“It’s for me to know, and for you to die trying to find out. Why would I tell you that? When am enjoying seeing you suffer like this? Maxwell was my heaven before you came here. Now that you’re here, I feel like am in hell. I am just returning the favor. Welcome to hell, Cassie. Enjoy your stay.”
Robert gave a private investigator the note he had found on his car’s windshield. The man asked if he had any suspects in mind and Robert mentioned his daughter since she didn’t get along with his wife. Again, the man asked for any other suspect and Robert mentioned Kulas, saying that he had also been holding a grudge against him so it was possible that the letter came from him. He then gave him the details of the person he wanted investigated.
“There could be two people doing this,” the investigator said. “Someone pretending to be an ally or an enemy you still don’t know of.”
At the gambling den, Hector told his brother that he shouldn’t have helped Cassie. Alvin said he was fortunate that Romina hadn’t seen him. Hector then asked him to do something about the other girl (Marga) before she ruined his plan.
“I’ll just have to get rid of her,” Alvin said.
Hector was taken by surprise. “What? Are you going to k!ll her? Say the word, and my boys would take care of it.”
“Not that way Hector, she’s a kid. I have a better idea. I’ll use her in my plans. Without her knowing.”
Kristoff found Cassie staring at a poster by the hallway. He asked if she wasn’t going down to eat and whether she was still thinking about Marga’s vlog.
Cassie was silent for a while. “Why is it so easy for her to make me look bad? Kristoff, I swear I didn’t push her.”
“At this point, I don’t think that matters anymore. Both you and Marga already got hurt. I think it’s better if you make amends with her now.”
“You want me to make amends with her?” Cassie asked, incredulous. “I didn’t do anything. I didn’t push her. And isn’t that what I’ve been doing? I’ve always been trying to make amends, even if she’s the one who did something wrong. But this is different, Kristoff.”
“Cassie, sometimes it’s better to be at peace than to be right.”
Cassie looked hurt. “Why are you taking her side?” she asked. “I thought I was your friend.”
“It’s not like that. I just want you two to patch things up.”
“You know what? Am not expecting you to take my side. But from what you just said, it’s obvious you’ve already picked Marga’s side. Are you still my friend?” Cassie stormed off without another word, ignoring as Kristoff called out to her.
Daniela narrated the incident which had occurred by the stairway to Savannah, and she asked if it was really Cassie’s fault. Daniela admitted that knowing her daughter, she was sure that it was Marga who had started the fight.
“And as usual, you’re just condoning her behavior,” Savannah commented.
“Cassie’s beginning to ask questions about her identity,” Daniela revealed. “She’s becoming too difficult for dad. And once Marga begins to gain dad’s trust, and manages to break dad’s connection with Cassie, that would create a great opportunity for me to destroy their family. And take Cassie and Romina out of my dad’s life.”
“Danny girl, what if they find out one day that Marga’s been lying about this? You have too much to lose, Danny girl.”
Daniela scoffed. “How will they know? It’s Marga’s word versus Cassie’s.”
“What if the witness speaks up?”
“Not until I find him first.”
Romina went to Maxwell to ask about Mr. Vin. The head of maintenance told her that the principal had already notified him of her coming. He suggested that they wait for Mr. Vin to show up.
Meanwhile, at the same hallway, Alvin was instructing some students to carry some things up the stairs when Cassie came up to him. Romina and the head of maintenance couldn’t see them because their views were blocked by the things the students were carrying.
“Can we talk right now?” Cassie asked.
“About what?”
“Marga’s been spreading a lie that I pushed her down the stairs. But that’s not true. You were there. You saw what happened, right?”
“Yeah, wait. Let’s talk over there.”
As soon as Alvin left with Cassie, the head of maintenance looked behind at the place where Alvin and Cassie had stood a moment a go, wondering out loud why Mr. Vin had still not showed up. He left Mina to go look for him.
“Do you want me to talk to the principal?” Alvin asked.
“Yes,” Cassie replied. “Just to clear things up. You’re the only one who saw what happened.”
“Alright, but can you keep this between us like before? Am afraid your parents might come, and they might get mad at me.”
