“How could you do that to Cassie? What happened wasn’t an accident. Someone saw the car ram into them! And I know that was your idea! You are the only one who would do this to us. And once I find proof that you are behind this, you better believe that I will punish you myself and send you on a one-way trip to hell!!”
Cassie asked Jepoy to spend more time teaching her since Kristoff was taking all the time for the driving lessons. Jepoy decided to run shifts between them and he asked Cassie to seek her mother’s permission first. Romina came out ready for work. Since her car hadn’t been cleaned yet, Mina decided to take the van instead.
Kristoff and Cassie offered to clean her car. Mina turned down Kristoff’s request to drive around the village with her car. In her office, Romina and Bonita gloated over the stunt they had pulled on Daniela the day before. PO3 Jude went to the mansion to inquire about Alvin’s unwelcomed visits. He asked Nanny Esther whether she had noticed anything strange when he had been there, and Esther told him about how Alvin had been staring at the cufflink Robert wore in the picture.
“Do you know where the cufflinks are now?” Jude asked.
“Mr. Robert’s jewelry was divided between Daniela and Cassie. I’m not sure who has what.”
Daniela presented her financial report to the board and indirectly dared Mina to try to bring her down. Jude was leaving the mansion when he ran into Daniela. She asked what he was doing there, and Jude told her that he just came to visit. After he left, Daniela asked nanny Esther about Jude’s visit, and Esther narrated to her every single detail. Danny girl made a call a moment later. “Hector. You have to do something about Romina. She’s having you investigated.”
“Chill out. Her investigation will go absolutely nowhere. Don’t worry about it.”
“This could bring us all down, you moron. No thanks to your brother, the investigator knows about dad’s cufflink. You better do something. Stop Romina from investigating.”
“Relax a little. That’s why we’re making it look like Romina’s going crazy. No one is going to believe her.”
“You better be sure because I don’t plan on going back to prison. And if that happens, you’re coming with me.”
Hector met up with a goon and gave him some details and photos of Romina. He gave him a half pay and promised to add the rest once the job was done. Cassie was cleaning her mother’s car with Kristoff when she noticed a car passing by outside. She flashed back to the other day where she had noticed someone following her. “Tope, how many times has that car passed by? It’s gone back and forth the whole time.”
“Do you want me to follow that car so we can see who’s inside of it?”
At the precinct, Jude updated Romina about her case. Mina then asked him if he knew anything about party drugs. “The drugs that Carlos found,” Jude began. “Is it really from you?”
“What?”
“He made me check a package which turned out to be LSD drugs. Were they yours?”
Romina glanced at Jepoy. She turned back to Jude, her mean face on. Kristoff pulled over near the entrance to the village. Since they couldn’t find the whereabouts of the suspicious car, Cassie sighed that they go back because she had a bad feeling about it. “I’ve had a lot of practice,” Kristoff said. “Don’t worry. I got you.”
Cassie smiled. “Let’s head back.”
Kristoff rolled up the car window and fired up the engine. Hector’s goon sped forward and rammed his car into theirs, shattering glass. Cassie was out cold, but Kristoff was barely conscious. His vision was blurred as he struggled to make out the goon. The misëräble swine took off like the bästärd he was when he noticed that his target wasn’t in the car.
Kristoff came to himself and started fretting over his unconscious girlfriend. He made a phone call. “Dad. Dad!” Jessa was bossing Mikoy and the other workers at the autoshop around as if the place belonged to her. Myrna gave her a piece of her mind and the misëräble one-eyed-old man came to his mistress’ defense.
Romina told Bonita and Neil about the drugs Carlos had made Jude check on. They concluded that Carlos had a hand in Daniela’s ploy to make her look insane. A nurse from a hospital called to inform her of her daughter’s accident.Kristoff was being wheeled at the hospital as Cassie was being transported on a gurney into the emergency room.
At the mansion, nanny Esther told the Bartolomes about Cassie and Kristoff’s car accident. Mini-Daniela was worried about Kristoff, to hell with Cassie. She insisted on going to the hospital and Danny girl eventually agreed to take them. Hector met up with his goon and asked whether the job was done. “Is Romina dëäd?”
“The target wasn’t in the car you described,” said the misëräble swine. “Two kids were in the car. I didn’t notice at first.”
Hector grabbed his useless gun-for-hire. “You moron. You didn’t make sure it was the target first? Who were the kids?”
