“I’m not that stüpïd. Not like you. It’s nice here. Now, I’m all alone. It’s not like anyone cares. I should just stay here. Forever. Just me and the stars. No one will look down on me. Ever again. Take one step closer, and I might jump. Why dad? Mom, what do we have to talk about? Stop overreacting. I’m just having fun.”
Carlos was pretty upset over what he had learnt earlier. He asked Daniela whether she had really had Romina räpëd but she kept denying it, saying that she could never do something like that. “Tell me the truth!” Carlos demanded. “Do it before I forget you are my wife. Tell me!”
“Yes,” Danny girl sobbed. “I ordered Alvin to do it. But I only did it because I didn’t want to lose you.”
Carlos was in disbelief. “Romina already won my father’s affection,” Danny girl sobbed. “And I didn’t wanna lose you to her too.”
“Lose me? Is that it? I’m not some object you can just have. What kind of person are you? How can you ruin someone’s life just like that?”
“I only did that because I løvëd you. I had to do something to stop your wedding.”
“But you lied to me, Daniela. You did something to make sure I’d marry you.”
“Do you regret everything now? Do you regret marrying me now? Tell me, are you going to get back with Romina now that you know the truth?”
“You answer that yourself. I don’t know if I should have married you. But there’s one thing I’m sure of now – I can never trust you again. I can’t even look at you.”
Carlos stormed out of the room, leaving his wife to her misëräble self. A moment later, Romina saw Carlos going out. She peeked through the Bartolome room and stared as Daniela cried. Hector asked his daughter why she hadn’t stayed back in the province like he had told her to, and Roxanne told him that Cassie had wanted to visit her so she had come back to keep their secret safe.
“You could have come up with an excuse,” Hector admonished. “Just admit it. You like it here.”
“Sorry. I was so bored back there.”
“So is it true Cassie was here last night?”
“Yeah. She even helped me hold back Marga’s father.”
“Didn’t they get suspicious? What did they tell you and Alvin? How did they react”
“Pappa, relax. They didn’t suspect a thing. Your secret’s safe with me. Like it always is.”
“Fine. You can stay here then.”
“Thank you, Pappa.”
After Hector went inside, Roxy was excited to see the video Marga had uploaded earlier, inviting her Baby Dragons for a party tomorrow. Alvin was worried about his brother revealing Daniela’s secret to Carlos. “You’re making Carlos and Daniela fight. She løvês the guy. She’ll never forgive you.”
“So what should I do?” Hector spat. “Help them patch things up?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Good then. That’s a løvërs’ quarrel. Sit back and watch.”
“What about the consequences?”
“I did the right thing. The problem’s now with Daniela’s husband. If Carlos can’t understand why his wife did those things, then they shouldn’t be together.”
At the Cartolome autoshop, Gino and Myrna asked for Kulas’ help in buying some spare parts. Kulas told them to handle it, saying that he had to talk to Carlos. “But he’s not here,” Mryna pointed out. “And he hasn’t been here all day.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe he’s still troubled by what happened to him that night,” Gino cut in.
Kulas looked confused. “What do you mean? What happened?”
“Carlos thinks Daniela’s having an affair.”
“Daniela having an affair? She’s not that kind of woman. Who does he suspect?”
“Carlos said his name was Hector.”
At Camila the next morning, Bonita had a talk with Romina about the huge fight Daniela and Carlos had last night. Bonita insinuated that Daniela could really be cheating on Carlos but Mina didn’t think so.
“So what did they fight about then?” Bonita wondered out loud.
“If my suspicions are correct, there’s a more serious reason behind it.”
“Maybe this is connected to Mr. Robert’s dëäth.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, Bonita. Because if that’s the reason they fought, I’ll put more pressure on Carlos. I won’t stop until he tells me everything he knows.”
Carlos noticed Jessa standing idly at the autoshop and he gave her a piece of his mind, telling her to go and hang around somewhere else. Kulas came over and asked what was going on and Carlos told him that he was just telling Jessa that she was getting in the way of their work if she wasn’t doing anything there.
