“I learned that there’s a birthday party. Would I bother kidñappiñg your daughter and granddaughter if I was just playing around? Ten million for each of your lovely girls. Don’t think of calling the police if you want them both alive.”
Romina walked in on Cassie having another argument with her father. When she asked what the problem was, Robert told her that he was just asking Cassie to stay away from the school janitor, adding that he had investigated him and found out that he had used fake documents to get into Maxwell since he had been in prison for pushing drügs.
Mina was surprised. Cassie tried to convince her father that Mr. Vin had done that so he could start all over again, and Robert pointed out that that wasn’t something a good person would do.
“Cassie, stop defending that man,” Mina admonished.
“I know that you’re both worried about me,” Cassie began. “But I would feel guilty if he got fired because of me. Why are you so convinced that he’s a bad person?”
“We’re just worried about you,” Robert said. “We don’t know this person or what his intentions are.”
“Dad, I know you’re also a good person. You hate bringing up the past but you’re judging Mr. Vin because of his past. Everybody deserves a second chance, I learnt that from you both. Please don’t have Mr. Vin fired. Think of it as your birthday present for me.”
“Okay, fine,” Robert said. “But please try and stay away from him.”
Alvin was pissed off that Robert had found out about his fake documents and warned him to stay away from Cassie. He was having second thoughts about his plan and Hector warned him to stick to the plan and leave Robert to him. Robert apologized to Mina for not telling her before about having Alvin investigated. Mina asked if there was something else he was hiding from her and Robert told her that all he was doing was what was best for their family.
Daniela had a talk with Marga and asked her to go to Cassie’s birthday party so she could spend some time with her grandpa. Marga wanted to use the opportunity to ruin Cassie and Robert’s relationship some more but Daniela warned her that her grandpa wouldn’t be happy with her if she did something to upset Cassie on her birthday.
“Save it for next time,” Danny girl said. “Remember, I want you to be on your best behavior. I don’t want you to cause any trouble for your grandpa.”
“Yes, mommy.”
Robert dropped off Cassie at school and she walked away from him when he tried to give her a goodbye ki$$. Marga came up and mentioned that Cassie seemed to be in a bad mood. Robert told her that it was due to the conversation they had last night.
“I’m trying to patch things up with Cassie,” Marga claimed. “In fact, I’ll be attending her birthday party.”
“That’s good to know. I hope you two can settle your differences.”
LJ and Fatima told Kristoff about how Cassie had been avoiding them recently. LJ mentioned that it seemed Cassie didn’t want them to be friends anymore and Krisroff told her not to say that because all Cassie needed was time. Both girls received a message from Mina to attend the dance rehearsal for Cassie’s birthday party.
The Mean Squad were excited that they had also been invited to Cassie’s birthday party since many wealthy families would be attending. When they asked Marga when she would also be giving out her invites to her own party, Marga told them that the invites were being made abroad and she would let them have a copy each once they were available.
Cassie was surprised to see LJ and Fatima at her dance rehearsal. They asked whether she didn’t want them there or whether she was still mad at them because they had told her mom about what had happened in school. Cassie said she was just disappointed that they didn’t trust her.
“It’s not you we don’t trust. It’s that janitor,” Fatima pointed out.
“That’s why I’ve been avoiding you guys,” Cassie admitted. “Because I’ve been feeling guilty. As long as I am friends with Mr. Vin, mamma wouldn’t stop asking you to keep an eye on me. And I don’t want to drag you into our problems.”
After the dance rehearsal, Mina arranged for the dresses Cassie and Marga would wear for the birthday. Cassie found a brand new passport in her room. Marga and Cassie tried on the dresses they would wear for the party. Later on, Romina was taken by surprise when Cassie requested Mr. Vin to be added to the guests for her birthday party. Mina warned her that she could get into another argument with her father because of that.
Cassie pleaded with her mother to grant her wish and Mina said she would think about it. Daniela was upset when Alvin came to the house. She told him that she had already given him a lot of money already and Alvin said that it wasn’t enough because her dad had gotten him fired from Maxwell. Daniela laughed and Alvin asked whether she had planned it with her dad.
“Why would I agree to have you investigated?” Danny girl asked. “It’ll be like digging my own grave.”
Alvin threatened to tell Carlos about her secret and Daniela paid and sent him off.
