“You think you’re tough. Your parents are stubborn. They’re making it hard for us to get the additional ransom money. One of you will be for ransom while I’ll just k!ll the other one. What do you think about that? Sounds good?”
Bernard took his son home and asked him to stay inside. He ordered him not to leave the house no matter what. Kristoff asked his father what the problem was since the party wouldn’t have been cancelled for no reason. Bernard refused to answer and Kristoff kept bugging him, asking if something had happened to Cassie.
Bernard eventually revealed to him that Cassie and Marga had both been kidñäpped. Cassie was pacing around frantically at the kidñäppers’ hideout. Marga regained consciousness a second and started throwing a fit, shouting out for someone to come to her aid.
Cassie told her she had already tried that and Marga asked her to shut up. At the hotel, Robert called Bernard and asked him to go to the bank and redraw the money the kidnappers had demanded. Bernard asked if he was just going to give them what they wanted and Robert told him that he had no choice because the girls’ lives were at stake. Carlos, Kulas and Gino entered the room a second later. Kulas announced that Jude had gone to the police station for help.
Robert turned and gave him a look. “What? We can’t allow the cops. If the kidñäppers find out that we called the cops, they might hurt the girls.”
Kulas turned to Gino. “Call Jude. Tell him not to report what happened to the police.”
Marga was still hysterical, screaming for help. A masked goon came in and ordered her to be quiet. Marga was ranting. Cassie’s eyes were wide with shock when she saw the gun the guy was carrying. She tried to tell Marga to stop.
“This isn’t funny anymore,” she said, grabbing the goon and struggling with him.
The goon pushed her back. “You think this is a joke? You brat. If you don’t shut up, I’ll cover your mouth. Be quiet if you don’t want to be hurt.”
Marga turned and stared at Cassie in horror as the goon left. Robert announced that Bernard was preparing the ransom money. He added that they had to follow all the demands of the kidnappers so that nothing bad would happen to the kids. Kulas asked Robert if he had any enemies who wanted to get even with him and Carlos told him to stop.
Marga was trying to find a way out. Cassie reluctantly agreed to help and she joined Marga in pulling off the wood which had been nailed across the window. A wood fell from Cassie’s hand and the noise drew the attention of some goons who stormed in and prevented them from escaping.
“Let go of me!” Marga shouted as she struggled again with one of the goons. “I want to get out of here!”
“I’ve had it with you,” the goon barked as Marga pounded her hands on his chest. “You spoiled brat.”
The goon tried släppiñg Marga. Cassie got in front and the blow hit her instead. The girls consoled each other silently as the men left. Romina had a flashback of the CCTV footage of how Cassie had been taken away. She started crying again. Mina then recalled what had happened to her at the bachelorette party fifteen years ago and how her mother had helped her clean up. Nanny Esther and Neil tried to console her.
“Everything I’ve done was to protect my daughter,” Mina sobbed. “So that she won’t experience what I’ve been through. But I couldn’t do anything.”
Romina was worried that they could do something to her daughter and Esther told her not to think like that. She asked her to be strong for her husband and daughter as well. Robert called an investigator on the phone and asked why he hadn’t sent him any updates yet. The man told him that it wouldn’t be easy to find the person blaçkmäiliñg him.
“Don’t worry,” the investigator said. “I’ll find who this person is.”
Unknown to Robert, Mina had entered the room. “You’re wasting precious time,” Robert said. “The lives of my daughter and granddaughter are at stake.”
“Mr. Mondragon…”
“No, listen to me. The person who kidñäpped my daughter and granddaughter is the same person who’s blaçkmäiliñg me. Follow that lead. Find that person who’s blaçkmäiliñg me.” Robert hanged. He turned and froze.
“Blaçkmäil?” Mina said, a look of shock on her face. “What are you talking about?”
Romina was upset that Robert had kept the fact that someone had been threatening them a secret. Robert told her about how someone had been blaçkmäiliñg him with the secret of Cassie’s identity. Mina said that none of this would be happening if they had just told Cassie the truth.