“What’s with you?” Kulas asked. “Why get mad at Jessa? She’s already helping us for free. Did you and Daniela fight again?”
Carlos hesitated. “Dad, I learned what she did to Romina. She ruined Romina’s life.”
“How did you find out?”
“Why, dad? Do you know something?”
“No, Carlos. I just can’t believe you’re still thinking about Romina up to this day. You have a family. Marga’s still a teenager. It’d be best for you and your family to just forget about what happened.”
“But, dad, Daniela didn’t just ruin her life. She also made my life misëräble.”
“What are you talking about? You’re living in a mansion. You have a nice fancy car. You’re the owner of an autoshop. Is that what you call misëräble? Do you løvë your wife? Is your daughter important to you? Be a man, Carlos. Be responsible and protect your family.”
Daniela confronted Hector, upset that he had told Carlos their secret and ruined her life. “If I go down, I’m bringing you with me.”
Hector was unfazed. “Are you done yet? I’m not the only one to blame here. You told me you’d handle your husband. But he came charging here and beat up my brother.”
“But that’s still not enough reason for you to tell him the truth,” Danny girl argued. ”
“I just put him in his rightful place. Now that he knows your secret, he also knows how easy it is for me to ruin your life.”
“What else is there to ruin? You’ve already destroyed everything.”
“Nothing else will he be ruined if everyone keeps quiet. Now we’ll find out just how much your husband løvës you.”
“Carlos does løvë me,” Danny girl sobbed. “Did you ever stop to think that he could tell Romina everything?”
“So he could. The truth finally comes out. You don’t really trust your husband.”
“That’s not the point.”
“If he wants to tell her, then let him do it. Who’s going to lose everything? My brother never räpëd Romina, but the fact that you ordered him to do it will never change. If you don’t want your husband to tell Romina your secret, then find a way to stop him.”
Daniela kept on sobbing, devoid of anymore comebacks. “I’ve told you right from the start to keep your husband in check,” Hector admonished. “Now if you are unable to do that, I will take a leash and put it on that dog myself.”
Marga walked into the party house and her Baby Dragons started fawning all over her. She was surprised that the Mean Squad were there since they weren’t part of her ‘Baby Dragons’. Nadya told her that she had only come because she had been bored while Nica mentioned that Marga’s followers seemed to have doubled.
“Maybe it’s because of that good deed she did,” Maureen stated. She threw herself at Marga and hugged her. “I’m so proud of you, Marga.”
“I can’t breathe, Maureen,” Marga complained bitterly.
“Sorry.”
“Is this even a party?” Nadya asked. “Because I don’t see any drinks. Unless it’s a kids’ party.”
“My gosh, Nadya. You really don’t have faith in me.” Marga called out to some guys who brought an ice chest of drinks in. Everyone got excited. Daniela went to the Cartolome autoshop and asked Kulas about Carlos. Kulas told her that Carlos had just left. He asked Daniela why she had told him her secret and Danny girl said it was Hector who had told Carlos about it. Kulas was riled up, outraged. “That good for nothing son of…”
“Dad, please help me out,” Daniela pleaded. “Carlos and I have to fix this. I can’t live without my husband.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing. Don’t worry. I’ll call him later. When he picks up, I’ll tell you where he is.”
“Thank you, dad.”
“Be thankful. Cause that’s not all I’ll be doing. I’ll make whoever’s responsible for this pay.”
“That Romina is a pain in my existence. Do what you think best.”
Back at the party house, Marga was having one of many drinks when Roxy came over and asked her to stop. Annoyed, Marga asked what she was doing there and she told her that she was a fan of hers.
“Whatever,” Marga barked. “Do anything you want. Just stay out of my way. This is my party and I will do whatever I want.”
At the Mangubat neighborhood, Kulas sat with Jessa in her car, his eyes glued on the Mangubat house. Jessa asked him what they were doing there and Kulas told her that there was a pest bothering his family and he had to know the said pest’s every move.
