“You got me räpëd. You’re despicable. How can you do that to another woman? You didn’t just ruin my life, my mother died as a result of what happened. Bernard, press charges. We are putting that criminal where she belongs!”
Roxanne told her father and uncle about how Marga had almost fallen off of the building last night. Hector told Alvin to take charge of the warehouse while he went to the hospital. Roxy tried to discourage him from going. “She’s right, Hector,” Alvin added. “You act like you’re that kid’s dad.”
Hector gave his brother a look. “Are you stüpïd? Daniela’s our boss. Visiting her kid will put us on her good side.”
“Pappa, please don’t go,” Roxy pleaded.
“Roxanne, what’s wrong? I know you?”
“It’s just that… Marga and Cassie already know the truth. They know I’m not uncle Alvin’s daughter.”
“What?” Alvin said in disbelief. “Why’d you tell them?”
“I didn’t tell them. Cassie stalked me on the internet and made me confess.”
Hector however left with Roxanne for the hospital. Alvin a phone call as he was heading out. “Boss Alvin. Someone snuck into the warehouse.”
Romina watched as Alvin came out of the house and got into his car. She rolled up her car window and followed. At the diner, Kristoff asked Cassie whether she was still thinking about what had happened to Marga, and Cassie said she didn’t want Marga to get hurt even if they didn’t get along.
“Do you know why she reacted that way?” Cassie asked.
Kristoff shook his head. “No. Maybe she’s depressed or lonely. Cassie…”
“Tope, Marga’s still family. I want to help her somehow. Nobody deserves to suffer like that. Not even Marga. But I don’t know what I can do to make her feel better.”
“I think what Marga needs is a real friend. Someone who can make her happy and help her forget about all her problems. And Cassie, I know you wanna help her but this is Marga we’re talking about. She’s not going to see you as her best friend.”
“I know.”
At the hospital, the doctor advised Carlos and Daniela to keep a close eye on Marga for signs of depression as soon as she was discharged so she could get the proper treatment.
“Don’t worry, doctor, I’ll talk to her,” Daniela said. “If not, I’ll find a therapist to keep this from happening. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Yes. Let’s go to my clinic.”
Alvin beat up a tied up and blindfolded Kulas at the warehouse and asked whether he was planning to rat them out. Kulas promised not to meddle in his business again but Alvin wasn’t having any of it.
“Do you think I’m an idïøt?” Alvin asked. “You messed with the wrong people, old man.” Alvin turned to his goons. “Get rid of him. Do a clean job too or you’ll answer to my brother. Wait till nightfalls so no one spots you.”
“Wait. Hold on,” Kulas said. “You think Daniela will allow that?”
“Who says she’ll find out?”
Romina sneaked into the warehouse. “Please have mercy,” Kulas pleaded back inside. “I’m an old man. I wanna be with my family. Please have mercy.”
Alvin gave the misëräble one-eyed-old man a look. “Mercy? I don’t have that, Kulas.”
“No. I don’t believe that. I know you’re a good person.”
“A good person? I’m a criminal, you idïøt.”
Romina advanced and took cover behind some cartons. “If you think begging will get you out of this, you’re sourly mistaken.”
“Alvin. Alvin. You were just following Daniela’s orders, right?” Kulas said as Romina listened in and watched secretly. “You wouldn’t try to räpë Romina if not for her. Please don’t do this. I know you don’t wanna do this. You’re a good person, Alvin. You really are.”
Hiding behind the cartons, Romina straitened up, a vengeful, vicious look on her face now. “You will all pay for hiding that from me.” She then called the police. Meanwhile, Kulas was still pleading with Alvin to let him go. Alvin gagged him in annoyance and left with his goons. Romina sauntered in as Kulas struggled with his restraints. She took her time to remove the gag from the old man’s mouth.
“Alvin, thank you,” Kulas cried.
“Hello there, Mr. Kulas.”
Kulas glanced around but he couldn’t see anything through his blindfold. “Romina? Romina, what are you doing here?”
Mina towered over Kulas. “I’m here to save you,” she whispered.