“Okay. Besides, they’re not here now. You can tell the principal everything after your shift.”
Daniela arrived at Maxwell and started asking around for Mr. Vin and a cleaner pointed out where he was assigned.
Romina was walking around when she saw a glimpse of Cassie. She however didn’t see Alvin with her. Mina followed the direction where Cassie and Alvin had just gone.
Meanwhile, Daniela was walking furiously through the hallway towards Cassie and Alvin’s direction when she slipped and hurt her heel. Some students came to help her up.
Mina noticed her and walked right up to her. “Daniela? Having a rough day?”
“What you doing here?” Daniela asked.
“I want to talk to Mr. Vin. Don’t tell me you’re here for the same reason.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I hope you’re not planning something.”
“Planning something? What do you think I’d do to him, Romina?”
“Everything you do has a reason behind it.”
“Too bad I trust my daughter well enough. She’d never lie to me. Unlike Cassie. I still remember the days you were always scolding her.”
“Because there was a bad influence on Cassie back then,” Mina pointed out. “Fortunately, the evil spirit is out of the house. Thanks to you.”
Daniela gave her a mocking smile. “Really, Romina? From what I know, Cassie’s a smart girl. You really think she’d do something just because someone influenced her?”
“Why don’t we talk to Mr. Vin together so we can finally know the truth?”
Danny girl’s smile disappeared. Unknown to them, Alvin had turned around a corner at the other end, out of their sight.
“That’s a good idea,” Daniela said after a while. “I need to go.”
“Wait,” Mina said as Daniela began walking away. “We’re talking to him together. Where are you going?”
“I changed my mind. Am giving you a head start. That way, you won’t accuse me of anything.”
Kristoff was asking Marga about her arm when they ran into Cassie. Cassie walked away and ignored Kristoff as he called out to her. Marga offered to go and talk to her.
“Cassie,” Marga began, walking up to her. “Are you still mad?”
Cassie had her back to Marga, her cellphone in her hand. She pressed something a button and turned around to face her. “Why would I be?”
“You’re such a denial queen, Cassie.”
“How long will you keep doing this, Marga?”
“Until you lose everything,” Marga barked.
“In that case, it will be impossible. Because everyone will know the truth that you pushed me first.”
Marga scoffed. “Truth? Who cares about the truth, Cassie? It doesn’t matter what you say. FYI, it’s not a matter of truth but a matter of believability and who people would believe. So I suggest you step up your game, Cassie.”
Cassie smiled at Marga mischievously and turned to walk away. She turned back to Marga, still smiling. She held up her cellphone. “Like this?” Cassie played an excerpt of the recording she had just made. She smirked at her niece before walking away.
Marga had a look of horror on her face. “Cassie!” she yelled.
A moment later, Cassie was going through her bag when Marga approached and laid her hand on her bag.
“Give me your bag,” Marga growled.
“Marga, let go of my bag,” Cassie demanded.
“Give me your phone.”
As both girls struggled with the bag, Kristoff ran over, asking what was going on. Marga had grabbed Cassie’s bag with her ‘broken arm’.
Cassie deliberately let go of her bag. “Why don’t you ask your new best friend why her arm suddenly feels better?”
A crowd of students had started gathering around and Marga glanced at her arm which had come out of the sling she had been wearing.
“Marga, your arm,” Kristoff said. “You lied. You’re not injured.”
Marga glanced around frantically as the students started gossiping. Cassie glared at Marga as she took off the sling and slammed Cassie’s bag on the floor before storming off.
A dumbfounded look still on his face, Kristoff retrieved Cassie’s bag and handed it to her. Cassie stared angrily at where Marga had just gone.
Somewhere in Maxwell, Daniela found Alvin cleaning. “Alvin? Alvin.”
Alvin turned. “Daniela. Hey, what’s up?”
Danny girl smacked him. “You liar. That’s why you vanished. So you were here all along. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Ah, am working. Isn’t that obvious from my uniform?”
“Alvin, am not stüpïd.”
“I should be the one asking what you’re doing here.”
“My daughter studies here.”
