His Precious Property

Chapter 44.2: To Reveal the Truth (Part 2)

Third Person’s POV

Takot ang bumalot sa puso ng bawat isa, takot na baka tuluyan nang mawala ang importanteng tao sa kanilang buhay. Kahit na madilim at umuulan ay sumugod sila sa labas upang hanapin ang isang tao. Chase drove his car in a speed limit as he ripped the roads towards the Miller’s mansion.

Hindi niya aakalain na sa ganitong rason siya babalik sa mansion ng mga Miller. And at that moment, he was unsure of his actions, was he supposed to go back there? Ano na lang ang mukhang ihaharap niya sa pamilya ni Zabrina gayong pinahirapan nila ito noong namatay ang kanyang lolo sa pamamagitan ng mga paratang na wala namang pruweba. Paano siya haharap? Gayong siya mismo ang nagtago kay Zabrina.

There’s so much hesitation as he gripped tightly on his wheel, but at the end, he still reached his destination.

Bumungad sa kanya ang napakalaking gate ng mga Miller, it was his old man Miller’s mansion. Hindi niya alam kung bakit dito siya unang pumunta, gayong nandyan naman si Veronica na maaaring puntahan ni Zabrina, nevertheless he still continued. Sa pagpasok niya’y nakasalubong niya ang papaalis na sasakyan na mukhang nagmamadali din. He hurriedly went out of his car at pinatigil ang kasalubong na sasakyan.

Bagamat natataranta na si Brandon sa utos ng kanyang lolo ay sumugod pa rin siya sa ulan upang hanapin ang kapatid sa kalagitnaan ng gabi.

It is dark and the rain is pouring heavily that even his wind shield didn’t help to ease the oozing water, mabilis siyang nagpreno nang may makita siyang kasalubong na sasakyan. He creased his forehead until the man from the other car come out. It is a cue for him to go out too when he recognized the man.

Dali-dali niyang sinugod ang lalaki nang makilala niya ito. Chase was about to ask Zabrina’s whereabouts when a hard punch landed on his face, he didn’t fall but got a little dizzy. He was caught off guard.

“Ang lakas naman ng loob mo na pumunta dito? Nasan si Zabrina? Nasaan ang kapatid ko?!” kinapitan ni Brandon ang collar ni Chase at niyugyog pa habang nagtatanong. Galit na galit niyang ikiniyom ang kanyang mga kamay sa damit ng kaaway.

“She’s not here?” Chase asked hopeless.

“What do you mean she’s not here? Anong ginawa mo sa kapatid ko? Nasaan siya?!” umigting ang panga ni Brandon,  bakit nito tinatanong kung nasaan ang kapatid niya? Akala pa naman niya ay magkasama ang dalawa.

Muli na naman niya itong sinuntok habang hindi pinakakawalan pero ni isa ay hindi ito gumanti man lang. He knows from an old memory that Chase Nikolas King was a good boy, but now that they are older, he didn’t know if the boy he knew before turns out to be a good man today.

Muli niya itong sinuntok nang hindi ito gumanti, at isa pang suntok hanggang sa tumumba na ito sa basang kalsada. The next blow was supposed to be fatal but when he met those crying eyes even with the company of the rain, he knew, he should stop, as if he saw the younger Chase that he know.

“Arrrggghhh!” Brandon shouted in frustration. Nawawala ba ang kanyang kapatid kaya nandito ngayon si Chase?

“Tell me Chase, where is my sister?” he yelled again.

“I…I don’t know.” Chase is lost, he didn’t know what to do anymore now that everything is falling apart.

“Then why are you looking for her? She was supposed to be with you! Bakit hinahanap mo siya ngayon? What did you do to her huh? After all this time, she still chose you over her family tapos ngayon hindi mo alam kung nasaan siya?”

Chase has no choice but to tell the truth, “She thought your family is the reason why my grandfather is gone,” he explained with uncertainty, he looks vulnerable, too far from the Chase that everyone in the company feared off.

Mas nagalit pa si Brandon dahil sa narinig, he kneeled on the road as he grab the collar again, “You know that it’s not true, someone framed our family para magkasira-sira tayo! You’re not the only one who lost someone, we also lost our old man King and grandpa is very hurt by that! He still is!”

