“You want me to confess to a mürdër I didn’t commit? It makes sense now. You wanted me to plead guilty because you sold me out! You’re fired!”
Carlos arrived at the mansion and bumped into Hector on his way out. He asked his wife what he was doing there and Daniela told him that Hector was Alvin’s brother and he had come to visit Cassie. Hector offered his hand and Carlos shook it and stared suspiciously as he left to go and find his supposed niece.
Hector walked into the kitchen and found some things disturbed, an indication that someone had been there earlier. Carlos argued with his wife about trusting Hector. As Marga listened and watched from up the stairs, Carlos told Daniela that he felt useless because Romina was blaming him for what had happened to Cassie.
“Give the kids a break,” Carlos said. “You already got what you wanted. Don’t embarrass me like this.”
“You’re one to talk,” Daniela shot back. “Why were you even listening to a criminal?”
Standing by the roadside, Neil asked Cassie whether she had brought along all her stuff since he didn’t want to go back to the mansion to see Daniela and Marga’s silly faces again. Cassie was deathly silent and Bonita asked whether she was okay. “I heard Daniela and Mr. Hector talking earlier,” Cassie revealed. “He mentioned how he was helping Daniela to keep mamma in jail.”
“What? Did you hear their entire conversation?” Neil asked.
“I tried to listen in, but now I have to know what he really meant.”
“I don’t like the sound of that, Cassie. I know you pretty well. Don’t tell me you’re planning on returning to the mansion. It’s too dangerous.”
“But uncle Neil, please understand. If I don’t, I wont know what they did to mamma, and how she ended up in prison.”
“Aren’t you going to put yourself in a tight spot if you go back?” Bonita asked. “Besides, do you really think they’ll let you in the mansion again? You leaving the mansion will put your mother at ease.” Bonita tried dragging her along but Cassie resisted and asked that they drop off somewhere first. A moment later, Cassie arrived with Bonita and Neil at a police station and they met Jepoy there.
“How can I help you?” an officer asked.
“I want to file a police report,” Cassie replied.
Cassie walked into the mansion with Bonita, Neil and some police officers as well as some social wellfare workers. Daniela came over and asked what she was doing there. “From now on, we’ll all be staying here, Daniela. We won’t leave the house daddy gave us. And thanks to what you did…” Cassie showed her the bruise on her arm. “I have enough proof to stop you from hurting me ever again.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Daniela asked.
“I’m just protecting myself, so you can’t hurt me anymore. If they find out that you violated any of the terms I mentioned, they’ll be ready to arrest you anytime.”
“You can’t do that to mommy,” Marga grumbled. “Why are you making her look like a criminal? You’re going overboard.”
“Am I, Marga? The mansion is a huge place. We can live without seeing each other.”
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Daniela said to the social workers. “This is a family matter. I’m sure we can sort things out. Right, Cassie?”
“Actions speak louder than words, Daniela,” Cassie replied while Esther tried to suppress a smile. “I want to make sure that I can stay here safely.”
Neil eyed Daniela as he helped Cassie to take their things back up. A social worker served a speechless Daniela with a notice. Romina had a talk with Bernard and told him that she couldn’t let Daniela go scot-free after hurting her daughter. “What do you want me to do?” Bernard asked.
“I want to file a temporary protection order,” Mina replied. “I can’t allow her to come near my daughter again.”
Marga grumbled and ranted on about the magnificent stunt Cassie had just pulled. She told her mother that she couldn’t stand Cassie and Daniela asked her to tolerate her presence for the meantime. “She will be gone from our lives,” Danny girl said. “I promise you that. I will do everything I can to kick her out.”
Esther reunited with Cassie and asked her whether she really suspected that Daniela had a hand in her mother’s unlawful imprisonment. Cassie told her it was so and that was the reason why she had come back to the mansion so she could help her mother.
Jepoy asked her to be careful and Neil said that he would protect Cassie from any harm. Bernard came in, glad to find Cassie still there. “Romina asked me to get a protection order for you,” Bernard said to Cassie. “To prevent Daniela from hurting you again. We need to take you to a medical examiner to get proof.”
“There’s no need for that, sir,” Bonita cut in gladly. “Cassie already has it.” She showed him the file containing the report Cassie had made earlier. “Then we won’t have anymore problems,” Bernard stated. “This is more than enough to make Daniela cautious of you.”
