Is this the end?

[Calithea Sophronia]

 
It’s been a few days since we knew who the mastermind was. In between those days, we already met with our attorney, who said that he would file a motion to reopen the case regarding my dad and Voughn’s mom.

Wala kaming pahinga ni Voughn. We did everything in secret, trying not to acquire any attention from the president. Hindi niya dapat malaman na tinutugis namin siya, at baka ay bigla na lamang siyang tatakas.

“Oh, Steven! Narito ka na pala,” bungad ko pagkapasok ko sa office ni Voughn. We already told him everything, despite Mrs. Choi’s disapproval. I felt bad seeing him in despair when he heard that his father was a criminal—a mastermind of a murder.

“Yeah, kararating ko lang din. I have already talked to the attorney. A warrant of arrest will be issued, and any moment from now, the police will arrest him.” But after all that, he decided to help us.

Naiiyak ako. We’re almost there. We can finally end everything and serve the justice the victims deserve. Sa wakas ay magiging payapa na rin ang lahat.

“By the way, nasaan si Voughn?” I asked, roaming my eyes around his office. Nakapagtatakang wala siya rito. Ayaw na ayaw pa naman no’n na kasa-kasama ko si Steven na kaming dalawa lang. Dapat daw kasi nand’yan siya.

He’s jealous. And he has never denied it.

“Oh, he was just here awhile ago. Where did he go?” Tulad ko, hindi niya rin pala alam kung nasaan ang kaibigan niya.

I tried calling him, pero kapwa kami napalingon ni Steven sa mesa ni Voughn nang marinig ang isang ringtone. He even left his phone. He must have left urgently. May nangyari kaya? Wala naman siyang nabanggit sa akin.

“Should we wait for him?” Steven asked.

“We should. Kailangan kasama siya.”

We have to meet with the attorney. There’s a lot to prepare to finally lock that old man in prison. We also need to attend hearings, and we need Voughn to be there.

It was almost an hour when the door swung open. A look of disappointment was evident on my face when the person who appeared wasn’t the one I had hoped to see. I thought it was Voughn.

“Sorry to barge in here, Mr. Johansenn! The president was being arrested in the lobby,” the lobbyist said, panting. She must have run her way up here to tell us the news.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Steven. Despite knowing that it was his father, he just nodded, signaling that he was okay and that the president deserved to be arrested.

Steven doesn’t deserve a father like him. Iyon ang naisip ko.

“Thank you for letting us know,” I said to the lobbyist. “We’ll head down and see what’s happening.”

Nauna nang lumabas at bumalik sa lobby ang babae. Akmang susunod na kami nang biglang bumungad sa pintuan si Voughn. Kaagad akong tumayo upang salubungin siya pero...

“Voughn! Where have—” What is he wearing? “—you been?”

“Bro, what's with your outfit? Bagong pauso ba?”

Voughn appeared, wearing black sunglasses and a hat on his head. He is like a different person now. Ibang-iba ang suot niya sa mga nakasanayan niyang sinusuot. What is he up to?

“I’m sorry, I’m late. I went home to get some things, but I ended up wearing these,” he answered, scratching the back of his head, showing how embarrassed he was with his look. But he was kind of cool, though. Whatever he wore, he surely pulled it off. Perks of being a handsome guy!

“Was it bad? Do I look weird?” he then asked.

“Ye—”

“OF COURSE NOT!” I exclaimed, slapping Steven’s arms when he was about to say that my boyfriend looked weird. Napa-aray naman ang loko.

Voughn smiled upon hearing my loud voice. Unti-unti na sanang nabubuo ang sariling mundo namin, pero nabasag ang lahat nang tumikhim at magsalita ang disturbo. Binigyan ko ng side-eye si Steven, pero hindi niya ako pinansin. This interloper! Nagmomoment pa nga kami e’.

“So, have you seen everything in the lobby?” Steven asked, his voice seems a little bit guilty. Siguro iniisip niyang parang kasalanan na rin niya ang kasalanan ng ama niya.