Robert came into the kitchen and found Esther preparing something. He insisted on doing the cooking when he learned that it was for Cassie. He told Esther that he knew Cassie’s favorite recipe (sardines) He had a flashback of a dinner at the table and the speech Cassie had given on her graduation day at St. Jude.
“I’m sure Cassie would love it when she learns you’re the one who made it,” Esther commented.
“I hope so,” Robert said. “Until now, she’s still upset with me.”
Cassie stood by the doorway, listening.
“I really miss my daughter,” Robert went on. “I miss those moments when we were always happy. If I could only bring back everything like before.”
Esther noticed Cassie’s presence. She told Robert that maybe he needed to have a talk with his daughter. She gave Cassie a signal. Cassie walked over to her father while Esther went out. “Dad…”
Robert turned and stared for a while. “Cassie?”
Cassie hurried over when some oil splattered on Robert’s hand. “Are you alright, dad?”
“I’m fine.” Robert hugged her. The food he had been cooking got burnt and Esther rushed back in and offered to clean up.
“Cassie, I miss you,” Robert said. “I miss those happy and carefree moments we always used to have.”
“I miss those moments too, daddy. The times I could approach you anytime to talk about anything.”
“We can still do that. Cassie, no matter what happens, I will always be here for you.”
Cassie smiled and Robert hugged her again. A moment later, Cassie and Robert were feasting on some sardines. Mina was smiling to herself when she came into the kitchen and saw them fighting over the food. She warned them not to cook and eat anymore of the sardines. After Mina left, Cassie asked her father when he would tell her the truth he had been keeping from her.
Mina told Neil about how Cassie had asked her to add Alvin to the invited guests list. Neil suggested that she allow it since it was Cassie’s birthday but Mina wasn’t comfortable with it. The day had finally arrived and Robert and Mina took Cassie to a hotel which was the venue for her birthday party. Robert gave her a gift, a necklace to serve as a reminder of how precious she was to him.
“You’ll always be my princess,” Robert said. “I hope you wear that tonight.”
Neil came over and noticed the necklace. “Wow, that’s so pretty,” he commented. “It’s fit for a princess.”
Some guys entered the hotel. One of them had a photo of Cassie on his phone. He bumped into Neil and he quickly picked up his phone as Neil apologized. Robert eyed them suspiciously before following Neil into the elevator.
“Boss, everything is prepared,” one of the men said.
“Alright,” Hector said on the other end of the line. “Make sure you will not fail.”
In one of the rooms at the hotel, some goons had their faces covered with nose masks. They had tied up some hotel staff and taken their uniforms. Cassie and Marga were being worked on by the makeup artists. Cassie was dejected. The guy working on her asked her to smile but she was still gloomy.
Two men knocked on the door and told the makeup artists that they had received a call from reception downstairs who had told them that there was something wrong with the air conditioner. The makeup artists invited them in to take a look.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Robert asked, walking in on the scene.
“Dude, I think we got the wrong room,” one of the guys said.
“What’s the room number again?” the other guy asked.
“17-35.”
“You idïøt.”
Both guys apologized, saying that they had come to the wrong place. Robert stared suspiciously as they left. He went inside and asked the girls if they wanted something to eat. Marga was excited to order but Cassie still sat there silently, dejected. Robert told his daughter that he loved her and he would always be there for her.
“After this, let’s carry on with our plans,” Robert said. “Let’s go to Australia and start a new life.”
Cassie turned and stared at her father in disbelief. Hector’s men caused a scene at the lobby and while security hurried down to address the situation, some of the goons took advantage of the distraction to disable all the security cameras in the hotel.
Romina had reluctantly added Alvin’s name to the guest list. As she was leaving with Bonita to have their makeups done, Jepoy hurried over and informed her that the video editor hadn’t been able to finish the presentation for Cassie’s birthday because the computer had broken down.
“He’s asking again for Cassie’s childhood pictures,” Jepoy said.
Bonita offered to go and get them but Mina insisted on going for them herself since it would be a lot faster. Cassie was staring out the window sadly when Marga came in and started with her taunting. “Leave me alone,” Cassie said.
“Am just trying to make you smile,” Marga shot. “You don’t look like you’re having a birthday. Why, did someone die? What’s going on with you?”
“Why, do you care?”
“You’re so ungrateful. Your parents are giving you everything and yet, you’re still acting like a whiny brat. A lot of girls would do anything just to have a party like yours.”