Romina asked her lawyer about their counter statement and she told her that the statements against her seemed solid. Mina took offense and asked whether she was doubting her, adding that she was innocent and she would fight to get free since her daughter’s life was in danger out there. “I know you’re a fighter, Romina,” Sanchez began. “But I thought of a solution for this case.”
“What is it?”
“A guilty plea. In this case, that’s the best option you have. There’s a high probability that the court will lessen your sentence.”
Romina couldn’t believe it. “You want me to confess to a mürdër I didn’t commit?”
“That’s the only valid solution for your case. Please think about it.”
Mina eyed her lawyer as she left. Alvin brought a blindfolded Sanchez to Hector. Sanchez was scared to dëäth as she told Hector that she had tried but Romina still didn’t want to plead guilty. The Mangubat brothers scared and threatened her to carry out their demands before they went after her kids. At the mansion, Marga ran into Cassie and asked where she was going with the bag she was carrying. Cassie told her that she was going back to her room.
“No, there’s no space,” Marga said. “All my stuff is in there.”
“I’m only taking back what’s mine,” Cassie retorted.
“Go ahead. Try it, so I can have you arrested.”
“For what? Sleeping in your own room isn’t illegal, Marga. I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“What will you do? Drag me out of my room? What’s it going to be? Prison or maids room?”
Cassie went back to the maids quarters and Esther asked her why she hadn’t forced Marga out of her room. Cassie told her that she had more important things to deal with. “I know you’re going through some really difficult times,” Esther said. “But no matter what, I hope your heart will stay pure.”
Cassie smiled and nodded. The next morning, Marga noticed the box of Camila sardines in the kitchen. She ordered a servant to throw away all the can openers. Cassie came in a moment later. She took out a can of sardines but she couldn’t find any can opener to open it. Marga started gloating like always and Cassie asked the servant whether she had seen any of the can openers. The old woman glanced at Marga who was silently ordering her to shut up. “Uh…”
Cassie noticed Marga from the corner of her eye. “Nevermind.” She slowly took out a knife from a drawer and faced Marga. Marga seemed scared. “What are you doing?”
Cassie approached Marga and Marga stepped back cautiously. “Isn’t this what you want?”
Daniela walked in on the scene. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you going to k!ll my daughter?”
“I’m just going to open this can of sardines. All our can openers are missing. I think Marga hid them.”
Daniela turned to her daughter. “Is that true, Marga?”
Just then, a servant came in to inform Daniela that Bernard was there to see her. Danny girl stormed into the living room with the girls and demanded to know what he was doing there. “This is Mr. Castro,” Bernard said, introducing the man with him. “The court clerk.”
Mr. Castro gave Daniela a document. “Someone filed a temporary protection order against you,” he explained.
“Starting today, you cannot hurt, harass or even approach Cassie for 30 days,” Bernard added. “Or else, you’ll be arrested.”
“That’s insane,” Danny said in disbelief as Cassie and Marga looked on. Romina was minding her business when Cindy came up to her and started harassing her. Cindy pulled out a wëäpon and Mina glared back at her, not showing a single hint of fear. A guard approached and Cindy hid the wëäpon and threatened Mina before walking away.
Daniela had a meeting with the board and announced that she wanted to fire Attorney Tejada since he was helping out Romina to get away with her father’s dëäth. Bernard came in and defended himself, adding that he was also a shareholder in the company.
Daniela scoffed. “A shareholder? How much is it again? 2 percent?”
“Still a shareholder,” Bernard stated.
Mrs. Galvez and another member agreed with letting Bernard go but another disagreed with it, saying that Bernard was the only one who knew everything about all their contracts. Since there wasn’t a majority, Daniela postponed the discussion and dismissed everyone.
“Does it really have to come to this?” Bernard asked.
“You started this,” Daniela retorted. “When you served me that protection order. It was an ättaçk on me and my family. Do you really think dad would approve of what you’re doing to me?”
“Yes. Because I know how much Robert løvëd Romina and Cassie. If he was still alive today, he wouldn’t like what you’ve been doing to them. Me helping Romina to get that protection order is a way for me to help your father.”
Daniela rolled her eyes and called Cindy on phone just as soon as Bernard left the conference room. “I’ll pay you a fortune, but I want Romina battered and bruised.”