“The target’s daughter and a teenage boy.”
Hector rewarded his goon with a punch. Romina arrived at the hospital with Bonita and Neil. She unleashed her frustrations on Kristoff and demanded to know whether he had been the one driving. Bernard asked her to calm down since Kristoff was in shock and wouldn’t talk to anyone.
The doctor came over and announced that Cassie needed to be operated on because she was in critical condition, and that she also needed blood since she had lost a lot of it. Romina offered to donate blood for her daughter. The Mangubat brothers were worried about the hitman’s screwup.
Hector was hoping for Cassie’s survival so Daniela didn’t go against them. Cassie was being operated on in the emergency room. Meanwhile, some officers asked to have a talk with Kristoff since he was the only one who could tell them what really happened. Bernard told the officers that his son was still in shock.
The Bartolomes arrived as an officer asked Romina how she could have allowed two minors to drive without supervision. Daniela flashed back to her last night call with Hector. And off she went. At the autoshop, Gino announced that Carlos wouldn’t be able to make it because he was at the hospital where Cassie and Kristoff had been admitted after their accident.
“Which hospital?” Mikoy asked.
Marga went into Kristoff’s hospital room and started fretting and sweet-talking. Kristoff asked her to leave but she just sat down instead. Daniela stormed into the Hector’s place and started hounding him on account of Cassie and Kristoff’s accident.
Hector fooled her into believing that he had no hand in it, saying that he wouldn’t hurt Cassie because he was a father too. Roxy walked in on the scene. “Aunty Daniela? What are you doing here?”
At the hospital, Carlos went to the trouble of asking Romina to eat. Mina told him to leave, saying that he and his family could leave because she didn’t need them.
“Romina…”
“Carlos, stop acting like you’re my friend. I know you were aware that Daniela was trying to make me look crazy. You have always been a coward, right from the start. I know you’re covering for Daniela, so drop the act.”
Neil came over. “Romina, Cassie’s doctor is out of surgery. He wants to talk to you.”
Mina gave Carlos a look. “Remember this, Carlos. The day will come when your cowardice will lead you to harm. You and Daniela will pay for everything you have done to us.”
PO3 Jude discussed Romina’s Cassie with a colleague. The chief came to order Jude to stay out of Romina’s case, saying that there was a conflict of interest. Kristoff was on a hunger strike, blaming himself for the accident and Cassie’s condition. Mikoy tried talking him into eating, saying that Cassie probably didn’t blame him since it had been an accident.
“You got hit, right?” Mikoy said. “If someone has to take responsibility, it’s the person driving the other car. You need to recover so you can make that person pay, so eat up. Gain some strength…why did you go out for a drive?”
Kristoff flashed back to the incident, a look of knowing on his face. “Cassie and I saw that car kept passing by the house. So we followed it.”
A moment later, Marga thanked Mikoy for convincing Kristoff to eat. She asked why he was there, and Mikoy told her that he had also been worried about Cassie and Kristoff. The doctor told Romina that the operation had been successful. Mina was glad that her daughter was out of danger.
Daniela met up with Savannah and told her about the recent happenings and how she didn’t want Cassie to die despite how much she wanted her and her mother out of her life. Bratty lapdog counseled Danny girl not to feel sorry for her half-sister if she really wanted them out of her life. Bernard went to his son’s hospital room and told him that he was set to be discharged tomorrow, adding that the police wanted to talk to him about what had happened.
“Why did you do something so irresponsible, Kristoff? You put your life and Cassie’s life in danger!”
“I’m sorry, dad,” Kristoff sobbed.
“No. Apologies doesn’t cut it this time. I wanna know why you did it!”
“We just saw someone lurking outside Cassie’s house. We thought of following that person. We were on our way back when it happened. I know I made a mistake, but I didn’t want whoever it was to escape. I’m so sorry, dad.”
“Romina and the police need to know about this.”
Bernard consoled his son as he cried some more. Carlos had an intense argument with his dearest wife back home. Romina started fretting over her daughter as soon as she regained consciousness. She asked how she was doing and Cassie told her that she was feeling better now. “I’ll die if anything happens to you,” Mina sobbed. “I swear. Cassie, promise me you’ll never leave me.
“I promise I’ll never leave you, ma. I promised dad… I’d take care of you.”
Bernard came in with his son. “Kristoff and Cassie went out to follow a car that was lurking around your house,” he revealed.
“What do you mean?” Mina asked.
