Ace The Wager (TO BE PUBLISHED)

Chapter 13

AFTER A WHILE OF CONTEMPLATING WHETHER if my curiosity should kill a cat—the cat being me—I decided to go to the last person on Earth I should be around with during the night.

"Ate Saoirse."

Nilingon ako ni ate na nagtutupi ng mga damit niya sa kama. Bahagya niya akong nginitian bago niya ako sinenyasan na pumasok ng kwarto niya. Weird. She never smiles. Ano kaya ang meron ngayon?

Late na kasi siya umuwi kaya naman naabutan ko siya. It was already 9:30 PM pero nag-aayos pa siya ng mga damit niya. Pagkatapos ko ibigay kay Haji ang phone niya through one of our housekeeper, I did a background check on his family in my room.

So far, kakaunti pa lang ang alam ko. The Romeros are known to do many good deeds but I didn't get enough information on their personal life. According to several articles, Haji's mom lives in Paris as a designer—a very successful one at that—while his father stayed here in the Philippines and got elected as governor last year.

Ang weird lang kasi wala namang nakalagay doon na may kapatid si Haji. Sa mga political campaigns rin ni Gov Romero, si Haji lang parati ang kasama niya. Siguro hindi alam ng media na dalawa ang anak ni Gov. Romero. I guess Haji's sister is from another woman? I didn't want to make assumptions but it was possible.

"What?" tanong ni ate nang umupo ako sa tabi niya.

Ate Saoirse and I have never been close. Simula noong bata pa 'ko, parati siyang nagkukulong dito sa kwarto niya para mag-aral. Pinagpatuloy niya ang habit na 'yan hanggang sa nakagraduate na siya. Ngayon ko lang siya nakikita na lumalabas kasi may trabaho siya sa kumpanya.

Speaking of company, may nabasa akong article na tumulong ang Thiago Holdings sa pag-suporta financially kay Gov. Romero noong eleksyon. That time, ate was already an executive director in Thiago Holdings. I bet she knows why our funds were offered to the governor.

"Why are you here?" tanong niya at nagpatuloy na sa pagtutupi.

I cleared my throat before facing her. "What did Governor Romero give to the company when you decided on investing for his campaign?"

I craned my neck beside her because her back was facing me. Tumigil siya sa pagtutupi at dahan-dahan na binaba ang kamay niya sa dalawa niyang hita. She faced me with a serious expression on her face.

"What?" Her expression was dark.

"I mean—" I fidgeted as a cold shiver ran down my spine. In the end, I gave her a one-shoulder shrug. "I'm just curious."

"Well, don't be."

Okay... This isn't going as planned.

I swore to myself I'll never push anyone's buttons—you know, knowing my family's history of anger issues—but I'm too curious. I need to create a bait, and I need to do it fast.

"Thiago Holdings went near bankruptcy after the election. Right after the company wired twenty million for Gov. Romero's campaign..." I trailed. "Those funds that the company offered were stolen, right? It was supposed to be investments from the stockholders but mommy sent it to Gov. Romero without their consent."

Ate Saoirse's gaze hardened. "Where are you going with this, Siobhan? Yes, mommy sent it for the election campaign, but it was all from her own pockets."

A ghost of a smile shown on my face. "But why would she do that? It's not like Gov. Romero is an asset for the company. In fact, our lives nearly went to shit last year because of that decision she did. Unless mommy is fucking the governor, what else is the reason?"

"Don't talk about her like that!"

I grinned. I'm starting to get a reaction. "Mommy was blackmailed, wasn't she?"