“Oh, does she?” Alvin smiled mockingly. “What a small world it is.”
“Don’t play around with me. Am not stupid. You came here because you’re up to something. So tell me now. What’s your plan?”
“Like I said, am working,” Alvin replied.
The head of maintenance came to inform Alvin that someone was looking for him. He referred to him as Vin.
Daniela was taken by surprise. “Vin? she said after the man had walked away.
Alvin smiled at Daniela.
“Alvin,” Danny girl said to herself. “So you’re Mr. Vin?”
Alvin laughed. “Connect the dots?”
“How dare you? You were the one accusing my daughter. And don’t tell me you were the one who wrote the letter Cassie found in her locker.”
“She’s been asking about her father. I only wanna help her and be with her.”
Danny girl was appalled. “And you dragged Marga into this, you bãstârd.”
“She takes after you, doesn’t she?” Alvin said in mock admiration.
“Idiōt. Do you know the kind of trouble that we could get into because of what you’ve done? What if Cassie finds out the truth, huh? Do you want to go back to prison?”
“You’re too paranoid. Relax. It won’t.”
“It will, Alvin. After what you’ve done to the girls, everyone’s been looking for you. What if Cassie finds out the truth that you’re her father? Am pretty sure you saw Romina a while ago.”
Alvin smiled. “Let’s spill it out.”
Daniela stared back at him angrily.
Cassie and Marga were in the principal’s office. Marga was telling the principal that she hadn’t been faking her injury. “I could suddenly move my hand. You know, adrenaline rush.”
“Am not only referring to that,” the principal said. She had Cassie’s phone in her hands. “But this too.” The principal played the recording and Marga couldn’t find any comeback this time.
“That’s the reason why Marga tried to take my bag earlier,” Cassie explained.
The principal gave Marga a disappointed look. “I hope you’re aware that your behavior today would definitely reflect in the Maxwell Prime standing.”
Marga looked on angrily. Cassie found her mother at the waiting area. She greeted her and asked what she was doing there. Mina told her that she had come to talk to Mr. Vin.
“I already spoke to him, ma,” Cassie said. “He says he’ll talk to the principal after his shift. Everything will be okay, ma. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Really, dear? That’s great.”
Alvin was arguing with some guys when he ran into Cassie and Mina at the waiting area.
“Mr. Vin,” Cassie called out.
Romina stared at Alvin for a while, speechless. “Alvin, what are you doing here?” she asked.
Alvin feigned surprise. “Romina, is that you?”
Cassie turned to her mother, smiling. “You know Mr. Vin, ma?”
“Yeah. Do you work here now?” Mina asked Alvin.
“Yeah. I work as a janitor here. It’s contractual. So Cassie’s your daughter. What a coincidence.”
Mina forced a smile.
“Now I know why she’s nice. She takes after you.”
“He’s the man I was telling you about, ma,” Cassie cut in. “He’s the one who helped me.”
Mina forced another smile. “Thank you for your help, Alvin.”
“Don’t mention it, Romina. I was only telling the truth.”
Cassie then left to go and get a book she had left in her locker.
Mina gave Alvin a look. “What are you doing? Why are you here in Maxwell?”
“Is there a problem if I work here, Romina?”
“Alvin, did you tell Cassie anything about me? About what happened in the past?”
Alvin feigned ignorance. “How would I have told her when I didn’t know that she was your child? I just started working here. She has no idea what happened.”
“This isn’t the right time to tell her. Alvin, am begging you. Please don’t tell her about what happened to me. She thinks Robert is her father.”
Alvin faked surprise again. “Robert, your former boss?”
Mina nodded. “Yeah.”
“Am not in a position to tell her anything, so you have nothing to worry about, Romina.”
“Thank you, Alvin.”
“Did they ever catch the guy who did that to you?” Alvin asked.
“Not yet,” Mina replied. “But I believe he’ll be caught eventually. All I care about now is protecting my daughter. I don’t want my past to hurt her, Alvin.”
“But it seems like someone else knows what happened to you. I saw a student who put a note in Cassie’s locker.”