Kulas stared blindly in disbelief. “You are? I’ve always known you are a good person. Romina, help me. Untie this. Come on. Hurry up before they see you. Romina. Hurry up.”
Romina stared down at Kulas casually as if she had all the time in the world. “I’ll help you but on one condition.”
“Okay. I’ll do anything you want. Just get me out of here. Untie me.”
“I want you to tell me the truth about who had me räpëd back then.”
The police arrived at the warehouse and apprehended Alvin and his goons who had been busy drinking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Romina,” Kulas claimed.
Mina started walking away. “In that case, then you’re on your own.”
“Wait, wait. Romina, hear me out. It was Daniela, I swear. She ordered Alvin to räpë you. She paid Alvin to do it. Can you untie me now? Let me go, please.”
Romina wiped tears away and removed Kulas’ blindfold as some officers came over. “I’ll leave him to you.”
“Why are the police here?” Kulas asked in confusion.
“They heard what you said. I’ll see you in jail, Mr. Kulas.”
In Marga’s hospital room, Carlos apologized for failing to look after her and neglecting her. He pleaded for another chance to make it up to her. Daniela came in and Carlos went over to her. “So what’s your decision?” Danny girl asked.
Carlos glanced at Marga. “I’ll protect our daughter. I won’t reveal the truth.”
“You’re doing the right thing. Thank you. Please remember, no matter what happens, I will never stop løviñg you. I’ll do everything to keep this family together. I won’t let Romina tear us apart.”
Leaning against her car outside the warehouse, Romina stared casually as Kulas and Alvin were brought out in handcuffs. Carlos received a phone call from Jude, telling him that their father had been sent to the police station and he was on his way there. At the diner, some talent scouts asked Sir Wacky about Marga. Sir Wacky called Cassie over and related the information to her. Cassie seemed excited.
“And you are?…” said one of the scouts.
“She’s Marga’s aunt,” Sir Wacky revealed.
“I guess beauty runs in the family,” another scout commented.
Cassie smiled. “How may I be of assistance?”
“We were hoping to speak to Marga. Can you take us to her?”
“I’m afraid I’m still on duty.”
“Cassie, take them to Marga,” Sir Wacky cut in. “Otherwise, it will be a waste of opportunity for her. Bring Kristoff along so you’ll have someone to accompany you.”
“Okay. Thank you sir, Wacky.”
Hector arrived at the hospital and asked Daniela whether she was alright. Daniela told him that she wasn’t, after everything that had happened with Marga, adding that everything she had ever done was for her family. “I get that, Daniela,” Hector said. “You go through hell for your family. Do you have any regrets?”
“If there’s anything I regret, it’s that I allowed Romina back into our lives. My daughter needs me, but I can’t give her my full attention while that Romina is constantly hanging around. I just want this over with.”
Hector took Daniela’s hand. “Don’t worry, Daniela. I’ll personally put an end to this problem. We’re partners, here.”
Daniela shrugged off Hector’s hold on her hand. Hector then had a phone call from one of his goons, telling him about Alvin being arrested. Roxanne asked Marga whether she was okay and Marga told her that she had just been intoxicated last night. Cassie and Kristoff came in just then with the talent scouts. Marga asked why they were looking for her and they told her that they had seen the video of her helping the girl and her mother at the diner.
“Also your vlog. We liked the contents. That’s why we decided to contact you. We have a lineup of endorsements that are perfect for your image.”
Marga was excited. “Really? Are you guys joking?”
“Honey, we don’t joke about things like this. So, are you interested?”
“Yes. I’m very interested.”
At the Cartolome autoshop, Myrna asked Jessa to come with her to the police station to see Kulas. Jessa however told her to go ahead while she took care of the shop. Myrna hanged some keys and left, and Jessa eyed them treacherously. Somewhere along the streets, a young man evaded some guys who wanted to teach him a lesson for trespassing on their territory. Back at the autoshop, Jessa grabbed the keys and unlocked the drawer. She then took some money and closed up shop.