“Girls like you. If you want Marga, we can just celebrate your birthday instead.”
“Sorry, I don’t like leftovers. And I am sure my party would be better than yours.”
Robert informed the head of security to tighten up security and not allow anyone who wasn’t on the guests list to go inside. He then asked to be informed if any problems arose. Back in the room, Cassie asked Marga to stop bothering her. Marga said that she just wanted her to enjoy the moment. “Who knows? You might wake up one day and find that you’ve lost everything.”
“What are you saying?” Cassie asked, confused.
Marga walked away without another word. Just then, Cassie received a phone call from an unlisted number. “What? What happened to mamma? Alright, I am coming.”
Cassie hurried out, ignoring Marga as she kept on asking what had happened. A guy who was spraying some kind of chemical hid as the girls came out. Cassie was still frantic. She told Marga that her mother had been in an accident and she couldn’t reach her father. They passed by some goons who had disguised themselves as hotel staff.
Both men were pushing trolleys. As Marga told her to calm down, the goons managed to capture the girls by grabbing them and covering their noses with chemically induced handkerchiefs. Cassie and Marga passed out and the goons stuffed them into the trolleys and started pulling them away.
Robert was on his way to the room when he saw the men disguised as hotel staff. He stood aside and gestured for them to carry. Cassie’s hand had come out and one of the men quickly pushed it back in a second before Robert turned and glanced at them. Robert went into the room and found it deserted. He tried calling out but no one answered.
Meanwhile, a guard stopped the goons and one of them quickly pushed back in a leg which had come out. The guard told them that attendants were needed at the 12th floor. Alvin watched as Cassie and Marga, who were still unconscious, were driven away in a van. Robert was surprised to see Alvin at the venue and Mina explained that Cassie had invited him.
Robert gave Mina a look. “You knew about this?”
“Just for today,” Mina pleaded. “You know it’s Cassie’s birthday.”
“Where’s Cassie?”
“Isn’t she with you?”
“No. I went up to the room. Cassie and Marga weren’t there.”
“What?”
“Ar-are you two looking for Cassie?” Alvin cut in. “I saw her and Marga in a van. It left.”
Robert and Mina were agitated, wondering why and where Cassie had gone. Daniela walked in and asked what Alvin was doing there. The head of security joined them and told Robert that there was something he had to see. Robert, Mina and Daniela were in the security room. They were worried sick when they saw from the video that Cassie and Marga had been kidñäpped.
“How could you let this happen?” Danny girl barked at the head of security. “You had one job. Find my daughter!”
Robert tried calming down Daniela as Mina was crying. “Cassie… bring me back to my daughter,” she wailed.
Daniela suggested that they call the police but Robert said they had to first find out who they were dealing with. He told Daniela to let him handle it before consoled his wife. After Mina and Daniela were taken upstairs, Robert asked the tech guy to rewind the video. This time, he remembered seeing the kidnappers who had gone by him earlier.
Carlos was at Kulas’ house, listening to his father’s baseless rantings when Daniela called and informed him about Cassie and Marga being kidnapped. Carlos relayed the information to his family before hurrying out. Robert told Mina and Daniela that they had reviewed the CCTV footage and found that the kidnappers were professionals.
“They could still be in the hotel,” Daniela said.
“I don’t think so,” Robert disagreed. “The trolley they used was found at the parking lot. Maybe Alvin’s right. They might have been taken away in a van.”
Robert then received a call from an unlisted number. “Hello.”
“Hello, Mr. Mondragon.”
“What do you need?”
“You’re the one who needs something. I learned that there’s a birthday party. Where’s the celebration?”
“Stop playing around. What do you want?”
“Would I bother kidñappiñg your daughter and granddaughter if I was just playing around?”
“What do you want?”
“Ten million for each of your lovely girls. Don’t think of calling the police if you want them both alive.”
“How can I make sure they’re actually with you?”
“That’s all for now. I’ll call you again.”
Mina was even more frantic after the call. “Robert, what did they say? Tell me!”
“They said that our children are with them,” Robert revealed. “They want 20 million, and we can’t also inform the police.”
Daniela and Romina were hysterical. Mina wanted to call back the kidñäppers but Robert told her that they couldn’t do anything but to wait. He hugged her as she kept on crying.