Mina sighed. “It was Marga.”
“I think that was her name. You know her? Why does she seem like she knows what happened to you?”
“She’s Daniela’s daughter. Robert’s daughter.”
“You should keep a close eye on that kid. Besides the letter, I’ve seen her bully Cassie a lot. I know that it was an accident but if Marga didn’t pick on your daughter, that wouldn’t have happened and now she’s making your daughter look like she started it.”
Cassie ran into Daniela and she ‘apologized’, claiming that she had no idea of what her daughter had done to her. She told Cassie that she would talk to Marga and make sure that she didn’t do it again.
Cassie silently stared at Daniela for a while.
“What?” Daniela asked.
“What changed?”
“I realized I am supposed to be your sister,” Danny girl began. “I should be helping you two get along.”
“But it wasn’t your fault, Daniela,” Cassie said, as naive as always. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”
“No Cassie, Marga’s my daughter. And I can’t help but feel responsible for her actions. Am very sorry.”
“Mamma and Mr. Vin are talking right now. Am sure everything’s been cleared.”
Daniela was troubled. “Vin?”
“Yes, the janitor.”
“They’re talking right now? Where?”
“In the waiting area.”
Kristoff scolded Marga for her actions and almost putting Cassie into trouble by accusing her wrongly. Marga said she was just returning the favor since she had almost gotten expelled because Cassie had accused her of writing that cryptic letter.
“Marga, there’s a big difference between sending letters and accusing someone of pushing you down the stairs,” Kristoff began.
“You made it look like she wanted to hurt you. This isn’t the Marga I’ve come to know. The truth will always come out, and that’s what’s happening now. You’re so much better than this, Marga.”
Marga was dumbfounded. “How can you still say that after what I did? And why are you still being so nice to me?”
“Because we’re friends, and that won’t change. I don’t give up on friends. If we just keep on burning bridges, we’ll end up getting burnt too.”
Daniela walked over to where Alvin and Romina stood. She stood in front of Romina, saying that they had to talk.
“For once, we agree on something, Daniela,” Mina taunted. “I don’t know if you’ve met Alvin, but he used to work at Camila.”
Daniela turned and gave Alvin a look.
“Yes, I know her,” Alvin said, trying to keep a straight face. “She’s Mr. Robert’s daughter.”
“He’s the Mr. Vin Cassie’s been telling me about,” Mina went on.
Daniela turned back to her. “It’ll be better if we speak about this privately, and not in front of people who have nothing to do with this.”
“No, Daniela. He’s definitely involved in this. That’s why we can discuss this in front of him. Because we need to talk about everything he mentioned to me.”
Danny girl glanced at Alvin who seemed to be amused. “What did he tell you?”
Cassie ran into Marga and she congratulated her for her performance and how she had managed to record her. “Are you happy now that you’ve ruined my reputation?”
Cassie glared at her. “I should be telling you that, Marga. You knew you’d get in trouble once they found out the truth so you tried to protect yourself. You even blogged about it to gain everyone’s sympathy and make me look like the bad person. But the truth will always come out, Marga.”
“You’re right, Cassie. The truth will come out eventually. It doesn’t matter if you ruin my reputation. Because I can survive this. But how about when everyone finds out who you really are? I know you can’t survive that.”
“What do you mean?” Cassie asked, dumbfounded.
“It’s for me to know, and for you to die trying to find out.”
“So I was right. You do know something.” Cassie grabbed Marga’s hand and she shook herself free after a second. “Tell me what you know,” she demanded. “Tell me. Right now.”
“And why would I tell you that?” Marga teased. “When am enjoying seeing you suffer like this.”
“Marga, just tell me the truth!”
“You wish. Maxwell was my heaven before you came here. Now that you’re here, I feel like am in hell. I am just returning the favor. Welcome to hell, Cassie. Enjoy your stay.”
Cassie looked on angrily as Marga left. Back at the waiting area, Daniela claimed that she didn’t know Alvin. She asked Romina what Alvin had to do with the matter at hand. Mina reminded her that Alvin was Mr. Vin, and the same person who had seen Marga putting the letter into Cassie’s locker. The same person who had seen what had really happened by the stairway.