Neil visited her sister in jail and told her about how Cassie had scared the crap out of ‘that monster’, Daniela by reporting her to the police. Romina was amused. “Cassie did that?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah. She’s as brave as you. Don’t worry about us. Focus on yourself and your case. Are you and your lawyer ready?”
“We are but then… something is off.”
“Do you want me to look for a new lawyer? Just tell me. I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“I want you to do something for me, Neil. But you can’t tell anyone at all.”
Daniela complained that she had to get rid of Bernard because he was bothering her. Mrs. Galvez pointed out to her that she couldn’t do that unless she was the CEO. “That’s what I’m trying to be,” Daniela grumbled. “I’ve already exhausted all my convincing powers on the board but they still won’t make me CEO.”
“Let’s face it, Daniela. The board has a point. You haven’t been here long enough to be CEO.”
“Don’t tell me you agree with them.”
“I don’t. I’m just being realistic. You need to prove to the board that you deserve to be CEO of the company.”
“And how do I do that?”
“By bringing in more business to the company.”
“You sound so sure.”
“Because that’s exactly what Romina did. That’s why nobody questioned her appointment. And that’s what you must also do.”
“Why would I want to follow in that woman’s footsteps?”
“I’m not telling you to. I’m telling you to do more than she did. She still holds a place in this company. In case she gets out, you should have a place in this company. Show them that you’re better than Romina, and no one would question your appointment as CEO.”
At Maxwell, Marga apologized to Kristoff since he had been affected by what had happened at the party. Kristoff told her to fix the mess she had made by taking down the video and apologizing to Cassie. “Hell no,” Marga spat. “Do you know the police came to our house because of her?”
“That’s none of my concern. Talk to me when you’ve apologized to Cassie.”
Neil took Gino along to investigate Attorney Sanchez, Romina’s lawyer. They found her outside her house talking to a man and Neil asked Gino to take pictures so Romina could see what was going on. The goon gave Sanchez some money and Neil and Gino quickly ducked out of his view as he looked their way. Back at Maxwell, the Mean Squad watched Cassie and Kristoff having lunch together and teased Marga over it. Marga took offense when Nadya insinuated that they could be løvërs now. Nica asked why she was so affected by them and Marga told her that she and Kristoff were friends.
“It’s so obvious you like him,” Nica jibed. “Come on, just admit it.”
“It’s just us, Marga,” Nadya added. “Don’t tell me you care about how other people think about you.”
“Okay. Fine,” Marga said. “I do. I like him. There. Happy now?”
Romina told Pilar that she couldn’t stay in prison forever because Cindy had threatened her with a wëäpon earlier and she didn’t know how long she would be able to survive. Mina added that she needed to get out quickly for her daughter’s sake, adding that she hadn’t even been able to get justice for her räpë case and Robert’s dëäth. “I need to fight for justice,” Mina said. “I’m begging you. Please help me out.”
Mina helped Pilar up onto her feet and the older woman suddenly started hammering her with her crutches. “Wait, why are you hitting me?” Mina asked in confusion.
“If you’re planning to fight, you’ve got to learn to predict your enemy’s every move. Find out how they think. That will give you the advantage in a brawl.”
Mina frowned, favoring her battered ribs. “Okay. I understand.”
Some inmates came out fighting and both Romina and Pilar stared at them. “Always watch your back,” Pilar added. “Be one step ahead of them.”
As Romina watched intently, a guard arrived on the scene to break up the fight. Kristoff asked Cassie to go along with him to his house so that she would be safe. Cassie told him that she would be okay and Marga couldn’t hurt her anymore. Kristoff left and as Cassie tried to hail a taxi, Alvin and Roxy suddenly showed up. Cassie asked what they were doing there and Roxy told her that they were there to pick her up.
“I don’t need anyone to pick me up,” Cassie said. “I can go home on my own.”
“I know that,” Alvin began. “But now that you don’t have bodyguards to watch over you, I’ll drop you off and pick you up after school.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Just say yes,” Roxy cut in. “You could save up on transport fare.”
“Don’t worry about your mom,” Alvin added. “I’ll visit her and I’ll let her know that I’ll watch over you.”
Cassie recalled the conversation she had overheard between Daniela and Hector. “I do appreciate your gesture, but I didn’t think you’d reach out to me after everything that happened.”