“Yeah, they successfully arrested him. They’re on their way to the station,” Voughn answered. Napatango na lamang si Steven. Kinuha niya ang kaniyang jacket na nakapatong sa swivel chair ni Voughn at nagpaalam.

“Mauna na kayo. I have to visit Mrs. Choi to earn her trust. We also need her during the trial,” he said, getting ready to leave. “I need to tell her that she doesn't need to be scared and that I am on her side.”

Hindi nagtagal ay umalis na rin si Steven. Kami naman ni Voughn ay sabay ring naghanda para sunduin si Mrs. Amore. Malaki rin ang naitulong niya sa kasong ito dahil sa tulong ng kaniyang mga koneksyon, natunton din sa wakas ang lalakeng nakita sa hospital.

We only need to wait for a few days to finally end everything. Dadaan pa ang lahat sa tamang procedures.

Pagdating namin sa bahay ni Mrs. Amore ay nasa labas na siya at naghihintay. Nang tanungin kung kanina pa ba siya nag-aabang ay sumagot naman siyang kalalabas lang daw niya. Before hopping in the car, she even looked at me, probably wondering when I would call her 'mom', which is not yet on my mind. I still feel so overwhelmed with all the things that happened, so I’m not sure if I could bring myself to see her as my mother.

Isa pa...It feels so awkward!

“WHAT?!” Kapwa kami napalingon kay Voughn nang mapasigaw ito. His brows were furrowed, as if he heard something bad from the caller. May tumawag sa kaniya at mukhang may masamang balita. Kinakabahan man ay tinanong ko siya kung anong nangyari.

“YOU NEED TO COME HERE! EVERYONE HAS BEEN KILLED! MRS. CHOI WAS IN DANGER!” Steven’s voice roared like thunder, sending a volt of shock to us who heard his scream. “AXLE! HELP ME!”

That was Mrs. Choi’s voice!

“WHAT HAPPENED, TEVEN?!”

“COME HERE! SHIT! SHE’S BLEEDING!”

We all panicked upon hearing his scream. Voughn wasted no time and drove the car, still listening to Steven’s curses on the phone.

“Steven, calm down!” sigaw ko sa kaniya sa kabilang linya. Pero lahat kami napasinghap nang makarinig ng isang malakas na kalabog mula sa kinaroroonan nila Steven.

“What happened?!”

“Steven!” I called him.

“LET HER GO! YOU SHITHEAD!”

“GO AWAY!”

“STOP!”

“YOU SHIT!”

“DAMN YOU, MORON!”

“UGH!”

“Voughn,” nagpapanic kong banggit sa pangalan ng katabi ko, nakikiusap na bilisan niya ang pagmamaneho dahil baka kung ano na ang nangyari sa kanila ni Steven. Naiiyak na rin ako sa sobrang kaba na halos hindi ko na alam kung anong gagawin ko habang nakikinig sa mga sigaw sa kabilang linya.

“STEVEN!” Huling sigaw ko bago tuluyang namatay ang tawag. Napalitan ito ng bagong caller na kaagad namang sinagot ni Voughn. Mabuti naman at tumawag si Detective Ronald. Tungkol kaya ito sa nangyari kila Mrs. Choi?

“Detective! My st—”

“We lost him!”

“WHAT?!”

“The president! We lost him!”

“What do you mean? How did—”

“Someone threw a bomb on our way to the station! They took him away,” rinig naming sabi ng detective. Nanghina ang buong katawan ko sa narinig. Lahat ng pag-asa sa puso ko ay tuluyan nang naglaho na parang bula. Even after the call has ended, I speak no words. It feels like my voice has abandoned me once again.

“Anong gagawin natin? Hindi pwedeng hindi siya mahuhuli!” sambit ni Mrs. Amore. I cried my eyes out with all the emotions I’m feeling inside—fear, being hopeless, and disappointment. I was almost on the verge of giving up when Voughn suddenly made a turn at an intersection.

“We need to go first to Steven. They need us more than our need to find that old man,” aniya. Napatango ako at naramdaman na lamang ang paghawak ni Mrs. Amore sa kamay ko. With the warmth of her hand, somehow, I calmed a bit.