She warned him that she would never forgive him if anything bad happened to Cassie. Daniela approached Alvin outside the hotel and demanded to know where he had taken her daughter. Alvin claimed that he didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Give me back my daughter,” Danny said. “Or else…”
“Or else what?” Alvin asked. “You’ll report me to the police? You’ll tell Robert the truth? I would never do that to my own daughter. Once I find out that you’re behind this, I’ll tell them everything.”
“You wouldn’t dare, Alvin.”
Alvin then said that he had nothing to do with the kidñappiñg and Daniela told him that she didn’t believe him.
“I don’t have the money to hire kidñäppers,” Alvin added. “If you had nothing to do with this, then it means someone else is targeting you.”
Daniela walked away and Alvin smiled. Kulas called Jude and asked him to hurry up with what he was doing so they could find out who had kidñäpped the kids and save them. At the hideout, one of the men was nailing back in the wood which had come off the window.
Marga apologized to Cassie for being the reason why she had gotten hurt. Cassie told her that she should rather be apologizing because they would have been able to escape had it not been for her.On his way out, the goon warned the girls not to try to escape escape again so they don’t get hurt. Marga was crying, telling Cassie that she wanted to go home.
Cassie told her that they needed to be strong because she was sure their families would do everything to make sure that they were safe. Outside the hotel, Alvin noticed some non-uniformed police men going in. Inside the hotel, Robert told Mina that the ransom money was ready.
The kidñäpper called Robert on the phone. “You don’t know how to listen, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
“I warned you not to call the police but you didn’t listen. You really want your daughter to die.”
“Hold on, I didn’t call the cops.”
“Don’t lie to me. I know the cops are there in the hotel.”
“Am begging you. Don’t hurt the kids. I have the money. Don’t…”
The line went dead and Mina was suddenly agitated. “They said the cops are here at the hotel,” Robert said to Mina. “They’re going to hurt the kids.”
“Let’s call them back, please,” Mina pleaded. “Tell them I’ll give them anything as long as they don’t hurt my daughter.”
“Who the hell called the cops?” Carlos wondered out loud.
Robert had his k!ller face on. He suddenly grabbed Kulas and roughed him up. “Why did you call the cops?” he asked. “I told you they would hurt the kids if the cops got involved.”
Carlos and the others separated them. “My granddaughter is also involved in this,” said the miserable one-eyed-old man. “My son is a cop. They can handle this. Trust the police.”
Robert glared at Kulas. “Help us?” he said, blinking back tears. “Do you know what the kidñäpper just said to me? They’re going to hurt the kids! They threatened to k!ll our kids and that’s because of you!”
Mina gave Kulas a look. “If they hurt my daughter, Mr. Kulas…”
“Romina…” Carlos pleaded.
“Shut up!” Mina yelled. “Stop defending your father! He’s only making things worse!”
A goon brought some food to Cassie and Marga. He told them to eat if they wanted to stay alive, adding that there was no poison in the food. The other scoundrel who had struggled with Marga earlier came in and took Marga’s food away. “Why are you feeding her?” he asked his partner in crime. “After what that brat did to me, she has to starve to dëāth.”
Cassie offered Marga her food after the men had left. “Why are you doing this?” Marga asked.
“Doing what?”
“Why are you still so kind to me after everything I’ve done?”
“We are family, Marga. And we should always protect each other. I’ll admit, I don’t like your attitude but I still consider you as family, Marga. That’s why I want to understand why you’re so mad at me. I don’t want us to be like this forever.”
Back at the hotel, Jude asked how the kidnappers had found out that the police were there and Daniela said that someone was probably watching their every move. Alvin had a phone call from Hector.
Flashback : Alvin and Hector discussed their plan and Hector told him to gain Robert’s trust. “When he finds out that you saved his fake daughter, I am sure he’ll reward us generously,” Hector said. “And your daughter and her family will be grateful to you. You’ll be a hero. So don’t let them catch you.”
Present : Alvin asked Hector about the kids and he told him that they were fine. “What about the police?” Alvin asked.
“Leave that to me. I already spoke to Robert. Am sure he’ll cooperate. If he pays the ransom, then we’ll release the girls. But if he does anything funny, he’ll be mourning his granddaughter’s dëāth, not celebrating his daughter’s birthday.”