“Romina, the girls already settled that,” Daniela said. “Are we going to talk about that again? Don’t be so petty. Are we really going to get involved in a fight between children? As parents, we shouldn’t be making things worse.”
Mina was amazed. “Your daughter is bullying my daughter, Daniela. She told everyone in Maxwell that my daughter pushed her. We have to settle this. We have to get involved.”
“You have no proof that Marga really did bully Cassie. It was a dispute between two kids. Just because they fought doesn’t mean bullying was involved.”
Alvin was smiling to himself.
“You want proof?” Mina asked. “That’s the proof right there. Mr. Vin. He saw what really happened.”
Daniela turned and gave Alvin a look.
“He saw what really happened,” Mina went on. “He saw Marga put the note inside Cassie’s locker.”
Daniela scoffed. “And you believe him? How sure are you that he’s telling the truth?”
“I’ve got no reason to lie, Mrs. Daniela,” Alvin cut in. “Am just saying what I saw.”
Danny girl glared at Alvin. “I am not talking to you.”
Alvin smiled again.
“Daniela, are you blind to what your daughter did?” Mina asked. “This isn’t the first time she did this to Cassie. This is also not the first time she pinned the blame on Cassie for everything she did.”
“Romina, I understand but we can’t change what happened in the past, so let’s just move forward from this.”
“Excuse me. Did you just say move on? Just yesterday, you wanted Cassie expelled from Maxwell but now you’re turning it around. You want us to move on?”
“There’s no point dwelling on the past, Romina. You of all people should know that nothing good comes of the past.”
“No, Daniela. If you really want to correct your daughter’s mistake, you wouldn’t ignore what she did. And that’s exactly what am going to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want proof of what your daughter did? Then that’s exactly what am going to give you. But don’t worry, am not doing this just for Cassie. This is for Marga too.”
Again, Daniela turned and gave Alvin an angry look. Bernard suggested to Robert that he tell the cops about the cryptic letter he had received since a private investigator wouldn’t get him that far. Robert told him that they couldn’t involve the police because they’ll just start digging up the past, and that was what he was trying to avoid.
“Because you’re protecting Cassie?” Bernard asked. “Robert, I get that. You don’t want the truth to hurt the girl. But how long will you keep her in the dark? Things are different now. Someone’s trying to blackmail you, and they’re gonna go after Cassie too. Isn’t it time you told her the truth?”
Robert shook his head. “Not now. This is not the right time for her to find out the truth. Cassie is my daughter. Period. And no one can ever change that. We’re leaving for Australia. Am just making sure that no one gets the chance to tell her the truth before we leave.”
Kulas was looking around frantically as he entered his house. Jude asked what the problem was and he told him that he had noticed someone following him all the way to the house.
Myrna was agitated. “What? Who is it?” she asked.
Jude joined him at the door as Kulas was looking out. “Are you sure, dad?”
Kulas gave him a look. “Am I sure? Don’t forget that I was a cop too.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?”
“That’s what I’d like us to find out. I wanna corner that bãstârd to find out why he’s been following me.”
Myrna asked them not to go ahead with it and Kulas told her to shut up. He left with Jude and they split up. Jude caught the investigator and Kulas asked his son to take him to the station since he didn’t want to talk. Carlos arrived on the scene as father and son were roughing up the guy.
“What’s the problem?” Carlos asked.
“He was spying,” Jude explained. “And he won’t give us any information.”
Kulas managed to get the guy’s ID. “A private investigator? Talk. Why?”
“Robert Mondragon wants you investigated,” the man confessed. “That’s why I’ve been following you.”
Kuas was pacing around at Camila, waiting impatiently for Robert to show up. Carlos tried to hold him back as Robert arrived with Bernard.
“Hey, you’ve gone too far,” Kulas began. “Why are you accusing me? Do you think am greedy enough to extort money from you?”
Robert was unfazed by the old man’s ranting. “Carlos, what’s going on?” he asked.
“We caught your lãpdög,” Kulas said. “That’s it.”