“You mean Romina?” Jessa blurted out. “Hasn’t she been bothering you guys for a while now?”
“No, no. A different pest. It’s Hector.”
“Why? What did he do?”
“I wanna know this idïøt’s weakness. I just know he’s hiding something.”
“I’m guessing he’s dangerous?”
Kulas scoffed. “He should be more afraid of me, because he’s messing with my family – Carlos and Daniela. I’ll find a way to keep him from getting near us.”
Sir Wacky told Cassie and Kristoff about the talent scouts who had been looking for Marga to make her an endorser due to the video which had gone viral. “What’s happened to Marga?”
“I really don’t have an idea, Sir Wacky,” Cassie replied. “We may live in the same house but we barely see each other.”
“You rich people are unbelievable. Do you not see each other because your house is as big as a mall?” Sir Wacky then left to go and give Marga a call.
“Lots of people fell for Marga’s good girl act,” Cassie commented. “They even want to turn her into an endorser.”
“If only they knew the real Marga,” Kristoff added. “But hey, that’s how social media works. You can’t tell what’s real or not. Aside from the basic info, everything’s curated.”
“But I’m hoping that because of this opportunity, Marga might finally change.” Cassie then fished out her phone to check Roxanne’s profile to see if they really were sisters. “It’s just her photos. If our hunch is right, then she might have fixed up her profile.”
“She might have, but maybe her real family hasn’t yet.”
Cassie looked confused. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Kristoff browsed through Cassie’s phone and showed her one of Roxanne’s friend’s post. Roxy posed with Hector in the photo, captioned, ‘dad’. Cassie was dumbstruck. “It’s true, Tope. She isn’t Mr. Vin’s daughter. Roxanne and I aren’t sisters. I need to talk to her right now.”
Daniela tried calling Carlos on phone but it didn’t go through. Savannah mentioned that she had warned her earlier about those brothers and yet she had still chosen to conspire with them. “They know too much about me,” Daniela said.
“Obviously.”
“You aren’t helping. I need to do something. I can’t let Carlos tell Romina the truth.”
“Then just tell him the truth. We know Alvin didn’t really räpë Romina.”
“And then what? That will only send Romina out looking for Cassie’s real father. And once Romina finds out that my father is Cassie’s real father, then I’d really lose everything and I can’t let that happen.”
“So what you gonna do, Danny girl? You don’t have any kind of hold on your husband.”
“He’s my husband. I’ll find a way.”
Cassie called Roxanne on phone and asked to have a talk with her. Roxy asked her to meet her at Marga’s party house. A moment later outside the party house, Roxy asked Cassie to talk to Marga so she would stop drinking but Cassie said she didn’t come for her. Cassie dragged Roxy aside as she kept on protesting. “I want you to tell me the truth. Are we really sisters or not?”
“Y-yes. Of course we are. I’ll head back inside. Marga needs me.”
Cassie pulled Roxy back as she tried going back inside. “We aren’t done yet.” Cassie showed her the photo of herself and Hector. “Your aunt posted this. The caption says that Mr. Hector is your dad not Mr. Vin. Is this true?”
“Don’t be silly. That was taken years ago.”
Cassie grabbed Roxy by the hand. “Roxanne, look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Are you really my sister?”
“Let me go, Cassie.”
Marga noticed the commotion. She came out and started ranting about how Cassie wasn’t welcome there. Cassie told her that she would only leave once she was done talking to Roxanne. Mini-Daniela bitçhëd some more and started shoving Cassie as her fans watched. “Roxanne doesn’t want to talk to you, so get out. I said leave. Right now.”
Cassie stood up to Marga. “No. I won’t leave until Roxanne tells me the truth.”
“Acting tough, huh? Cassie, let me remind you that these people here are my followers. I can make them ättaçk you if I want to.”
“Then go ahead. Be my guest. That way, they’ll know who you really are and realize that they idolize the wrong person.”
“How dare you.” Mini-Daniela raised her hand to släp Cassie.
Kristoff came out of nowhere and stopped her. “Marga. Don’t push it. We’re only here for Roxanne.”