Romina was even more agitated after the call. She asked Robert to give her his phone so she could talk to the kidnappers and make sure that her daughter was safe. Robert managed to console and calm her down, promising to bring back their daughter. At the hideout, Cassie asked Marga to rest for a while but Marga feared that the goons might do them the moment they fell asleep. A masked man entered the room. Hector.
“Let us go!” Cassie demanded. “Am sure our family’s looking for us. They won’t let you get away with this!”
“I like you kid,” Hector/masked man said. “You got guts. Unlike your father – a coward.” He then noticed Cassie’s busted lip and stormed out. “Those idïøts,” he said to himself.
A moment later, Hector gave the goon who had hit Cassie some beatings. “Did I not tell you not to hurt the kids?” he asked. “That girl is my niece.”
“It was an accident, boss. She suddenly…”
“I don’t care about your excuses! Next time you lay a finger on the girls, I’ll blow your freaking brains out!” Hector gave another guy some money. “Get her some medicine.” He turned to the guy he had just beaten up. “Now get outta my sight before I shøøt you.”
At a hallway at the hotel, Robert received a phone call from Hector and he pleaded with him not to hurt the kids. Hector told him that he had broken their agreement so the ransom money was now 50 million pesos. Hector asked Robert to prepare the money and follow their agreement or prepare for girls’ funerals. He gave Robert two hours to get the money.
“Are you insane?” Robert asked anxiously. “50 million?! You want me to get the money this late at night? 50 million? Where will I get that?!”
“That’s not my problem. You broke our agreement. So you pay the price. Or else you’ll never see your daughter or granddaughter again.”
“I have the money, just let me…” The line suddenly went dead and Robert angrily slammed the phone on the floor in frustration, breaking down into tears. Marga was asleep when a masked man brought some medicine in. Cassie eyed him as he started dabbing her busted lip with cotton. Suddenly, Cassie grabbed and pulled off the mask from the goon’s face, and the commotion jolted Marga awake. The girls stared silently at the goon’s face.
The goon hurriedly put his mask back on. “You brat. You’re so stubborn.”
“Cassie, what’s happening?” Marga asked, agitated.
“Your attitude will get you into more trouble,” the goon warned.
Cassie stared back at him defiantly. “I’ve seen your face. You don’t scare me anymore.”
“Why did you have to do that?” Marga asked as soon as the goon stormed out. “Now that we know who they are, they have more reasons not to let us go.”
“We will get out of here, Marga,” Cassie declared, a look of unusual wildness on her face. “And when we do, they’ll pay for what they did to us.”
Daniela confronted Alvin and accused him of working with the kidñäppers. Alvin tried playing dumb but Danny girl told him that he was only there to spy on them and report back to the kidñäppers.
“My daughter’s in danger,” Alvin said. “Not just yours.”
“Am warning you,” Danny girl hissed. “If anything happens to Marga, I’ll make sure that you rot in jail again.”
Carlos came out and asked what was going on and Daniela told him that she was just expressing her feelings. She gave Alvin an angry look before going back in with her husband. Carlos glanced at Alvin suspiciously. Hector was upset that Robert had questioned his demands.
He was even more upset when one of his men told him that the girls had seen his face. He told the men not to speak to the girls again since they could easily identify them when they were set free.Back at the hotel, Mina was inconsolable. She told Robert that they had to give the kidnappers whatever they wanted to ensure Cassie’s safety.
Robert told her that it wasn’t possible to get an extra 30 million pesos at such a late hour. Cassie and Marga couldn’t understand why the kidñäppers had treated Cassie’s wound and why they were acting nice to them after hurting them. Marga told her that they would probably be asking for ransom money from their families.
Robert announced to Carlos and Daniela that the kidñäppers now wanted 50 million but he couldn’t get the money at the time. Mina offered to sell her jewelry and collection while Daniela cried, saying that she was sorry because she couldn’t contribute much. Robert asked them not to worry. He told them that Bernard was working on getting the money. “Thank you so much, dad,” Danny girl wailed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Robert consoled her with a hug. At the hideout, Hector came into the room and grabbed Cassie, and started dragging her away. Cassie bit his hand and he let go. “You think you’re tough,” Hector said, pulling out a pocketknife. “Your parents are stubborn. They’re making it hard for us to get the additional ransom money.” Hector brandished the kπife in his hand thr£ateningly. “One of you will be for ransom while I’ll just k!ll the other one.”