“You’re my daughter, Cassie. I’d do anything to be with you. But don’t worry, I won’t force you this time. Seeing you this way is more than enough.”
Cassie forced a smile. Kulas was excited over the car Daniela had given to Carlos as a gift. He told his son that Daniela really løvëd him and she was way better than Romina. “Dad, let’s not talk about Romina,” Carlos said.
“Why?” Gino asked. “Did something happen?”
“Romina found out that Daniela’s been mistreating Cassie. And she’s blaming me for not protecting her daughter.”
Kulas complained that Romina couldn’t blame Carlos whether it was true or not because he was not Cassie’s father. “If Romina didn’t k!ll Robert, her daughter wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“It hasn’t been proven that she k!lled her husband,” Gino cut in.
“Let her worry about her own kid,” Kulas said to Carlos. “Don’t get involved. You don’t own her anything.”
Marga and the Mean Squad came out to find Cassie was still standing at the school’s entrance with Alvin and Roxy. Roxy greeted her excitedly and Marga introduced her to the Mean Squad, who in turn mocked her. Cassie came over. “Roxy, are you okay?”
“Why would she be?” Marga said. “She just met Nica, Maureen and Nadya. Your half-sister looks up to me.”
“I’m sure that’ll change when she gets to know you.”
“I doubt that.” Marga invited Roxanne for a tour of the school and she glady accepted and left with her and the Mean Squad. Marga walked with Roxy and the Mean Squad around campus. Roxy shared her dreams of schooling there next year once they were rich and how she wanted to hang out with them as well but Nica told her that it was impossible. “Not everyone gets to be in our circle,” Nadya explained. “There are requirements – family background, wealth, intelligence.”
“Do I have all of that?” Maureen asked happily.
“I don’t think so,” Nica jibed.
“But we can make an exception,” Marga added.
Roxy thanked and hugged her and Marga rolled her eyes and forced a smile. Roxy left to go and get some school pamphlets and Nica and Nadya expressed their disapproval of Roxy joining their circle. Marga told them that she would never be friends with ‘that freak’. “I’m going to make her my new wëäpon against Cassie,” Marga stated. “This is going to be fun. She will be my new toy.”
Cassie thanked Alvin for offering to pick her up, telling him that she was still getting used to her parents not being around. “You miss them?” Alvin asked.
“More than ever,” Cassie replied. “That’s why I’m hoping someone can help get mamma out of jail. It would mean the world to me if someone helps us reunite. I’d do everything I could to repay them.”
“That sounds good. Maybe I could help out.”
“Oh, really? Do you know anything about mamma’s case?”
Roxy arrived just then. “It looked like you two were having a serious conversation.”
“Mr. Vin was telling me…”
“It’s okay, Cassie,” Alvin cut in nervously. “Forget what I said.”
Neil arrived and glanced at Alvin. “Cassie, let’s go.” Neil walked out of the school with Cassie. “You agreed to let him take you home. Does it mean you’ve already forgiven him?”
Cassie shook her head. “I only said that for mamma.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m hoping Mr. Vin knows what his brother’s up to. I want to know what he and Daniela discussed about mamma’s case.”
“Isn’t that risky? He might be pissed off if he finds out about your plan.”
“I’m not afraid of him. I’ll do everything I can to help mamma get out of jail.”
Bernard talked to a board member on phone and asked her not to support Daniela in dismissing him from the company. Kristoff came over and asked whether there was a problem. “There is,” Bernard admitted. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry about me.”
“Is it because you’re helping aunt Romina?”
“Go on to bed. You have school tomorrow.”
“Okay, dad.”
The next morning, Cassie was dusting some paintings hanging on the wall when she accidentally tore one. Daniela and Marga arrived on the scene and began blasting her like always as Esther and Cassie told them that it had been an accident. “I’ll pay for it,” Cassie decided.
“What?” Danny girl said in disbelief.
“I said I’ll pay for it. And can you stop insulting my mother? She has nothing to do with this.”
“Fine. You wanna pay for that? That’ll be 2.7 million pesos.”
“But she only destroyed one,” Esther pointed out.
“I know. But the other two are useless without it, so you better pay for the whole set.”
“Got that cash lying around?” Marga mocked.