“Come on, Roxanne,” Marga grumbled. “Just tell her.”
“But Marga…”
“Roxanne, all I need is the truth,” Cassie stated. “Are you my sister or not?”
“Cassie…”
“Please.”
“Just tell her so they can leave,” Marga barked. “Prove to everyone here that she’s a liar.”
“But Marga…”
“Right Baby Dragons?”
The crowd cheered from inside. Roxanne was still reluctant to talk. “Roxanna, spill it out,” Marga insisted. Just say it. Come on.”
“No.”
Cassie stared at Roxy in shock. “I’m not your sister, Cassie. I’m just pretending.”
Carlos arrived home all drunk and wasted and Romina started teasing him, asking whether he was ashamed because she had proved to him that his wife was a terrible person. Silence. “Or did she finally admit that she had her own father mürdëred?”
“Daniela had nothing to do with that,” Carlos said.
“Then why are you avoiding me?” Mina asked. “What did Daniela tell you, Carlos?”
Carlos turned to stare at Romina for a while. “Romina, forgive me.”
“What do you mean?” Mina asked, confused.
“About what happened to you.”
“What about it?”
Daniela walked in. “Carlos, what are you doing?”
“Stay out of this,” Mina warned. “This is between me and your husband.”
“No. Carlos, let’s go.”
“Carlos, what were you talking about? Tell me.”
Carlos took turns glancing between Romina and Daniela.
“Carlos, please,” Danny girl pleaded. “We need to talk.”
“I’m sorry, Romina,” Carlos said before leaving with Daniela.
At the party house, Marga’s followers and the Mean Squad abandoned their drinks and left. Mini-Daniela started ranting about how Cassie always ruined everything for her. Cassie turned to stare at Roxanne as Marga also left. Back at the mansion, Romina told her brother that Carlos had wanted to tell her something about what happened to her in the past but he had stopped when Daniela arrived.
“What could it be?” Neil wondered. “A lot of things happened to you in the past; the time you were arrested, the fire that burned down our house, and the time you were räpëd.”
“I don’t know, Neil. Daniela stopped him from saying anything. I need to know what it is. I need to know what Daniela is hiding.”
In their room, Daniela ranted about how Carlos was choosing Romina over her. Carlos told her that he was just doing what was right and she needed to own up to what she had done to Romina. “Believe me, Carlos,” Danny girl said. “I’m completely innocent.”
“Is that what you tell yourself, so you can sleep at night?”
Daniela then threw herself at Carlos, trying to persuade him to let the matter go, saying that Romina had everything now. “She got dad. She even got his fortune. She and Cassie have a better life now. That would never would have happened if I didn’t do what I did.”
“Suit yourself. Stand up for your decisions. But I’m not like you. If you managed to sleep soundly for sixteen years, I can’t.” Carlos started heading out.
“Where are you going?”
“To Romina. I’m going to tell her the truth.”
Roxanne followed Marga to the roof of a building, pleading with her not to be mad at her because she didn’t mean to lie to her. Marga told her to shut up. She then resumed her ranting, saying that Roxy was just like her parents and her friends who would always leave her in the end. Marga then walked over to the edge of the building.
“Marga, step away from there,” Roxy cautioned. “You might fall.”
“Are you scared that I might fall?”
Cassie, Krisroff and Jepoy noticed the scene from the ground. Cassie started calling out Marga’s name as she and Kristoff hurried over. “I’m not that stüpïd,” Marga went on. “Not like you.” Marga turned to stare at the heights down below. She was as drunk as a skunk. “Wow.”
“Marga, please,” Roxy pleaded.
“It’s nice here. You can see everything. Now, I’m all alone. It’s not like anyone cares. I should just stay here. Forever. Just me and the stars. No one will look down on me. Ever again.”
“Marga, please come back here. You might fall.”
Marga turned to Roxy. “Take one step closer, and I might jump.”