Both girls’ eyes were wide with shock. “What do you think about that?” Hector added. “Sounds good?” He slashed the air with the knife and the girls screamed out. A moment later, the Mondragons and Bartolomes watched the live ransom video where Cassie and Marga had been tied up, pleading for them to come to their aid.
“What did they do to you?” Robert asked when he noticed Cassie’s wound.
“Your daughter’s tough, so we taught her a lesson,” Hector said.
“Why don’t you face me?!”
“Don’t shout at me or I’ll do something else to the kids.”
“I need more time to get what you’re asking for. Please, give me more time.”
“No problem. Tomorrow morning, meet me. Bring the money. If you can’t give me all of it, then just choose who you love the most. If you can’t afford both of them, I’ll just k!ll the other one.”
At the hideout, Hector ordered for Marga’s eyes to be covered because he didn’t like the way she looked. He then told his men to put the girls in separate rooms. Hector and one of the men went out. Unable to see now, Marga was crying out for Cassie’s help as Cassie was being dragged into another room.
“Let me go!” Cassie yelled, pounding the goon with her bound hands. She kept on hitting the guy severally. Cassie then kicked the scoundrel in the balls. The goon fell and Cassie kept on kicking him before she locked him inside the room. The miserable man was holding his crotch in pain as Cassie ran off. The goon shouted out for help and the one who was with Marga went to release him. Hector ordered his men to go after Cassie.
Hector entered the room where Marga was tied up. “You won’t get away with this,” Marga barked. “Enjoy your last days of freedom. I already saw the face of one of your men, so there’s no point in hiding your ugly face! You will be in jail soon.”
Hector pointed a finger threateningly. “Do you really think I’d let that happen, huh? Do you think you can get out of here?”
“The cops are coming to arrest you.”
Cassie was still making her escape. The man she had kicked earlier gave chase, his hand still favoring his crotch. Cassie was able to keep herself from being seen by hiding behind some old furniture in one of the rooms.
“You threatening me now?” Hector asked back in the room where Marga was being held. “It’s you who should be afraid! Her parents can pay the ransom. What about your parents? Can they afford to pay the price?”
Marga was crying now. Hector pulled out his pocket kπife. “If they don’t give me my cash, I’ll k!ll you. Do you understand?”
“No,” Marga cried.
“Do you understand?”
“No. Please let me go. Don’t hurt me. Please.”
Hector smiled at her in satisfaction. Cassie came out of her hiding place and ran out, her hands untied. She broke through a gate. Her hands seemed to be tied again. Cassie untied herself. Again. As she started running away, she froze and turned back, remembering that she had left Marga behind. She hurried back inside and she was eventually captured again. Hector came back to Marga and told her that only Robert’s daughter could be rescued. Marga pleaded to be set free.
“What do we do with her now, boss?” one of the men asked.
“What we always do with worthless brats,” Hector replied. “We get rid of them.”
“No, please don’t,” Marga cried.
“She talks too much,” Hector said to the goon. “Shut her up.”
“No, you can’t do this,” Marga went on. “Please listen to me.”
The goon who had caught Cassie held her hostage by the doorway.
“Why would we?”
“My life’s more valuable than Cassie!” Marga cried out. “I have the right more than her.”
“Really? How come?”
“Because I am a real Mondragon. She’s not my grandpa’s real daughter.”
Cassie’s eyes were wide with shock now. “He just adopted her because her mother got pregnant,” Marga went on. “I am the real Mondragon, not her.”
“Marga?” Cassie said, still in disbelief.
Marga turned. “Cassie.”
Cassie stormed inside. “Marga, what did you say? Why did you say I am not daddy’s daughter?”
Marga was crying. “You shouldn’t have heard that.”
“Marga, I heard you loud and clear!” Cassie cried out.
“Fine. You shouldn’t have found out. I didn’t know you were standing there. But that’s the truth. Between the two of us, I am the real Mondragon that’s why I am the one who deserves to get out of here. Cassie, I am sorry.”
As Cassie kept on crying, Hector told them to stop the drama. He asked his men to separate them again and make sure that they didn’t escape. Cassie was taken away, still crying and Marga was left alone in the room, crying by herself.