“That was close,” said the young runaway guy on the streets. Panting, he smiled to himself for escaping a potential beatdown “Suckers.” After Jessa left the Cartolome autoshop, he sneaked inside and went to sleep under one of the cars. Carlos arrived at the precinct and asked what had happened and Jude told him that Alvin had tried to k!ll their father. “Good thing Romina was there to save him.”
“Where’s Alvin now?” Carlos asked.
“They’re still getting his statement.”
Carlos went over to his father. “Dad, how are you doing?”
“Please help me,” Kulas said. “It’s Romina. She knows the truth.”
“What truth?”
“I told her about Daniela’s secret.”
“Dad, you knew about it? Since when?”
“That’s not important now. Go and find Romina and plead with her if you don’t wanna have Daniela arrested. Or your family will be torn apart.”
Romina was in a solemn daze downstairs, recalling her encounter with Kulas at the warehouse. Carlos came over and she greeted him with a gracious left-handed släp. “Daniela had me räpëd. Is that it? Is that what you discovered but couldn’t tell me?”
“I tried so many times to tell you about it,” Carlos tried to reason.
“But you never did. You know how much that incident completely ruined my life. How long I’ve been searching for justice. All this happened because of you, but you still chose to hide the truth. What kind of person are you, Carlos?”
“I’m a father now, Romina. What do you want me to do? Turn my back on my family? Send my wife to prison?”
“You’re just as bad as Daniela,” Romina hissed. “You’re both worthless, despicable human beings. You don’t have a conscience.” Mina started shoving Carlos and some officers came over to restore order. Mina had her vengeful face on. “You’ll never change. I’ll make sure you regret lying to me. You and your wife.”
Daniela had a talk with Marga about the huge plans of the talent scouts for her. Marga was excited when her mother told her that she would let her go along with it if that was what she wanted. She then asked her to promise not to repeat the stunt she had pulled off last night.
“If there’s a problem, talk to me,” Danny girl said. “Or your dad or anyone. Just remember, we’ll always be here for you.”
“Yes, mommy.”
Some officers came in at that moment. “Mrs. Bartolome, can you come with us to the precinct?”
Back at the police station, Bonita arrived with Neil and assured Romina that Bernard was on his way to handle matters. Daniela stormed in. “B!tçh,” she hissed, grabbing at Mina’s hair and pulling. After a brief catfight, Bonita and Neil and some officers held both women back. “Why do you keep causing trouble, you b!tçh?”
Romina punched Daniela’s face in response. The impact broke her nose and drew blood.
“You b!tçh…”
Romina punched Daniela again. “You got me räpëd. You’re despicable. How can you do that to another woman? You didn’t just ruin my life, my mother died as a result of what happened.”
Carlos rushed down the stairs. “Is it because of that man? Well, you can have him. Keep him to yourself. If there’s one thing I’m thankful for, it’s that you spared me from marrying that man.”
Bernard arrived on the scene and helped Bonita and Neil in holding back Romina. “That’s enough, Romina.”
“Bernard, press charges. We are putting that criminal where she belongs!”
In the interrogation room, Daniela denied having had Romina räpëd. The chief revealed to her that her own father-in-law was claiming that she had orchestrated the vile deed. Alvin asked his lawyer why he was being accused of räpë again after the kidñappiñg charges filed against him. “My case was dismissed, right?”
“Your case didn’t go to court,” the lawyer explained. “It was the prosecutor who said there was insufficient evidence. But now, they have new information. It was Mrs. Bartolome who had the victim räpëd.”
“If Daniela’s guilty, does that mean I am too?”
“Depends on the judge. Let’s just prepare for the worse.”
Myrna and Gino arrived at the police station. Myrna asked why Kulas had been arrested and Jude told her that Romina had had her räpë case reopened and his father could be involved. “I thought this was over,” Myrna said. “Why reopen it?”
“And I thought she wasn’t räpëd at all,” Gino added.
“Dad admitted that he knows who ordered Romina’s räpë,”Jude whispered. “Daniela supposedly had Romina räpëd, and she ordered Alvin to do it. And dad might have known what happened.”
