“Don’t compare us, Daniela. You relied on Robert’s connection to get ahead while I started from the bottom. Don’t worry sweetheart. Like this water spinach, I’ll make sure you’ll find yourself being served for dinner. Just wait and see.”
Daniela exempted Neil from an emergency meeting at Camila. Meanwhile, Cassie was given permission by the principal to sell her sardines in school, and her teacher commended her for setting such a good example to her classmates. Mean Squad 2.0 came over. Cassie went to the trouble of asking whether they would buy some of her sardines, and all she got was some mean words.
After they left, Roxanne came over to have a taste. She eventually bought all that was left, much to Cassie’s surprise. Trina looked on as Roxy dipped into her purse.Mini-Daniela and the Mean Squad intruded Kristoff and the other basketball players’ hangout at the restaurant. Kristoff was planning of leaving early so he could take Cassie home.
Mini-Daniela and the guys talked him into staying a bit longer. Kristoff had his phone on the table, and Marga stealthily turned off it’s network when no one was looking. Back at Camila, Neil told Bernard and Bonita about the meeting he had been excluded from, and how he was sure that they were hiding something very important.
Back at the restaurant, the guys grilled Kristoff about Cassie since he had been zoning out. Kristoff got upset when Nadya teased him, saying that they were basically husband and wife. Nica and the guys told him to chill and tried convincing him to have a life apart from Cassie.
Mini-Daniela came to his defense and Kristoff thanked her. Cassie went back to class only to find her money missing. She asked Trina whether she had seen anyone in class earlier, and the girl just kept on trash-talking.
“What will you do now?” Mikoy asked.
“I’ll just borrow from Tope.” Cassie tried calling Kristoff, but the line was unreachable. She then decided to go to the restaurant and Mikoy offered to accompany her.
Kristoff thanked Marga for what she had done earlier. Mini-Daniela said there was no need because she understood him. Meanwhile, Cassie walked with Mikoy along the street, heading towards the restaurant. The moment Mini-Daniela noticed Cassie, she deliberately started touching Kristoff’s cheek, claiming that he had something on his face. (This is modern day witchcraft). Cassie and Mikoy looked on. Cassie then stormed off.
“Hey, where you going?” Mikoy called out.
“Back home.”
Mini-Daniela stopped when she saw Cassie and Mikoy walking away. “Did you get it?” Kristoff asked.
“Yeah, it’s gone now.”
“Thanks.”
Mikoy caught up with Cassie and told her not feel jealous since Marga and Kristoff were just with their friends. Cassie said she was just surprised since Kristoff had told her that he would be hanging out with his teammates.
“And when I called him, he didn’t pick up,” Cassie added. “Turns out he was with Marga. He didn’t need to hide it from me.”
“Talk it out with him tomorrow instead of worrying. Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe he just didn’t see you calling him.”
“Thanks. You’re a pretty nice guy. You walked me home when you could have just gone home yourself.”
“It’s getting late. I couldn’t just let you walk the street all alone. I mean, someone stole your cash, remember?”
“Marga’s lucky she made a friend like you. It’s just too bad that she hasn’t realized it.”
“Sucks for her.”
“Why?”
“Because she lost such a cutie-pie like me.”
Mini-Daniela ordered all the snacks in the menu so they could try them all. Kristoff mentioned that they couldn’t eat it all since it was too much, and Marga said she’d hand out some to the homeless kids around to brighten their day. (Really? The so-called queen is turning into Cassie 2.0 just so she can snatch someone else’s boyfriend?)
“See, bro?” one of the guys said. “Marga’s a really good person.”
“She has a good heart for the less fortunate,” Nadya mocked. “Like her former suitor. Michael, poor boy.”
Kristoff left to use the washroom. Back on the street, Cassie found Mikoy’s situation laughable. “I don’t really get you. You aren’t mad at Marga, so why don’t you patch things up? I think she still wants to be friends with you.”
“Marga’s got weird priorities,” Mikoy said. “She’d rather put up with her fake friends. I told them all off one time and she drove me away, that’s why I figured that it’d be better for her to realize who her true friends are on her own.”
“That’s a great idea. Even I know Marga’s got some good in her.”
“Oh, great minds think alike. I guess we’re friends now.”
“Weren’t we already? I mean, you always help me out.”
“Just making it clear.”
Marga asked the guys to go for her order, but they were much more busy and engrossed in the video game they were playing, so she had to go get it herself. Meanwhile, Romina and Daniela were making their preparations for the national seafood expo in their respective companies.
Carlos questioned her daughter of her whereabouts since she had been coming home late recently. Marga gave a vague answer, telling her father that she had been hanging out with Kristoff and his friends.
“Mikoy didn’t go with you?” Carlos asked.
“Why would I invite Mikoy?”
“Aren’t you friends? Don’t you see him in school?”
“He’s part of the foundation, and I don’t want to see him anymore.”
“How come?”
“I realized he doesn’t help with my image. Yes, he can be a good friend, but we aren’t even on the same level.”