“I know! I know! But what can I do? It is me against my family!”

“You are such a coward, your grandfather and my grandfather chose you as the heiress so that you can unite our company, pero anong ginawa mo? Tinalikuran mo kami! Hindi lang kami, pati na rin ang lolo mo na naniwala sayo noon!”

“I was just a kid! I was a damn kid who fears power back then! What can I do?” Chase cried out loud.

Wala nang nagawa si Brandon kundi bitawan ang kababata, minsan din niya itong itinuring na nakatatandang kapatid noon.

Lumipas ang ilang minuto na nakaupo sila sa kalsada hanggang naliligo sa ulan, hindi na alintana ang lamig na nararamdaman nila.

Lingid sa kanilang kaalam ay papalapit na pala sa kanila ang matanda na kanina pa nakatanaw mula sa mansion at narinig ang mga pahuli nilang pag-uusap. Lumapit ito sa dalawang binata na puno ng pag-asa.

“If you want to right what is wrong, then be brave this time, Nikolas,” sabay na napalingon ang dalawang binata sa pinaggalingan ng boses.

“Grandpa…” agad na tumayo si Brandon upang lumapit sa kanyang lolo na sumugod din sa ulan,  ganun din si Chase na minintina ang agwat sa matanda na matagal niyang hindi nakita ng personal.

Chase stared at his old man Miller, kitang-kita niya ang pagbabago sa mukha at pisikal na anyo nito dahil sa katandaan. Kung buhay pa rin ang kanyang lolo ay paniguradong ganito din ang hitsura nito.

He stared at him with so much longing, punong-puno siya ng pagsisisi. He wanted to call him grandpa but his tongue betrayed him, he was left muted. Sobrang nahihiya siyang kausapin ang matanda. Sa totoo lang ay napakalambot ng puso niya noong bata pa siya, pero nang hawakan niya ang kumpanya ay pinili niyang isara ang kanyang puso sa lahat kaya marami ang natatakot sa kanya dahil napakalamig ng pakikitungo niya.

Lumapit sa kanya ang matanda, “Nikolas… sa pagitan nating dalawa, you know much better about what happened to your grandfather. Ngayong makapangyarihan kana, please do the right thing iho. And please, protect my precious granddaughter.” The old man pleaded.

He knows that Chase is a good boy, he was just concerned that the boy might repeat the same mistake, at yun ay ang iwan sila sa ere. But now that the boy he knew grows to be a great man, he wanted to use this opportunity to reconcile their family.

With that, nabuhayan ng loob si Chase upang gawin ang tama. He thought that everything was over and the Millers will never give him a chance but now that the old man asked him personally, he wanted to finish what he missed before.

On the other hand, Zabrina felt the familiar fear yet again. She has a blindfold kaya naman hindi niya makita ang kanyang paligid.

She's in the arms of the bad guys and she’s still not sure of who is the mastermind of the kidnapping. Gusto ng puso niya na dumating ulit si Chase para iligtas siya pero ayaw naman ng kanyang isip. She’s debating internally.

Maya-maya pa ay nakarinig siya ng pagbukas ng pinto, it means she’s in a different room from the kidnappers.

Nakaramdam siya ng matinding takot na hindi niya maipaliwanag, lalong-lalo na nang maamoy niya ang pamilyar na pabango na bumalot sa buong kwarto. She can feel her heartbeat going faster as she sensed that the person is near. Kakaiba talaga ang pakiramdam niya, tila ba matagal na niya itong kilala, simula pa lamang noong una. It feels like the memories are coming back when she was just a child after smelling that familiar perfume.

Narinig niya ang maingay na tunog ng bangko, sa palagay niya’y umupo na ito sa may harapan niya. She gulp twice when the person didn’t say anything. At hindi rin naman siya makapagsalita dahil sa takot. Sobrang tahimik. Until, a loud ringing of cellphone interrupted the silence between them, kitang-kita ng kanyang kasama ang kanyang reaksyon sa pagtunog nito. Sa palagay niya’y may tumatawag sa taong kasama niya ngayon.

She was unsure for a moment until she heard the voice when that person answered the call. She can’t believe it, and she doesn’t want to believe it.

Why she didn’t realize before that she knows everything about that person? Why? Is it because she was too young before to remember that kind of memory?