“Our family may be poor,” Carlos began. “But we don’t extort money. My father wouldn’t do what you’re accusing him of.”
“Am not accusing him,” Robert simply said.
Kulas ranted on, saying that they had caught the man he had sent to spy on him.
“Am not accusing anyone of anything,” Robert insisted. “Am just checking up on the people I think could have done it. Am just protecting my family. Kulas, you can’t blame me. All this started when you told my daughter all those things.”
“And am asking for your forgiveness for that,” Carlos cut in. “But none of this would have happened if you weren’t hiding the truth. So don’t blame my father for the fact that you’re lying to Cassie. We’re not the ones with a secret.”
“Am not trying to cause trouble. I just want to know the truth.”
“But that’s exactly what you’re doing. Please leave my family out of this if you really don’t want trouble.”
Robert stared back at Carlos, speechless. Later that night, Romina complained to her husband about what Marga had done and how she had tried to pin the blame on Cassie. Robert offered to talk to Marga and Mina told him not to bother because she would handle it.
“I know this is hard for you,” Mina said. “Marga’s your granddaughter.”
“Romina, Cassie’s my daughter,” Robert pointed out. “Marga’s the one guilty here. I’ll make everything right.”
“It was a good thing that Alvin was there. He helped clear everything up.”
Robert looked surprised. “Alvin? Who’s Alvin?”
“He’s the Mr. Vin that Cassie was referring to. He used to work at Camila, and now he works at Maxwell. He’s a janitor at the school.”
Robert had his killer face on. “Does he know anything?”
“Yeah. But he didn’t know Cassie was my daughter. He just found out earlier.”
“But what about…”
“I already spoke to him earlier. And he promised he wouldn’t tell Cassie anything.”
“Romina, it’s hard to hold on to other people’s words. Especially now that Cassie’s surrounded by more people who know about what really happened. We don’t know how long we can trust people’s promises.”
Mina thought for a moment. “Robert, is there something wrong?” she asked.
Robert recalled his recent encounter with Kulas and Carlos. “Am thinking of talking to Marga,” he said. “You know how that kid is. And now I have this Alvin guy to worry about.”
Daniela complained to her husband for threatening her father since he had been the one who had told her to stop making things worse. They argued for a while and Daniela pointed out to him that he shouldn’t have threatened her father with telling Cassie the truth. Carlos admitted that he might have done the wrong thing, but only to make Robert stop accusing his father.
“If your dad wants me to find out who’s behind all this,” Carlos began. “Then I’ll do that for all this to stop.”
Daniela seemed troubled.
“Are you okay?” Carlos asked.
“Am fine. It’s just that Cassie’s situation is stressing me out. I’ll go get some fresh air.”
Daniela went out and called Alvin on phone. Alvin, who was still at Maxwell, received Daniela’s call. He smiled to himself and allowed his phone to ring for a while before rejecting the call.
“I’ll find a way to get rid of you, Alvin,” Danny girl thought to herself. “Just like before. But this time, I’ll make sure that it’s for good.”
Back at Maxwell, Alvin broke into Cassie’s locker and took out some of her art supplies. Cassie was staring at a family portrait at the mansion. She recalled her previous disturbing conversation with Marga. “What is it that you know, Marga?” Cassie thought to herself.
Robert found her a second later and asked why she hadn’t gone to bed yet since it was late, adding that she had to get up early tomorrow. Cassie was unresponsive and Robert asked if there was a problem.
“Dad, can we talk, please?”
Robert nodded. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“I spoke to Marga earlier at school,” Cassie began. “She told me somethings that are only confusing me even more.”
“What did she say?”
“That if I find out the truth, I might not be able to handle it. Why does Marga know something about this, dad? Am really confused.”
“Cassie…um, we’ve talked about this so many times. Wasn’t that enough? Am starting to feel like you believe others more than us. Do you know that everytime you ask the same questions, it hurts us because it makes us feel you don’t trust us?”
Cassie’s face was torn with conflict. “I just want to know the truth, daddy. I feel like am the only one who doesn’t know who I really am. And I have this feeling that Marga knows more than I do. You guys are keeping things from me. I don’t know what to believe anymore, dad.”
