nang bumalik ang babaeng itinuring niyang mahina, dala nito ang ebidensiyang hindi lang sisira kay bianca, kundi magpapaluhod sa buong villanueva
bahagi 2: nang bumalik ang babaeng itinuring niyang mahina, dala nito ang ebidensiyang hindi lang sisira kay bianca, kundi magpapaluhod sa buong villanueva
Hindi gumalaw si Rafael.
Nakatitig lang siya sa screen ng cellphone ni Attorney Marisol, habang paulit-ulit na tumatakbo ang maikling CCTV footage.
Si Bianca.
Sa hallway ng hotel sa Cebu.
Suot ang silk robe na galing mismo sa presidential suite nila.
Hawak ang cellphone niya.
At sa dulo ng video, malinaw ang oras.
3:17 AM.
Ilang segundo lang ang footage, pero sapat na iyon para durugin ang lahat ng paliwanag.
“Hindi ako iyon!” sigaw ni Bianca, nanginginig ang boses. “Hindi malinaw ang kuha! Puwedeng kahit sino iyon!”
Dahan-dahang ibinaba ni Attorney Marisol ang telepono.
“Miss Santos, kung gusto mong ipilit na hindi ikaw iyan, mas mabuti. Mas lalo lang lalaki ang kaso.”
Namula ang mga mata ni Bianca. Lumapit siya kay Rafael, nanginginig ang kamay.
“Sir Raf, pakinggan ninyo ako. Minamanipula nila kayo. Galit sa akin si Ma’am Alina, kaya gagawin niya ang lahat para palabasin akong masama!”
Sa unang pagkakataon, hindi umatras si Rafael dahil sa awa.
Umatras siya dahil sa pandidiri.
“Sinabi mo sa akin na patayin ko ang phone ko,” mabagal niyang sabi. “Ikaw ang kumuha ng phone ko habang tulog ako?”
“Hindi!”
“Pinadala mo ang litrato namin kay Mama?”
“Hindi nga!”
“Alam mong may sakit ang puso niya?”
Biglang natigilan si Bianca.
Isang segundo lang.
Ngunit sapat na iyon.
Napapikit si Rafael.
Sa loob ng dibdib niya, may kung anong tuluyang nabasag.
Attorney Marisol opened another folder and placed several printed screenshots on the table.
“Hindi lang larawan ang ipinadala niya, Mr. Villanueva.”
Rafael slowly looked down.
The first screenshot showed a photo of him and Bianca having dinner by the beach.
The second showed Bianca leaning close to his shoulder, smiling sweetly.
The third was a message.
“Mama, huwag na po kayong umasa. Hindi na po siya uuwi ngayong gabi. Mas masaya po siya rito.”
Rafael’s breathing stopped.
Attorney Marisol turned one page.
“May kasunod pa.”
Another message appeared.
“Kung mahal talaga niya kayo, bakit niya pipiliing patayin ang phone niya kasama ako?”
The room became unbearably quiet.
Bianca’s lips trembled.
“Fake iyan…”
Attorney Marisol smiled coldly.
“Galing mismo sa cellphone records. May digital forensic report na rin. Ipinaliwanag na ng cybercrime unit kung paano ginamit ang phone ni Mr. Villanueva habang naka-lock ito. May facial recognition access dahil madalas mong ginagamit ang phone niya sa opisina, tama ba?”
Rafael slowly turned toward Bianca.
His eyes were red.
“Gaano katagal mo na akong niloloko?”
Bianca shook her head violently.
“Ginawa ko lang iyon dahil mahal kita!”
The words exploded in the room.
The old manager standing by the door inhaled sharply.
Attorney Marisol’s expression did not change.
Rafael stared at her.
“What did you say?”
Bianca covered her mouth, realizing what she had admitted.
But it was too late.
Tears streamed down her face. This time, there was no softness in them. Only panic.
“Hindi ko ginustong mamatay ang mama mo! Gusto ko lang malaman niya ang totoo! Gusto ko lang makita niya kung sino ang mas kailangan mo!”
Rafael’s hand slammed against the table.
The glass of water beside him fell and shattered on the floor.
“Siya ang nanay ko!”
Bianca cried harder.
“Pero si Alina lagi na lang ang pinipili nila! Kahit ikaw, kahit hindi mo siya mahal, asawa mo pa rin siya! Kahit anong gawin ko, ako pa rin ang kabit sa mata ng lahat!”
Rafael laughed once.
It was a broken, terrifying laugh.