Pagkarating namin sa bahay nila Voughn ay tahimik ang lugar. We scanned everywhere to find them, only to see Voughn’s stepmother lying on the cold floor while Steven was...

Steven was...

“What are you doing?”

Steven was sitting comfortably on the couch next to the unconscious Mrs. Choi. Para bang hinihintay niya kaming dumating at plano niya ang lahat ng ’to.

When he turned to us, his smile sent shivers down my spine, and my heart sank upon realizing that Steven lured us here, which means he was a foe and not an ally.

“Steven.”

“You came.”

“YOU FUC—”

Before I could even open my mouth, I felt a pinch of pain in my shoulder as the blurry image of a syringe was being injected into me. I hazily looked at Steven, who was now approaching us, but I couldn't clearly see the expression he was wearing.

“A...anak!”

I dropped to the floor alongside Mrs. Amore. Si Voughn ay pinipilit pa ring ibuka ang mga mata upang tanungin ang tinuring na kaibigan.

“WHAT...WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?!”

“Have a good sleep,” sambit ni Steven. I could only listen to his voice as my eyes finally shut down due to an unknown drug in my body. “Just think of this as a dream.”

I...I was so sleepy.

_

“GISING! GUMISING KAYO!”

“Ugh!”

Ang sakit ng ulo ko na para bang binibiyak. Inilibot ko ang paningin at sumalubong sa mga mata ko ang pamilyar na pangyayari. Parang dejavu. Voughn, Mrs. Choi, and Mrs. Amore were all tied to a chair while...

“Steven! Ano bang ginagawa mo?” I asked him. He was sitting in a chair in front of us,  waiting for us to open our eyes to finally begin his plan.

My voice must have awakened the others, and when they saw the heaviness of the situation, they tried to free themselves from the tight rope circling around their wrists. “You okay?” Voughn asked me, and just like that time, he worries about me instead of himself. Tumango lamang ako sa kaniya at inilipat ang paningin sa iba pa naming kasama. Mababakas ang takot sa mga itsura nila dahil sa kinasasangkutang pangyayari.

“What do you think you’re doing right now, Teven?”

“Steven, malapit na e’. We could almost end everything once and for all, pero bakit mo ’to ginagawa? We thought of you as an ally, but how could you betray us?” tanong ko sa kaniya. Akmang sasagot pa siya nang bumukas ang pintuan ng kwarto. Ito rin ang lugar kung saan kami dinala dati ni Wave. I wonder why they brought us here instead of finding another place.

When the door opened, the world turned into a slow motion, slowly revealing the man who was behind everything we went through—the president. Hindi ko makapaniwalang tiningnan si Steven nang mapagtanto ang lahat.

“Niloko mo lang kami, Steven? We trusted you! Sabi mo, gusto mong panagutin ang ama mo. Sabi mo tutulungan mo kami ni Voughn! Sabi mo kakampi ka namin. Pero ano ’to? PAANO MO NAGAWA ’TO?! PAANO MO KAMINAGAWANG LOKOHIN? KAMI NA NANIWALA SA’YO?!” sigaw ko sa kaniya, pero nagmistulang bingi lamang siya sa mga tanong ko.

Ang sakit.

Ang sakit na dahil sa kaniya ay tuluyan nang nawasak ang pag-asang makakamit namin ang hustisya para sa pamilya namin. Ang sakit sa puso na ’yong taong pinagkatiwalaan namin ay siya pang magdadala sa amin sa kapamahamakan. We trusted him. Nothing hurts me more than a friend betraying a friend.

“Enough with the drama! You think I couldn’t get away with all your plans? Ha! You must have underestimated me.” Even without saying anything, I knew Voughn was gritting his teeth in anger right now. Wala na ang suot niyang sunglasses, pati na ang kaniyang sumbrero. Siguro’y natanggal no’ng nawalan kami ng malay kanina.

“I bet you're curious as to why my son, Steven, helped me to have this chance. He didn't betray you, because at the very beginning, he was on my side,” sambit ng president na mas lalong ikinagalit ko.

