

Everything's seems a little bit clear now, they're my Missing piece

"Somewhere. Let me breathe. I can't handle this anymore"

"P-please come back.......we can't afford to lose you" nanghihina niyang turan

I let a heavy sighs

"Let me think for a while. You know that I will always come around"

Everything is too much. Masyadong marami na akong nalaman na sana hindi nalang—pero hindi bat yun naman talaga ang gusto ko? Ang malaman ang lahat and now what? I'm in pain.

Truths really fcking hurt.

I still hear her sobs habang onti onti akong lumalayo. Aren't she going to stop me?—oh right she already did.

I need to find you.... whoever you are. You'll pay fo what you did to my life and my family.