“Kaya pinatay mo ang nanay ko sa takot at galit?”
“Hindi ko siya pinatay!” Bianca screamed. “Mahina na ang puso niya! Hindi ko kasalanan kung hindi niya kinaya ang totoo!”
The moment those words left her mouth, the door opened again.
Two uniformed police officers stepped inside.
Behind them was a woman wearing a simple beige dress, her hair tied low, her face pale but calm.
Rafael froze.
Alina.
She was thinner.
Much thinner.
Her eyes were no longer swollen, but the light in them had changed. Gone was the woman who used to wait quietly in the dining room, who used to smile gently whenever he came home late.
The Alina standing before him looked like someone who had buried not only a mother-in-law, but also her own heart.
“Alina…” Rafael whispered.
He took one step forward.
She took one step back.
That small movement pierced deeper than any slap.
“Don’t come near me,” she said in a calm voice.
Rafael stopped.
Bianca stared at Alina as if she had seen a ghost.
“You… you planned this?”
Alina looked at her.
“I planned nothing. You were just too confident that everyone around Rafael was stupid.”
Bianca gritted her teeth.
“You think you won because you brought a lawyer? You think he’ll really let you go?”
Alina did not answer her.
She turned to the police officer.
“I am ready to give my statement.”
Rafael’s chest tightened.
“Alina, wait. Please. Let me explain.”
She finally looked at him.
For seven years, Rafael had seen many emotions in Alina’s eyes.
Love.
Hope.
Pain.
Disappointment.
But now, there was nothing.
No anger.
No tears.
Only distance.
“That night,” she said softly, “Mama held my hand and asked me if you were still coming.”
Rafael’s face turned pale.
“I told her yes. I told her you were on your way. She smiled because she believed me.”
Alina’s voice did not shake.
“But before she closed her eyes, she whispered one thing.”
Rafael’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
Alina continued.
“She said, ‘Tell Rafael I forgive him.’”
The words struck him like a bullet.
His knees almost gave way.
Alina looked away.
“I thought that was the cruelest thing. Even at the end, she forgave you. But I couldn’t.”
“Alina…”
“I cannot forgive the man who made me lie to a dying mother.”
The police moved toward Bianca.
“Miss Bianca Santos, you are being invited for questioning regarding possible cybercrime, emotional distress leading to fatal medical emergency, and evidence tampering.”
Bianca stepped back in panic.
“No! Rafael, do something! Tell them I’m your assistant! Tell them this is a family matter!”
Rafael did not move.
So Bianca suddenly pointed at Alina.
“She’s not innocent either!”
Everyone stopped.
Bianca’s face twisted with rage.
“You all think she’s pitiful? You think she left empty-handed because she’s noble? Ask her where she really went after the funeral!”
Attorney Marisol narrowed her eyes.
“Miss Santos, be careful.”
But Bianca laughed wildly.
“No, let them hear it! Let Rafael hear it!”
She looked straight at Rafael, her eyes shining with madness.
“Your perfect wife didn’t disappear because she was heartbroken. She went to meet a man.”
Rafael’s face darkened.
Alina remained silent.
Bianca’s voice rose.
“A man from Davao. A doctor. The same man who picked her up after the cremation. The same man whose name appears on the hospital transfer records!”
Rafael turned to Alina.
“Is that true?”
For the first time, something flickered in Alina’s eyes.
Not guilt.
Fear.
Attorney Marisol immediately stepped in front of her.
“This has nothing to do with the case.”
But Bianca had already seen Rafael’s reaction.
She smiled through her tears.
“Oh, it has everything to do with it.”
Then she dropped the sentence that made the entire office fall into dead silence.
“Because Alina didn’t just take Doña Carmen’s ashes with her.”
She looked at Rafael’s pale face and slowly said:
“She also took the child you never knew existed.”
Rafael stopped breathing.
Alina’s hand tightened around the strap of her bag.
Attorney Marisol turned sharply.
“Bianca, shut up.”
But Bianca screamed louder, desperate and vicious:
“Ask her! Ask your wife why she never told you she was pregnant!”
Rafael looked at Alina.
His voice came out hoarse.
“Alina…”
At that exact moment, Alina’s phone rang.
The name on the screen was clear.
Dr. Miguel Alvarez.
She answered with trembling fingers.
The room heard the doctor’s panicked voice from the other end.
“Alina, nasaan ka? The child’s condition suddenly worsened. We need your consent now.”
Rafael’s face lost all color.
“What child?”
Alina closed her eyes.
And the phone slipped from her hand.