Chapter 78- The Manipulators

Chapter 78- The Manipulators
Third Person 

While Austin was busy searching for Faith, Jairee, and Axel, another group was also quietly moving—working in the shadows to find the same people.

“Several days have passed, and you still haven’t found a single lead?” the woman shouted angrily at her men.

They were staying in a rest house in Batangas. The air around them was cool, but it did nothing to ease the woman’s burning temper.

“Mom, calm down,” Daphnie said as she approached her mother and gently rubbed her back.

“You too!” the woman snapped. “You idiot! You make decisions on your own, yet you can’t even stand by them!” She turned sharply toward Daphnie, her eyes blazing with rage.

“I thought you were dead, you fool! Did you really think I would have you searched for?”

Daphnie stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking, pain evident in her voice.

“Am I really your daughter, Mommy?”

“Because of your stupidity, I wish I could deny that you’re my child!” the woman screamed before taking a long drink from the glass of liquor in her hand.

“You should be thankful you came back with a child! If not, I would have disowned you completely!”

“Mommy, I don’t want to use my child for your plans,” Daphnie said firmly. “We came back because my son is looking for his father. He has the right to know Austin. And Austin has the right to know that we have a child.”

“Hahaha!” the woman laughed loudly. “You’re really stupid!”

“Mommy, that’s enough!” Daphnie snapped back, her face flushed with anger as her hands trembled in restraint.

“Now that you’re here, you have no choice but to follow my plans,” the woman said coldly, her voice filled with authority.

“No!” Daphnie replied firmly as she grabbed her bag. She didn’t look back as she walked straight out of the rest house, slamming the door behind her and leaving her mother with her men.

As she walked toward her car, Daphnie fought hard to hold back her tears. With every step, she built a plan in her mind—she and her son would escape and return to America.

As much as she once wanted to have Austin, she knew it was already too late. During their last meeting, she had felt it clearly—Faith was now his life. She had accepted that. What mattered was that her son had finally met his father.

Faith had already won, and Daphnie accepted that truth. Now, her only wish was to raise her son properly—far from chaos, and most of all, far from her mother’s control.

Once inside the car, she pulled her phone from her bag and immediately called her friend.

“Jonna, please… book tickets for Xander and me back to America. Tomorrow—first flight,” she pleaded, exhaustion and desperation evident in her voice.

“What? Why so sudden, friend? You and my godson have only been here a few days,” Jonna asked in surprise.

“Just do what I’m asking. We’ll talk later. Meet me at the condo—I need to drive now,” Daphnie said firmly.

“Okay, okay! I’ll take care of it—” Daphnie didn’t let her finish and ended the call.

She started the car and drove forward.

“Open the gate! Hurry!” she ordered the guard at the gatehouse. The man quickly obeyed the daughter of his employer.

She sped out of the property and soon arrived at the condo.

“Mommy!” her son Alexander greeted her excitedly.

“Hey, how are you? Did you behave with your godmother Jonna?” she asked as she bent down to hug him.

“Of course, Mom,” Alexander replied with a smile.

“Good boy. Now go to your room and change your clothes, okay? We’ll stay at your godmother’s place tonight. Tomorrow, we’re flying back to the U.S.,” she said, forcing her voice to stay calm.

“Why so fast, Mommy? What about Dad?” the boy asked in shock, clearly unwilling to leave.

“I’m sorry, but my work needs me there,” she lied, avoiding his eyes.

“What if I stay here with Dad for a while, Mom?”

“No,” she answered immediately. “We made a promise, remember? Wherever I am, you stay with me.”

Alexander nodded quietly. “Yeah, Mom… I’m sorry.” He then walked to his room to change.

Daphnie rushed to the bedroom to pack, with Jonna helping her. They packed Alexander’s clothes first.

Xander was already asleep when they arrived at Jonna’s condo.

“Now tell me what really happened,” Jonna began once they were inside.

“I just want peace of mind, Jonna, for me and my son,” Daphnie said while holding a can of beer. They were on the terrace, breathing in the cool night air. “I want to live far away from my manipulative mother.”

“Wow! You’ve really changed, friend,” Jonna said in disbelief.

“Motherhood changes you,” Daphnie replied. “Yes, I wanted Austin—but Mommy and I had different goals. She’s greedy for wealth. I wanted love—love I now know I’ll never have. Living like this is exhausting, Jonna. I regret ever showing myself to her again.”

