“This was supposed to be it. Your testimony was the key to sending all those bãstårds to jail. I was finally going to be worthy to be called her father. But you took that away from me! People like you don’t deserve to have a place in this world!”
Attorney Laura Dizon walks out of the courtroom with Bong Tupas still in her custody. The treacherous witness asks to be let go since the case is over. An upset Laura vows to sue him for perjury and persuade the Sicats to file a case against him. She declares that he’s going to jail but Tupas isn’t that bothered because he had done what the Ramoneses wanted.
At school, Bea lashes out at Pogs for ditching her the other night and not caring when she had gone missing. Pogs begs to differ.
Bea opens a link her brother had just forwarded her to see an online article slandering Rica and branding her as a liar. She watches Jigs’ blasted interview which gets her all teary-eyed and miserable over it, and Pogs tries to console her.
The atmosphere at Balai Arkitektura is as gloomy as clouds before a storm. Somewhere else, mayor Troy screams out in despair and cries his heart out. Rica sits in her room, staring ahead blankly.
Attorney Dizon urges the Sicat couple to file an anti-voyeurism case against Bong Tupas, explaining that he might finally tell the truth to avoid doing jail time. Dan lashes out at her as he criticizes the court’s decision. He then accuses Laura of being in cahoots with the Ramoneses so she could throw the case.
Laura is hurt by that but Dan remains indifferent, even as she points out that she would never sabotage Rica’s case because she and his daughter have similar circumstances.
“I could never betray another survivor like myself,” Laura sobs.
Laura asks Karla if she believes her but Karla just asks that she leave so they could talk about the matter some other time. Dan states that they won’t be needing attorney Dizon’s services any longer.
As the lawyer tries to talk some sense into him, Rica shows up to announce that she wouldn’t be pursuing the case any longer. She claims to be okay and says that she wants to move on with her life. Karla and Laura are speechless, and so is Dan to some extent.
Rica stands by her decision despite her parents and Laura’s attempts to talk her out of it. She notes that she wants to focus on rebuilding her life and not have the hearings continually get in the way.
Meanwhile, Audrey gladly congratulates Jigs for winning the ant-voyeurism case. Alberto plans to rubbish the appeal of the rãpë case with the justice department since he’s friends with the secretary. He then warns Jigs not to commit another “föølish mistake”.
Karla informs Rica about her encounter with Ella and goes on about Archie’s possible motive for leaking the $ęx video. She speculates that Ella might know something they can use for the case. She urges Rica not to give up the fight so they could look for enough evidence for the appeal.
However, Rica refuses to drag Ella into the mess since she’s sick with cancer. Karla argues against that but Rica won’t budge.
“This is enough, mom. Our family has already suffered a lot. Bea and Nico almost got hurt. Our family’s been through hell and back because of everything that’s happened. It’s exhausting. Let’s just try our best to…”
“To move on?” Karla butts in, cutting Rica off. “How can we move on? How can I forget everything that happened to you?”
“That’s not what I meant. Let’s move forward.”
“Our moving forward should only be the last resort for us,” Karla argues. “Moving on is something you only do when you’ve already exhausted all possibilities. How can you move forward? Will you be okay seeing those men smiling because they know they got away with the terrible things they did to you?”
Karla pours out her heart, telling her daughter that one day, she would regret giving up the fight because she herself has been in that situation before. She laments over the fights she had given up on in the past.
“And to this day, they still keep on haunting me,” Karla sobs. “I don’t want you to end up like me. I can’t let that happen.”
“I’m not asking for your permission, mom,” Rica merely says. “My decision is final. I hope you’ll learn to accept it.”
Attorney Dizon beats herself up for how the case had turned out and Troy assures her that she isn’t to blame. Laura gets emotional and apologizes for failing him. She recounts the helpless position she had been in as well as the night Troy had saved her from her abusive husband, stating that she had blown her chance to finally make it up to him.
Nevertheless, Troy consoles her with how she had picked up the pieces of her life and become who she is today. Troy thanks Laura for trying to do the same for his daughter.
Eventually, he parts ways with Laura after confirming that Bong Tupas is still in the safe house. Meanwhile, Karla makes a futile attempt to convince Dan to help her change their daughter’s mind.
Overwhelmed by all the troubles of their family and everything Rica has been through, Dan says they should let her give up if that’s what she wants. Still, Karla won’t have that because she believes that their daughter still has some fight left in her.
The shæmelëss councilor Jigs receives congratulatory messages from some buddies of his and what does he do next? Watch. He watches the $ëx video of himself and Rica. The blasted p£rvert looks thrilled and happy in a sick, demented way.
The treacherous Bong Tupas escapes the safe house, only to run into a car that almost runs him over and gives him a heart attack. Attorney Dizon is shocked to learn that Troy had ordered her men to leave the witness alone at the safe house. Speaking of, Troy steps out of the car and stalks over to Tupas to confront him for double-crossing them.
“Your father gave the order,” cries out the witness. “He would k!ll me if I didn’t obey him.”
“Do you think I’m not capable of doing that?” Troy merely asks.
“Of course not, mayor. You’re nothing like your father. You’re a good man.”
To prove his point, Troy pulls out a hãndgùn. Meanwhile, Attorney Dizon races to get to the safe house, recalling how she had persuaded Troy not to k!ll her husband after he had saved her from him. Back outside the safe house, Troy laments over how he’s been such a miserable father to Rica and failed to protect her.
“This was supposed to be it,” Troy wails. “Your testimony was the key to sending all those bãstårds to jail. I was finally going to be worthy to be called her father. But you took that away from me! People like you don’t deserve to have a place in this world!”
Bong Tupas cowers. “Mayor, let’s talk this out. Please.”
“You’re a liar! Deceitful! Manipulative! You are all worthless!!!”
Bong Tupas pleads, saying that he still wants to see his daughter. However, Troy declares that his daughter would be better off without him in her life. And with that, he cocks the güñ and takes aim. Attorney Dizon arrives at the safe house just in time to hear the thundering sound of a günshøt.
The next morning at the Sicats, the family has breakfast together and Rica assures everyone that their lives would finally be at peace again once the case is dismissed. Rica believes that the Ramoneses would stop bothering them once they stop going after them.
Karla seems to lose her non-existent appetite as she leaves the table. Nico asks if it’s really game over and Rica affirms so. Meanwhile, Troy arrives home after supposedly going for a drive last night. Audrey refrains from arguing and merely asks him to go and rest since he looks like he’s been to hell and back.
At the clinic, Ella sees Jigs’ calculating post-trial interview and she seems upset and sickened with it. She recalls some moments she had had with Rica, and then when Karla had approached her outside the courtroom. On that note, Ella finds Karla’s social media account and she begins typing a message to send.