“It was Cassie who saw the car,” Kristoff explained. “We got worried so we decided to follow it.”
Romina turned to her daughter. “Is Kristoff telling the truth?”
Cassie nodded silently, and Mina looked on, her mean face back on. During dinner, Mikoy told the Bartolomes about Cassie and Kristoff’s condition. Kulas badmouthed Mina for allowing the kids to drive.
Mikoy brought up the suspicious car that had been lurking outside the mansion and Jude insinuated that Hector could be behind it. Kulas asked him not to get involved. Roxy noticed the bracelet Daniela had dropped the previous night. She picked it up and pocketed it. Her father came over to ask whether she had heard his conversation with Daniela yesterday.
“Is there something I should know?” Roxy asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“I know you like auntie Daniela, but it’s not right that she came here herself.”
“Why? Don’t you want her visiting us?”
“She’s still married to Marga’s dad. I’m just concerned. People might think you’re a homewrecker. You could get in trouble.”
The police came to take Cassie and Kristoff’s statements. After they left, Kristoff apologized to Cassie for what had happened, saying that he would have died had anything happened to her. “I’m still here,” Cassie said. “What matters…is we’re both safe.”
PO3 Jude went to the Mangubat residence to ask about what had happened to Cassie since they had threatened Romina before. Alvin refused to give him anything, pointing out that he was not the officer assigned to the case. “About your visit to the mansion,” Jude began. “Why were you interested in Mr. Robert’s cufflinks?”
Hector came out just then and asked what was going on and Jude told him about his mission. “You’re asking the wrong people, kid. And even if you question us, we won’t tell anything. Now get lost. Go. You won’t like it if I lose my patience.”
“Are you threatening an officer?”
“Let’s just say I’m advising you.”
At the mansion, Daniela prepared breakfast for her daughter. Marga asked what the occasion was and Daniela told her that she just wanted to spend more time with her. She then suggested that they get her a personal assistant since she had a lot of upcoming endorsements. Marga declined the offer. Daniela noticed Roxy’s presence as she tried convincing her daughter. She then went to confront her.
“Why are you here?”
“I think you dropped this, auntie. I came here to return it.”
Daniela snatched back her bracelet. “Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you still here?” She gestured for Roxanne to leave. Danny girl followed Roxy out. Bernard told Romina that they had to be more careful if the person the kids had seen was Hector. Mina was certain that Hector and Daniela were behind the accident.
“That’s why you have to be more cautious since you live under the same roof,” Bernard admonished.
At the mansion, Daniela ‘apologized’ to Roxy for her rude behavior earlier, saying that she wasn’t used to having uninvited guests dropping by. She then asked Roxy not to tell anyone about her visit to their house last night and Roxy assured her her utmost discretion. Back at the hospital, the officers told Romina that according to an eyewitness, the suspect had intentionally hit the car the children had been in.
“Our children aren’t troublemakers,” Bernard said. “Who would do that to them?”
The officers glanced at each other. “The kids may not have been the suspect’s target. Mrs. Mondragon, the car was registered under your name, and you always use it. According to your daughter, someone was lurking outside your house on the day of the incident, so it’s likely the suspect was after you.”
Romina was in disbelief. “Do you know anyone who would have such a motive?”
“There’s only one person capable of doing that. It’s Daniela Bartolome.”
Romina stormed into Daniela’s office and confronted her about dragging her daughter into their issues. Daniela claimed that what had happened to Cassie had only been an accident. Mina tried going after her, probably to beat some sense into her but Savvy held her back, saying that Daniela was telling the truth.
“If you want to know the truth, you should be asking the police, not me,” Danny girl said.
Mina gave her a look. “Still denying it too? How could you do that to Cassie?”
Romina tried going after Daniela again and bratty lapdog intervened a second time. Mina rewarded Savvy with a slap. She then shoved her onto the desk and started strangling her. Daniela and her bratty lapdog called out for help. Bernard hurried in and pulled Romina back, stopping her from commiting mürdër. For now.
“I’m not through with you, Daniela!” Mina yelled. “What happened wasn’t an accident. Someone saw the car ram into them! And I know that was your idea!”
“You can’t blame all your misfortunes on me,” Danny said.
“You are the only one who would do this to us. And once I find proof that you are behind this, you better believe that I will punish you myself and send you on a one-way trip to hell!!” Romina fumed and glared as Bernard kept her in place.