Robert recalled his recent conversation with Romina. “You know what, Cassie? I think it’ll be better if I transfer you to another school. It’ll be better for you, for us, for everyone. That way, this problem will finally end.”
“My school isn’t the problem, daddy. All I want is for you to hear me out. For you to answer my questions. Are you and mom my real parents?”
“Cassie… you’re my daughter. Romina and I are your parents. And that’s the truth. What else do you want to hear?”
Hector advised Alvin to be careful because his own words could give him away. Alvin told him that he was only trying to gain Romina’s trust. Hector warned him that it could be risky and he could end up in jail if they found out about his secret.
“She needs to know about it so she doesn’t think am hiding anything,” Alvin argued. “I know Romina. She likes to help people in need. And am certain that Cassie told her good things about me. Romina even asked me not to tell Cassie about her true identity.”
“You need to be careful about this. Many people have seen you already.”
“I know but no one suspects a thing. I can still do whatever I want. I can manipulate them, especially the kid.”
“Alright then. Tell me what you’re planning so I can figure out whether it’s good or not.”
“Let’s see how far Robert can keep on covering his secrets. And how much is the price of the information I have.”
Daniela came into Marga’s room and asked why she was still awake. Marga told her that she was worried about her status at school after what had happened.
“That wouldn’t have happened if you were careful,” Daniela admonished. “Next time, if you’re going to make up a lie, make sure you don’t get caught.”
Marga was incredulous. “You’re not mad at what I did, mom?”
“How could I be when you’re already so misërãble? I want you to leave Cassie alone for now. Can you do that for me, baby?”
“Mom, why are you acting so weird? You’re the one who wanted Cassie out of our lives, right? That’s why am doing this because that’s what you want.”
“Yes, I started this. And I’ll finish this. You keep getting in trouble because of your sudden decisions. I will handle this.”
Cassie lay in bed. She recalled her recent conversation with her father. Romina came in and Cassie asked if there was anything wrong.
Mina sat by her side. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she said. “If I hadn’t spoken to Alvin, I never would have known that Marga’s been bullying you at school. Sweetie, these are things you should be telling us, especially me. That way, I can help you.”
” Ma, I can handle what Marga has been doing to me,” Cassie said. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s not the point, Cassie. We still need to know. That way, we can help you find a solution.”
“Ma, I know you and dad. If I had told you, you would have gone straight to school. Or you would have talked to Daniela and Marga. That would only make things worse. You’ll just fight even more with Daniela, and that’s not what I want to happen. I don’t want to cause problems between our families.”
“Cassie, we just want to know what’s going on with you. We are your parents, so we should be the ones protecting you.”
“Ma, I can handle this so please… things would only get worse if you guys get involved. And I won’t let it, mamma. Besides if there’s something we have to talk about, it’s not that Marga’s been bullying me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marga’s the one who put the letter inside my locker,” Cassie began. “And I didn’t make that up like what dad had said. You believe me. Don’t you, mamma?”
Mina was silent for a while. “Cassie, I’ll try to talk to your father about it,” she said before consoling her with a hug.
Daniela met up with Alvin and warned him to stop bothering her father and leave him out of everything going on between them. Alvin asked what she was talking about and Daniela told him that she knew he was the one sending her dad letters.
“I don’t know what you’re talking,” Alvin claimed. “You’re just paranoid so you’re blaming me. I just wanna spend time with my daughter. I haven’t seen her in years, remember?”
Daniela scoffed. “Drop the act, Alvin. It’s not like you have a heart. Please, let my family live in peace. Stop trying to bring out the past. Am asking you nicely,” Danny girl added, slamming an envelope of money against his chest.
Bernard mentioned to Robert that he wasn’t in a good mood today, and Robert told him that Cassie was asking questions again and he didn’t want to be the reason why she got hurt. Robert then noticed the note that had been tucked into the windshield of his car. He took it out and read it, glancing around frantically.
“Another anonymous letter?” Bernard asked.
Robert looked on angrily, a resolved look on his face.