“It’s alright,” Cassie said. “I’ll save some money first from the allowance daddy left me. Mamma taught me to admit my mistakes.”
Bernard walked in on the scene. “What’s going on around here, Daniela?”
“Nevermind paying,” Daniela said to Cassie. “You’ll just use it to backup your story.” Danny girl eyed Bernard and walked away and her bratty daughter followed. Bernard dropped off Cassie at school and Cassie thanked him for giving her a ride.
“I promised your mom that I’d take care of you,” Bernard said. He gave Cassie a card. “I set up an account for you. Your allowance will be deposited into your account every month.”
“Thank you so much,” Cassie said.
“Regarding the incident…”
“I’m fine, uncle. I’m the one who ruined Daniela’s painting.”
“That doesn’t excuse her for scolding you. It’s still a form of abuse.”
“Don’t worry, uncle. I want to make it up to Daniela so she wouldn’t be mad anymore. Can I use my allowance right now? I want to pay for the painting I damaged.”
“How much does it cost?”
“2.7 million pesos. I’ll pay in installments using my allowance.”
“Cassie,” Bernard admonished. “Your father set aside that money for your needs.”
“Our relationship is as bad as it is,” Cassie said. “I don’t want it to get worse because of that painting. And I don’t want Daniela and Marga to use it against me.”
“It’s your decision what you use your money for. But please, think it over.”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
At the city jail, Romina asked her brother whether she had been able to do what she had asked. Gino told her that they had printed out the pictures so she could see for herself. Neil told Mina that he had asked help from Gino since he wasn’t good at following people around. Mina thanked Gino and went through the photos, a look of shock on her face. “We went to her house and saw your lawyer talking to someone,” Gino said. “He was giving her money.”
“Do you know who he is?” Neil asked.
“No, I don’t,” Mina replied. “But I need to find out.”
Bernard arrived just then and Mina showed him the photo of Attorney Sanchez. Sanchez came in a second later and Bernard confronted her and demanded an explanation. “Did he bribe you? Who is he? Does this have anything to do with Romina’s case? How could you do this? I entrusted her to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Sanchez wailed. “I had no choice.”
Mina sprang up onto her feet in annoyance. “It makes sense now. You wanted me to plead guilty because you sold me out!”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re fired!”
Daniela told Mrs. Galvez that she would have scrubbed Cassie’s face on the floor had it not been for the protection order. Mrs. Galvez told her not to focus her attention on the girl because she had some good need for her – she was assigning her to attend a business summit that would attract more business partners. “Thank you Mrs. Galvez,” Danny girl said excitedly. “You won’t regret this. I will prove that I am CEO material.”
Marga approached Kristoff and told him that she had tried apologizing to Cassie but she hadn’t listened and had even broken her mother’s painting. Kristoff told her that it was nothing compared to what her mother was doing to his dad. “What do you mean?” Marga asked.
“Nevermind.” Kristoff started walking away.
Marga held him back. “Kristoff, wait. Did my mom do something to your dad?”
“She wants to fire my dad from the company, because he’s helping aunt Romina. And I think that’s unfair.”
“Are you sure about that? My mom did that?”
“She’s the one running the company now.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know but don’t worry. I’ll talk to mommy.”
“No need. Dad’s already working on it. If you wanna fix something, focus on your problem with Cassie.”
Marga noticed Cassie staring at them from a distance. “No way,” she said before storming off. Back at the city jail, Bernard apologized to Romina, and Mina said there was no need because they had both made the mistake of trusting the wrong person and that it was a good thing that they had found out about it before the worst happened.
“But what’ll happen with your case,” Neil said worriedly. “We need a new lawyer now.”
“I will be your new lawyer,” Bernard said to Mina. “From now on, I will handle your case.”
“Please, Bernard,” Mina admonished. “Daniela will definitely throw you out of the company.”
“I can handle it. I just need to take care of some documents so I can file a petition for bail.”
“I thought my case was non-bailable.”
“We need a judge to approve your petition. I thought Attorney Sanchez had already filed it.”
“Bernard, are you sure about this?”
“This is what I should have done from the start. Don’t worry. I’ll do all I can to get you out of here.” Romina smiled despite herself, taking turns glancing at her løvëd ones as her brother held onto her hand in support, hopeful that finally, justice would be served.