Cassie and Kristoff arrived just then and Marga told them to stay back. Back at the mansion, Daniela was trying to stop Carlos from telling Romina the truth but Carlos was quiet persistent. “Romina, you need to hear the truth. But promise me first, promise me you will leave my daughter out of this.”
“I will never hurt a child,” Mina declared. “Now. Tell me everything. What is Daniela hiding?”
Carlos glanced at Daniela. “Daniela was…”
Romina had a phone call from Jepoy at that instant. “What? Huh? What happened to Marga?”
Back at the rooftop, Cassie pleaded with Marga to step away from the edge before she got hurt. Marga ranted on and on about how Cassie had ruined everything in her life. Carlos and Daniela hurried over and Marga told them not to come any closer.
“Marga sweetheart, let’s talk,” Carlos coaxed.
“Why dad? Mom, what do we have to talk about? Stop overreacting.”
Romina joined the others as Daniela pleaded with Marga to give her a chance to fix things. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marga barked. “I’m just having fun,” she added, jumping up.
Daniela and everyone else gasped in horror. “Why don’t you try it, so you can get your minds off of your problems?” Marga went on. “Look, I’m flying. All I want is to be happy. The company, the car shop – those are the only things you care about. Because all your attention is focused on aunt Romina and Cassie.”
And the endless ranting goes on. “That’s not true, dear,” Daniela sobbed.
“Yes, it is, mom,” Marga wailed. “What hurts me more is you don’t realize it.”
“So what if they don’t prioritize you?” Romina cut in.
“What the hell are you saying?” Daniela barked.
Mina ignored Danny girl. “What do you want to hear, Marga? That they don’t care about you?”
“Romina, shut up. Do you really want my daughter to die?”
“Enough, Daniela,” Carlos admonished.
Romina paid no need to Daniela. “You always say that they don’t care about you. But they’re here right now. I went through a lot of suffering in my life but I’ve always believed that nothing lasts forever. You can still make things right. Marga, believe me.” Mina was crying now. “Think about your grandfather.”
“Let’s go home, Marga,” Carlos pleaded, stretching out his hand to his daughter.
“Marga, please trust me,” Mina added. “Your grandpa would never want this to happen. We all løvë you very much. Your grandpa løvës you so much. He wouldn’t have wanted to see this.”
Slowly, Marga reached out her hand to her father but she slipped in the process and Carlos deftly caught her and managed to pull her back up. At the hospital, Daniela told Marga that she had no idea she had been going through so much. Marga said she hadn’t really planned on jumping. “I’m sorry I went overboard. I was just trying to have some fun.”
“I knew the real reason you did that, dear,” Daniela sobbed. “It was because you were upset with us.”
“You didn’t even have the time to ask me how I was. You don’t know what’s going on in my life. You only see when I make mistakes.”
“Marga, if your mom and I have been too busy,” Carlos began. “It’s because we work for you.”
“That’s not true. You only work to prove yourself. You work to prove to everyone that you can support us on your own. And you mommy, you ignore me most of the time to prove to everyone that you’re better than aunt Romina. I had to be drunk and in an accident for you to notice me.”
Daniela started blaming Carlos as soon as they came out of the hospital room, and Carlos pointed out to her that they were both to blame. Daniela told him that she knew what to do to change that while he was willing to destroy their family all for ‘that woman’.
“Marga’s already devasted,” Danny girl said. “What do you think will happen if she finds out that her dear father wants to send her mother to jail?”
“Why are you holding me responsible for what you did, Daniela? It’s your fault because you did something wrong.”
“I did what I had to do. If something happens to Marga once she finds out you’re siding with Romina, it will all be on you and the choices that you made.”
Hector met up with a goon who told him that his men were stealing from him and giving him problems and he had to find out who the culprit was. As Kulas spied on them, the goon asked Hector to take charge of everything for a while. “And do everything myself?” Hector asked in disbelief.
“It will be easy,” said the goon. “Just order your men to pick up the goods. And then they can smuggle the items into Camila.”