“Success can’t be measured by how intelligent or rich you are. Working hard and having a good heart are a lot more important, and that’s what I see in Mikoy.”
Jepoy came to pick up Romina for the seafood expo. Romina was amazed that Cassie had been able to sell all the sardines she had made with the help of Nanny Esther.
“I really have to thank her then,” Mina commented.
“It’s selling out really fast,” Neil added. “Now Cassie’s promoting it through her social media account, so I’m sure more people will buy ‘Romina’s’.”
“Romina’s?” Mina picked up a jar of sardine to see that it was labelled with her own name.
“I decided to name it after you, mamma,” Cassie explained.
Romina was all smiles. “I really appreciate it, dear.”
Daniela decided to skip breakfast so she could leave early for the seafood expo Camila was attending. Carlos argued that Romina never did that before when she was CEO, and Daniela told him that she was different from Mina and would show everyone that she was better. “Where did you get the jars?” Romina asked back at the Mondragon house.
“From Mr. Leon. I was going to buy some but he gave them to me for free when he learned what it was for. But I told him I’d pay him after I sell enough batches.”
“Sounds like you have a nice neighbor,” Jepoy commented.
“I’m so proud of you,” Romina said to Cassie. “But I hope you won’t forget about your studies.”
“Yes, mamma. I’ll keep studying hard, so you should do your best at the expo later. I’m so proud of you, too.”
“How sweet. Thank you, dear.”
The investigator hired by Daniela told the Bartolomes that according to his findings, Hector wasn’t the one who had k!lled Jude because they had found some drugs in Jude’s possession, which was related to a drug case he had been handling. The Bartolomes were exasperated.
“I’ll look into the case he’s talking about,” Kulas stated. “This doesn’t sound right.”
Bonita was excited about the packaging of the sardines Cassie was selling. Neil asked her to hide it since they could get in trouble if someone saw it and reported to Daniela. Bonita was excited to have their neighbors in Navotas try it. Everyone else was called to attend a meeting, which Neil was excluded. Bernard came over and told Bonita and Neil about the seafood expo Camila was participating in.
“Then maybe Daniela is plotting something,” Neil said worriedly. “We need to call Romina.”
“Why?” Bernard asked.
“SikaTuna is part of that expo, and Romina is right there now.”
Romina arrived at the seafood expo to find SikaTuna’s booth far from the entrance, worried about how the suppliers would see their booth. She then had a call from Neil, asking if she had seen Daniela yet.
“Daniela?”
“Yes, Romina. She’s at the expo too.”
Daniela was walking with Savannah when someone (Bea Alonzo) bumped into her and apologized. Danny girl gave her a dëäth glare and carried on to confront Romina. A battle of words ensued. “Do you think you would ever get hired without using our family name? No, Romina.”
“Don’t compare us, Daniela. You relied on Robert’s connection to get ahead while I started from the bottom.”
“Then do it again. Let’s see if you can make it with me as your competition. Let’s start here in this convention. Let’s see if you can really make it, but I’m warning you, I won’t be going easy on you.”
Romina laughed. “Don’t worry sweetheart,” she said, grabbing a vegetable from a nearby table. “Like this water spinach, I’ll make sure you’ll find yourself being served for dinner. Just wait and see.”
Hector was amazed to see the number of sardines on the dining table. “What’d you buy this time? You’re really itching to spend your money.”
“They’re not mine,” Alvin stated as he chomped down on some food.
“Then who’s are they?”
“Romina’s.”
Hector looked confused. “What do you mean Romina? Why are they here?”
Alvin checked the label of the sardines. “It says ‘Romina’s’.”
“Yeah, but how’d we get that?”
Roxanne came over and explained that she had bought those from Cassie. “Try it. It’s really good. That’s what I had for breakfast.”
“What do you mean?” Hector asked. “She made all these?”
“Yeah, she’s selling them at school to help with their expenses. She didn’t sell enough, so I bought everything. I felt bad for her, pa.”
Hector was incredulous. “You bought all that because you felt bad for her?”
“Yes, pa.”
“And you grill me about how I spend my cash,” Alvin cut in. “She’s worse than us.”
At the precinct, the chief told Kulas that there wasn’t any drug related case that had been assigned to Jude, according to their records. “But that private investigator said he got his information from here,” Kulas said.
“That can’t be right. Everyone who needs information from us will need my permission. And if I remember correctly, no investigator has come here recently.”
Kulas recalled his conversation with the investigator earlier and the male nurse Myrna had mentioned before. Hector told Alvin to give away all the sardines to their men. Alvin said he would be giving his full support to woo Daniela from now on. Meanwhile, Cassie went to Leon’s storage house and told him about her money being stolen in class.
“Didn’t you watch your things?” Leon asked.
“I put it in my wallet. I had no idea there was a thief in our classroom.”
“You know, I used to have a small business. I trusted easily and got føøled, so I learned how to read people.” Leon noticed how Cassie was staring at him intensely. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing. You just reminded me of my dad. He was a good businessman, and he knew how to mingle with others too.”