“I’m proud of you,” Jonna said with a laugh. “You’ve grown a conscience! I’ll always support you. You’ve matured—you even beat me to it.”

“Then have a child too, so you’ll understand how I feel,” Daphnie teased with a smile.

“Oh no way!” Jonna laughed. “I love men, but having a child isn’t in my vocabulary. What if I suddenly die? That poor kid would suffer. I’ll just borrow your child—Xander.”

“You idiot! I mean, get married and start a family,” Daphnie said, playfully pulling Jonna’s hair.

“Ouch! Do you think anyone would take me seriously? Besides, I don’t want the responsibility. I’m happy with my sex life,” Jonna replied proudly.

“With how many men you’ve been with, aren’t you afraid of catching something?” Daphnie asked, half-scolding.

“You talk like you weren’t the same before,” Jonna shot back, laughing. “Good thing Xander looks exactly like Austin—you’re sure who his father is. And don’t worry, I use protection. Just like you used to. You didn’t get sick, did you?”

The words hit Daphnie like a slap. Jonna was right. When she found out she was pregnant back then, she hid—not out of shame, but because she wasn’t sure who the father was.

When Xander was born and looked exactly like Austin, she cried tears of joy. At first, she planned to use the child to get Austin back. But as Xander grew up in her care, everything changed.

She found true happiness in motherhood—in every smile, every hug. She was content with just the two of them.

Everything changed the day Xander asked about his father.

The next morning, they left the condo early in a taxi. Daphnie and Xander’s flight back to America was scheduled early.

“Wait… this turn seems wrong,” Jonna said, sitting in the passenger seat.

“There’s traffic on the other road, ma’am,” the driver replied coldly.

Jonna glanced at the rearview mirror, uneasy at the man’s expression.

“This route is taking us farther away,” she added, noticing how the driver kept glancing at his phone.

“Stop the car. We’re changing taxis. Pull over now,” Jonna ordered, her voice trembling. “We’re already far from the airport road.”

But the driver ignored her and sped up instead.

“Jonna, is there a problem?” Daphnie asked groggily, waking from her nap.

“He’s not taking us to the airport,” Jonna replied. “This isn’t the right way.”

Panic flooded Daphnie. “Is this my mother’s order?” she shouted. “Stop the car!”

“Sorry. Just doing my job,” the driver said coldly. “So stay quiet if you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Terrified, Jonna struggled with the driver, grabbing the steering wheel to force the car to stop.

“Stop this!” she screamed, trying to pull his hands away.

“Jonna, what are you doing?!” Daphnie cried.

A loud crash followed.

The car slammed into a post.

Silence.

All of them lost consciousness.

Moments later, the driver regained consciousness first, followed by Daphnie. Her head throbbed, blood trickling from her temple. She immediately searched for her son.

“Xander…” she rasped when she saw him unconscious, blood on his forehead. “Xander, please wake up!” she screamed, shaking him—but he didn’t move.

Her body went cold. This was Mommy’s doing, she thought.

Soon, a black van arrived. Three men dressed in black stepped out, silent and heavy in their movements. They opened the taxi doors and roughly dragged Daphnie out. One of them carried Xander.

Before they could load them into the van, she saw the driver pull out a gun and aim it at Jonna, who was still unconscious.

“No!” Daphnie screamed, breaking free from the men holding her—but it was too late.

A gunshot rang out.

“JONNA!” she screamed.

She was shot in the chest—straight through the heart. Daphnie knew she was dead.

“You monster!” Daphnie screamed as she rushed toward the driver. “Why did you shoot her?! She had nothing to do with this!” She slapped him repeatedly, but two men quickly restrained her and pulled her away.

“She was nosy. She’s been annoying me all along,” the driver replied coldly, cigarette smoke curling from his lips—no remorse in his eyes.

There was nothing Daphnie could do but sob as they forced her into the van.

“Jonna… Jonna… I’m so sorry,” she kept whispering, her voice shaking. If only she hadn’t involved Jonna, her friend wouldn’t have been dragged into this.

Inside the van, she held her unconscious son tightly in her arms.

And as the vehicle slowly carried them away, she felt it clearly—

They were once again being dragged back into her mother’s control.