The Bartolomes turned to stare at Romina who sat nearby with Neil and Bonita. Back in the interrogation room, Daniela wanted to file an assault charge against Romina but her lawyer reminded her that she had ättaçked Romina first so she was the one who could charge her with assault. There was no officer present.
“Fine,” Danny girl grumbled. “I won’t waste my time on such trivial things. This time, we’ve got to send her to prison for life.”
The chief came in with an officer. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Bartolome. Our superintendent wanted to talk to us. But don’t worry, we only have a few questions left.”
Romina, Alvin and Daniela crossed paths in a hallway at the station. Mina asked Alvin to tell her if he had any information that could help her case, while Daniela ordered him to keep his mouth shut. “Daniela, I don’t wanna go back to jail,” Alvin said. “Just tell her the truth.”
“They’re toying with you.”
“Alvin, you need to confess,” Bernard cut in. “We can lower your sentence if you tell us what really happened.”
“Keep your mouth shut, Alvin.”
“I’m innocent here, Romina,” Alvin said. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“What are you saying?” Mina asked, confused.
“Yes, Daniela ordered me to räpë you. But I’m not the one who räpëd you. I’m innocent. I’m not Cassie’s real father. She isn’t my daughter?”
“What about the DNA test?”
“I don’t know how that turned out positive, but I’m sure I’m not Cassie’s father.”
Hector arrived on the scene. “Alvin?”
Coming down the stairs, Hector asked Alvin why he had admitted to not being Cassie’s real father and Alvin told him that he had been freaking out back there.
“You moron,” Hector spat. “Do you think Romina wouldn’t press charges? Get real. If she proves that you didn’t really āssäult her, and that you lied to Cassie, she’ll get even more angrier. You just dug your own grave.”
“Alright. Enough with the threats. Can you just help me out?”
“Thanks to your stüpïdīty, Daniela and I need to come up with a new plan.”
Daniela was hyperventilating and pleading with her lawyer to do something as she was being escorted into a jail cell. “I’m sorry, Daniela,” said the lawyer. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay your bill first thing in the morning.”
“No! Do it now!”
“Quiet down,” the officer warned. “Everyone here is asleep.” The officer unlocked the cell. “Get inside.”
Daniela reluctantly walked into cell and the officer locked it again. “Oh God. Please, don’t leave me in here. Get me out of here!”
Some inmates came over and started touching Daniela. “Don’t touch me!” Danny girl barked. “Stop right there. Don’t come near me.”
An inmate touched her again. “Stop.”
Savannah went to discharge and pick up Marga from the hospital. Marga asked that they go to her mother first before going home and Savvy told her that her mother had instructed her to take her home right away.
“Why did the police suddenly arrest her?” Marga asked.
“I don’t know, Marga,” Savvy replied reluctantly. “But I am sure Romina’s involved.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be out of jail in no time, so let’s just go home and wait for them.”
“Alvin’s not Cassie’s father?” Bonita wondered out loud at the mansion.
“That’s what he said,” Romina confirmed. “He said the DNA test results were fake.”
Cassie came over. “So it’s true? Mr. Vin’s not my father?”
Romina turned to her daughter. “Cassie, that’s what Alvin said. But we’re still investigating. We’re planning to have you two undergo another DNA test to figure this out.”
Cassie then asked the million dollar question. “But if he’s not my biological father, then who is?”
Hector visited Daniela in jail and she began complaining about how her situation was all his brother’s fault.
“Cut him some slack,” Hector admonished. “You know how he cracks under pressure.”
“He just brought Romina one step closer to the truth. Now they’re questioning who Cassie’s real father is. Romina will just dig deeper. If she manages to find out that my dad was the one who raped her, she’ll take away everything from us. Is that what you want?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll fix this.”
“No one can know find out about Cassie’s real father,” Hector thought to himself back home. “But to ensure that, Romina needs to be six feet under.”
At the mansion, Romina asked Cassie if she was okay and she told her that she just didn’t understand why Mr. Vin had lied to her and even made Roxanne pretend to be her sister.