Somewhere at the hospital, Romina asked Cassie how Marga was and she told her that she was with Daniela. She then asked what they had all been doing there and why they had let Marga drink. “Sorry aunty,” Kristoff said. “But when we got there, Marga was already drunk.”
“We just wanted to talk to Roxanne, mamma,” Cassie added. “I just wanted to know what the truth was.”
“Cassie…” Mina admonished.
“And I actually did. She’s not my real sister, mamma. She’s Mr. Hector’s daughter, not Mr. Vin’s. She’s just pretending to be my sister.”
At the Cartolome autoshop, Kulas told Jessa about Hector doing something illegal inside Camila. Jessa asked whether Daniela knew about it and he said he didn’t think so, adding that he had to do something about it so his family wouldn’t be affected. Back at the hospital hallway, Daniela approached Romina and asked to have a talk with her so Mina sent Cassie and Kristoff to go and wait for her in the car. “Daniela, if you’re going to blame me for what happened…”
“Thank you,” Danny girl said. “For saving my daughter. If it weren’t for you, she could…”
Romina was unfazed. “You know how much I loathe you, Daniela. But I am a mother too, and I would never let anything bad happen to your daughter. Unlike what you did to Cassie while I was in jail. I hope you remember this, because the next time you hurt my daughter…”
“I hope you’re not doing this so I’d be indebted to you.”
“Don’t worry, Daniela. That’s not how I’ll make you pay.”
Jessa suggested that they tell the police about Hector’s illegal activities since they knew where the shipment were, but Kulas told her that he had to make sure the police would find something there because they wouldn’t do anything without evidence.
“So what’s your plan?” Jessa asked.
“I need to catch them in the act,” Kulas replied. “I need to prove they’re smuggling illegal items. That’s the only way we can put Hector behind bars.”
“But that sounds really risky.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a former cop.”
Kulas sneaked into the hideout where Hector’s goons were working on some chemicals. He hid behind some Camila Sardines boxes and took a photo of them. “Finally. I’ve got you now, Hector.”
A goon noticed something wrong and he came over to investigate. Kulas however managed to outsmart him. He was smiling to himself proudly and making his way out when someone suddenly knocked him out with the butt of a güñ. At the mansion, Romina, Bonita and Neil discussed about Marga and Roxanne. Bonita wondered why Roxy would lie about her dad and Mina told her that a kid couldn’t think to do something like that on their own.
“I’m sure someone told her to do that,” Mina said.
“Those brothers are unbelievable,” Neil grumbled. “I can’t believe they involved an innocent child into their schemes. I wonder what else they’re planning.”
“That’s what I need to find out. I’m sure they both did that because they’re hiding something.”
“All their family’s good at is lying. For all you know, Alvin might not even be Cassie’s real father. They’re probably lying about that too.”
“Alvin was the one who räpëd me,” Mina stated. “There’s a DNA test to prove that. I’m sure he’s Cassie’s father.”
“That’s why the charges were filed against Alvin,” Bonita added. “Because the sample they found from Romina matched the one the police had. And that’s what really sealed the deal.”
Romina recalled the DNA test Daniela had shredded. “Daniela was hiding a DNA test result. That’s what I was looking for when Hector nearly k!lled me. And they went to a different clinic during Alvin’s trial.”
“Do you think there’s a connection, Romina?”
“Bonita, it would be a big coincidence if there wasn’t. Daniela wouldn’t have had a DNA test done for no reason. Daniela and Hector are working together. We need to find the contents of those two DNA tests, so we can find out what they’re hiding.”
Romina met up with Bernard, with her brother in her company. Bernard asked why she wanted to have everything checked again since the DNA test was her strongest evidence against Alvin and Mina told him that she just wanted to be sure.
“Where does your doubt come from?” Bernard asked.
“Alvin has told so many lies. I need to filter out which ones don’t add up. I want to review everything.”
“Alright. I’ll get you a copy.”
Romina turned to her brother. “Neil, go back to the office.”
“Where are you going? Neil asked.
“To see Alvin.”
“Romina…”
“If I broke him before, I can definitely do it again.”