“So being an entrepreneur is in your bløød.”
“But I still have a lot to learn.”
“Start by regaining the money you lost. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you, Cassie.”
“But I don’t know who stole the money from me.”
Leon placed his hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “You’re a smart kid. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Sparks flew as Leon smiled down at Cassie.
Savannah seemed worried to learn that Daniela had challenged Romina to a match at the expo, wondering how sure she was that she would win. “In this battle, I’m not Romina’s only opponent,” Danny girl said. “I have a new ally.”
Romina sent her team members to the kitchen to ready the ingredients for cooking. As she was preoccupied with a phone call, Bibeth exchanged the SikaTuna cans displayed on the booth with the ones she was carrying. Kristoff and Mini-Daniela were reminiscing about their hangout at the restaurant the day before as Cassie passed by with Mikoy. Mikoy and Marga left.
“Cassie, you don’t seem that happy to see me,” Kristoff began. “Is something wrong?”
Cassie shook her head silently. “We can’t fix the problem if you won’t tell me about it.”
“I’m okay, Tope. But please next time, please tell me if you’re going out. I won’t get mad.”
“I really didn’t have plans yesterday. But my teammates suddenly invited me out to a restaurant.”
“Was it just your teammates?”
“That was the plan. Then Marga came and we shared a table with her. That’s why she was there with us.”
“Okay.” Cassie turned to leave without another word.
Kristoff pulled her back. “Cassie, please don’t be jealous. I didn’t know Marga would be there. And it’s not like I can kick her out.”
“Tope, I’m not jealous. I know that it can’t be helped since you’re in the same school and section. You even have the same set of friends. I do trust you, so I’m sorry if it seemed the opposite to you. I just wanted to know the truth.”
“No, I get it.”
Gino caught Carlos daydreaming about Romina. Carlos started bombarding his brother with questions about Romina as he worried about her running into Daniela at the seafood expo. Gino told his brother about how Romina hadn’t been able to find a job right away because Daniela had blacklisted her.
Carlos then decided to take the day off and put Gino in charge of the car shop. Kulas went to the hospital to ask a nurse about the male nurse Myrna had seen in their son’s room before he died. The nurse told him that she didn’t remember anyone like that at the time, and Kulas asked to see the CCTV footage of that day. The nurse took him to security.
Carlos arrived at the seafood expo, standing by and staring at SikaTuna’s booth. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Bernard told Romina about the reaction of the clients when he passed by her booth earlier, adding that something could be wrong with the dish she cooked. He cautioned Mina not to try the food they were currently cooking since it could upset her stomach. Romina noticed the strong smell of the food, as well as the expired SikaTuna cans.
“Did anyone else touch these ingredients?” Bernard asked.
“No,” Mina replied.
“You should just throw it away,” Bernard added as Carlos stood at the entrance, listening in. “What are you going to do now?”
“I have to serve other dishes in order to change the clients’ minds about us. I do have other specialties apart from tuna dishes.”
Kulas watched the CCTV footage and found the male nurse he had been looking for. He took a photo of him. Back at the seafood expo, a fish vendor refused to sell any of his sardines to Romina. Mina then made a phone call. “Hello. I need your help.”
Mini-Daniela asked Mikoy to accompany her to buy one of her favorite food at the store he had been patronizing some time ago so she could share with Kristoff and their friends.
“And you want me to come with you? Why don’t you ask them instead? Stop bossing me around.” Mikoy turned to leave.
“Because you’re the one that knows the place. If they knew, I wouldn’t be bothering you.”
Mikoy seemed amused. He turned back to face Marga. “Good luck, then. I’m done doing things for you. Why on earth will I buy for your friends? What am I, their nanny? Your friends can buy their own food.”
Daniela badmouthed Romina and SikaTuna to some clients. She offered to take them to see Romina’s ‘small’ booth. Carlos rushed over and asked her to stay by her booth instead. Danny girl was determined to take the clients to see Romina’s booth, so Carlos resorted to introducing himself to the clients.
“Of course,” one of them said. “We know the man behind the dragon. You’re the only person who can tame Daniela. Shall we?”
Daniela turned to leave. “Let’s g-”
Carlos interfered yet again. “Ah, ah, how’s the expo by the way?”
Daniela gave her hubby a look. Bibeth came into the kitchen and ordered the workers to stop cooking since there wasn’t anymore fish available. Romina told them to ignore the insufferable woman. Jepoy came in with some fish and Mina thanked her. Bibeth started grumbling again when she noticed that it was milkfish. Romina however ignored her and went ahead with her cooking.
Kulas went to the precinct and showed an officer a photo he had taken of the male nurse. “I wanna find out who this man is.”
The officer studied the photo for a while. “Hold on, sir. This guy looks familiar.” The officer brought out a cartographic sketch. “This looks like the same man, right?”
“Yeah. Who’s that? And where’d you get that?”
“This is the sketch of the suspect in Cassie Mondragon’s accident. He was the one who almost k!lled her.”
“This guy?”
“Yes, sir.” Kulas looked on, contemplating.