“Criminals will do anything to hide the truth,” Mina said.
“Ma, whether Mr. Vin is my father or not, nothing will change because daddy will always be my father. I’m more worried about you. Once the DNA test results are released and we confirm he isn’t my father, we won’t have any leads regarding the real perpetrator.”
“Don’t worry, Cassie. No matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to hide the truth. I will do everything to find out who he is protecting.”
Bernard came over. “Romina, we need to talk to Alvin as early as today.”
Mina was confused. “Why? What happened?”
“His lawyer is already processing his bail, and since the prosecutor jumped the rape case, we have nothing on him except Mr. Kulas’ testimony.”
“We can’t allow that to happen. He’s the only one who knows what happened to me that night. We need to hurry. I will do anything to make him tell me exactly what happened to me that night.”
Hector visited his brother in jail and told him about his plan to get rid of Romina for good since they wouldn’t have peace as long as she was alive. Alvin worried that it was risky since Romina had already accused him of attempted mürdër before. “She can say whatever she wants,” Hector said. “But as long as they don’t have any evidence, they can’t arrest me. But you’re right. We need a foolproof plan.”
Alvin was even more agitated when his lawyer came in to announce that Romina had filed another räpë case against him. At the diner, Kristoff told Cassie not to worry about the situation with Mr. Vin and to allow his dad and her mother to handle it. Cassie told him that she couldn’t forget about it and she wanted to help her mother find the real suspect behind her räpë.
“What do you mean by that?” Kristoff asked.
“I’m sure Roxanne knew from the start we weren’t siblings. Chances are, she knows why they claimed Alvin was my biological father. Whatever Roxanne knows might just help with mamma’s case.” Cassie then called Roxanne. “Can we talk for a bit? I’ll wait for you at the diner.”
At the Cartolome autoshop, Gino caught the young runaway guy sleeping under the car and he made one of the workers pull him out. “What are you doing here?” Gino asked.
The guy gave Gino a look. “Bummer. Can’t you see I was sleeping?”
“No, can’t you see this isn’t a rest house?”
“Sorry, I needed a place to crash.”
“Next time, try a park bench. Now go on. Get out of here.”
“I’m going. I’m going.”
At the mansion, Marga asked Savannah to take her to see her mother but Savvy was reluctant, saying that her mother’s lawyer would be posting bail anytime soon. Marga started bombarding her with questions and Savvy dismissed them all. “I’m going to see my mother,” Mini-Daniela declared. “It’s either you come with me, or I’m going alone.”
Daniela asked her lawyer why she was still in jail and he told her that he was having difficulty processing her bail since Romina had accused her of räpë. “But they don’t have any evidence to prove that,” Daniela argued.
“Your own father-in-law gave a statement,” the lawyer pointed out.
Marga came in just then. “What are you doing here?” Daniela asked.
“Aunt Savvy drove me here. She’s waiting outside. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Romina accused me of räpë.”
“What?”
“I already told you, Marga. They won’t stop until they see us battered and bruised.”
“They can’t do this to us. When will they stop harassing us?”
“This is the last time I’ll let them do this to us.” Daniela then turned to the lawyer. “I need you to call Savannah. Tell her that there’s someone she needs to talk to. If that’s all they have against me, those statements need to be retracted.”
Romina and Bernard paid Alvin a visit in jail. Alvin told Mina that she didn’t have to press charges against him because he hadn’t really räpëd her. Mina reminded him of the countless times he had lied to her. “If you want me to drop the charges, then tell me the truth.”
“This time, I’ll need a written statement from you,” Bernard cut in. “So we’ll have proof of your admission.”
“Yeah, I äbduçted you,” Alvin admitted. “But I didn’t räpë you.”
“And why on earth should I believe you?”
“Why do you think Daniela paid me to admit everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“That night, she spiked your drink with a sedative. That’s why you became unconscious. She planned everything.”
Romina flashed back to the bachelorette party. “Why do you think you can’t remember anything?” Alvin asked. “You know I’m telling the truth?”