“Anyway, you already knew his true colors. Let us talk with mine now, alright? So, why do you have to ruin everything? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING!” sigaw niya. Natataranta pa ako nang lapitan niya si Voughn at hawakan nang marahas ang panga nito. “I just want you gone, Axle. I don’t want anyone to get in my way, because if anyone dares to, I will get rid of them.”

“So, was that why you killed my mom? Was that why you killed Cali’s father and her uncle? Because they blocked your way of getting something you want?!” Voughn asked, gritting his teeth. His eyes seem empty, probably because he felt numb from everything he went through.

My heart sank with him.

“You guessed it right! But aside from that, I even killed your father!” the president laughed, which made us all gasp in shock. What does he mean by that?

‘I think my father already knew beforehand about the surprise party; I’ve overheard him instructing someone to be prepared on his birthday.’

Wait! Ibig bang sabihin ay hindi lang ang surprise party ang alam ng president noon, kun’di pati na ang plano ni Wave?! He took advantage of that plan!

“ANG SAMA MO!” sigaw ni Mrs. Choi na sinang-ayunan naman ni Mrs. Amore. Pero sa kabila ng pag-iyak at pagsigaw ng dalawa ay hindi ito pinansin ng president.

When I shifted my eyes to Voughn, a tear fell from his dull eyes. He then looked up to look at the president, who was now standing in front of him. “You won’t succeed. I will make sure that you won’t—”

“VOUGHN!” tawag ko sa kaniya nang hampasin siya ng president gamit ang baril na kanina lang ay nakalagay pa sa tagiliran nito. The president laughed and withdrew himself to face Steven.

“What should I do? Should I just kill him, too?” tanong nito kay Steven. Tuloy-tuloy lang sa pag-agos ang luha ko. I want to go near Voughn to wipe away the blood that’s slowly running down his face...but I can't! I couldn't do anything.
 
I’m scared.

“Okay! I should just kill him.” My eyes grew bigger as my heart beat rapidly when the president positioned himself to shoot Voughn. Time seemed to slow down as I watched his finger slowly pull the trigger.

“AH!” I screamed my lungs out when I heard a bang. With my eyes closed, the surroundings turned into a cold silence. Tears continuously rolled down my face, and the loud thump of my heart is all I hear, which causes my ear to ring.

I’m scared to open my eyes!

I don't want to see everything!

I cried. My sobs were so loud that I couldn't contain the fear I’m feeling right now. I felt someone untying me, and that’s when I managed to finally see everything.

My eyes locked on Voughn. We both looked into each other’s eyes. When I realized that he was alive, I immediately shifted my gaze to the front.

Tuluyan nang natanggal ang tali sa mga kamay ko at natutop ko ang bibig sa nasaksihan.

“STEVEN!” I rushed to him, checking his state. I called him multiple times, hoping to hear his response.

Steven was lying on the cold floor, bleeding. I could now clearly hear the police sirens as well as everyone's footsteps. I even saw the president being handcuffed by the detectives.

“STEVEN!” I called him when I heard him cough. Naramdaman ko rin ang paglapit ni Voughn sa amin pati na ang ilang medical staff. Dahan-dahan nilang inilagay si Steven sa stretcher para dalhin sa hospital.

“You moron, didn't you realize this was the plan I had in mind?” nahihirapan niyang sambit kay Voughn. “He killed your father, but we don't have any evidence, so I planned all this to make him confess everything. I was brilliant, wasn't I?”

Voughn and I nodded in unison. Pagkalabas namin sa building ay isinakay na siya sa ambulance. Sumama kaming dalawa ni Voughn sa loob para samahan siya. Hindi na nga namin naisip pa ang iba pa naming kasama. I’m sure the police have already taken them away.

“STEVEN!”

“Teven, you have to live. You have to live so that I can punish you for not telling me the plan!”

“I couldn't take it anymore. Hindi ko na kaya. I’m...I’m sorry.”

“Hindi! Steven! Wake up!”

“STEVEN! OPEN YOUR EYES, YOU JERK!” I shouted desperately. I tried to shake him in an attempt to wake him up. But the sound of the flat line from the monitor pierced through our hearts, and his hand dropped, indicating that he had already left us.