“You want me to believe that you weren’t the one who räpëd me? But you had a DNA test done again.”
“Romina…”
“Let’s talk another time, Alvin. When you can prove that you’re not the one who räpëd me.”
At the autoshop, Jude asked his father why he had gone after the Mangubat brothers, and Kulas told him that he had only done those things for his brother’s family. “And you put your life in danger too,” Gino cut in. You’re lucky you didn’t die.”
“It was that bästärd Alvin who got lucky. But it won’t happen again. They can’t get lucky twice.” A phone call came in. “Hello? Who’s this?
“This is Savannah. Daniela wants to talk to you. You do know she’s in prison now, yes? Because of you?”
Cassie had a talk with Roxanne at the diner, asking why she had lied to her about them being sisters and Alvin being her father. “I trusted you, Roxanne. I never did anything bad to you. How could you do this to me?”
“Cassie…”
“Just tell the truth,” Kristoff urged. “What do you know about what happened? And why did you pose as Cassie’s sister?”
Marga came out of nowhere and grabbed Cassie by the hair, trying to slam her head against the table. “I will not let you ruin my family. Your family better leave my mother alone.”
Cassie gave Marga a släp a moment after Kristoff pulled her away. “You’re the ones who should leave us alone. We never did anything wrong. If anyone should get mad, it’s us.”
“Marga, this has gone too far,” Kristoff said. “I will not let you hurt Cassie again.”
“They already put my mom behind bars, Tope,” Marga grumbled. “They’re making it look like mommy was the one who had aunt Romina räpëd.”
“Because she actually did. Mr. Vin already confessed.”
“And you think I’d believe that? For all I know, you’re only making mommy look like the bad guy.”
“Marga, your mom’s been throwing accusations, but none of them stuck, did they? And you still think you’re right?”
“You’re a liar.” Mini-Daniela tried going after Cassie again but Kristoff held her back.
“We all know you’re smart,” Cassie stated. “So use your head this time. You want to know the truth? Then go ask your mother, because Mr. Vin wasn’t the only one who ratted her out.”
“Aunt Romina is just doing this to ruin my family.”
“It’s your mother’s lies that are ruining your family, Marga.”
“Kristoff, she’s lying. My mother’s innocent.”
“Our accusations against her aren’t baseless. So instead of getting mad, haven’t you realized you could get to the bottom of this too? Stop and think about it. Excuse me.”
At the autoshop, Myrna and Gino asked Carlos to leave them in charge of the car shop. Carlos declined the offer, saying that he had nothing else to do. “But isn’t Daniela in jail right now?” Gino asked. “Shouldn’t you be focusing on her?”
Carlos gave his brother a look. “It’s Daniela’s own problem, not mine. She put herself in that situation so she should fix it herself. She better pray Marga doesn’t get affected.”
“What happened to Marga?”
“She almost fell off a building. She was drunk. She was upset with us because we’ve been neglecting her. That’s why I should be focusing on Marga, not Daniela.”
“But, son,” Myrna admonished. “Whatever’s going on with Daniela will surely affect Marga. Your wife needs you. You’re married. You should be there for her through thick and thin.”
Carlos scoffed. “Coming from you, mom.”
“Come on, Carlos,” Gino cut in. “Mom was just trying to help.”
“You don’t know what happened, Gino. So I suggest you stay out of it.”
At the precinct, Daniela complained to Kulas about how he had ratted her out. Kulas apologized and assured her that he would retract his statement and make it seem like Romina had forced him to say it. “I wouldn’t have said anything if it wasn’t for Alvin,” Kulas grumbled. “I had no choice because the brothers almost k!lled me.”
“What do you mean?” Danny girl asked, confused.
“I have a suspicion those brothers are doing something illegal in your company,” Kulas explained. “So I followed them. But Alvin caught me and threatened to k!ll me. If it wasn’t for Romina, I might be dëäd.”
“What does Romina have to do with this, dad?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure they’re involved in something. I warned you before, Daniela. You can’t trust those brothers. They’re unreliable. We need to find out what they’re up to, before it’s too late.”
