CHAPTER 47

Every new day is a fresh start. Or at least that’s what she’s been told. But now, with another bleak day, threatening to greet her, Louisa Almendrez was beginning to doubt the wisdom of that maxim. Three miserable days, one after another seemed too much of a coincidence after all. And she was now starting to wish she could just go to bed and hibernate for the next six months. Or at least until this storm in her life has finally blown over.

For the past three days, she had been researching the person at the center of that colossal storm – Isabella Castillejos. She’d already enlisted Matthew’s help, but between them, they had very little progress to show. Up until Matthew’s friend suggested that they acquire the services of a professional. Louisa, had she been thinking straight, would’ve thought of that. But ever since the day her father adamantly broke off her engagement with Gabriel, she had been operating below par. And the memories of that day, which were always fresh in her mind, kept her on a constant emotional roller-coaster ride each day.

Right after their engagement was officially dissolved; both of them were forbidden by their respective fathers from going out alone together. It tore at her and Gabriel’s hearts, but they understood the reasons behind the prohibition. Her father feared she, in a rare, rebellious impulse, would up and elope with Gabriel. Don Fernando, on the other hand, feared Gabriel, in a desperate attempt to hold on to Louisa, would give in to his desires and deliberately consummate their union, thereby forcing Louisa’s father to reverse his decision about the engagement.

The truth was they, both she and Gabriel, had indeed entertained those ideas. Gabriel had admitted so himself, during one of their ‘chaperoned’ talks. Good thing her father had so much confidence in Matthew’s chaperoning skills that he quickly agreed to Matthew’s volunteering (at her insistence, of course) for the said least coveted post. When Gabriel showed up the next day at the Constantina, Matthew had quickly taken them for a ride around the outskirts of Tagaytay, where he performed his duties as chaperon to a T (which meant that he left them to their own devices and returned only when it came time to escort them back to the rancho, which was more like after two hours).

Those two, short hours alone, not only gave them enough time to discuss their present dilemma and the avenues left them but also gave them their much-needed time to reassure each other of their unaltered feelings through another hot, and steamy snogging session right there in Louisa’s SUV. It was a bittersweet moment, though, since it was also to be their last. For a few weeks, at least. Or so they both hoped. Everything would depend on how long it would take for Gabriel to come back from his trip to England. They had both agreed that it would really be quicker if Gabriel did the investigation on Isabella’s claims himself. Miguel had volunteered, but Gabriel felt that since he already knew where to go and whom to meet, he would have a better chance at concluding this affair at the earliest possible time.

Such a break would actually be beneficial for both of them, given their suddenly limited access to each other. Better be separated for real, than be driven insane by the restrictions abruptly imposed upon them. And since Gabriel would have to tie up a lot of loose ends at the office before he took his trip across the Atlantic, they had not been able to see each other for three, whole, miserable days. Phone calls and text messages could never really contend with the actual presence of a person, after all. And Louisa, in a frantic attempt to distract herself from her frustrations, focused on learning as much as she could about her nemesis.

As of now, she was waiting for Matthew to come back with the investigator that his friend had recommended. Louisa knew that she should’ve just asked Gabriel about Isabella, but somehow, she felt that she’d rather have an unbiased opinion about the woman. Gabriel’s views about Isabella would surely now be colored by his loathing for her, and Louisa, when confronted with a problem to solve, preferred cold, hard facts. It was the only way that she could form an accurate (or as close to it, at least) picture of her opponent. It would, in turn, help her formulate her mode of attack.

She’s not totally in the dark concerning Isabella. She knew (from her own research) that Isabella was the only child of business mogul and known rival of the Montoyas, Don Joaquin Castillejos; that she was born to old-money; that she was known to be spoiled and arrogant; that she went to England to study and manage one of her family’s businesses; and (from Matthew’s research) that she and Gabriel had been dating, on and off, for almost two years (ARG! The pain!!!). But other than that, they had nothing else on Isabella.

And that’s what was frustrating Louisa. She needed to know more; she needed to know what made Isabella tick. Or if she had secrets or skeletons in her closet; real stuff that Louisa could use to bring her down. Hopefully, the professional investigator that Matthew had found would be able to dig more information about Isabella Castillejos. Then, just as she continued to contemplate on her frustration, her phone buzzed. It was Matthew.

“Yes, Matt. What have you found out? Oh, you’re on the way here? Good! I’ll be waiting for you,” she replied with a sigh of relief.

At last! I hope this ‘professional’ that Matthew’s bringing with him can give us something more to go on. I just can’t sit still and watch her ruin my wedding plans! And my life, for that matter!

Since she was not good at patiently waiting, she tried to divert her attention to other less emotionally demanding, though recently overlooked, task answering her pending emails.

After about an hour, her desk phone broke through the silence. This time it was her EA, Lyn, informing her that Matthew and another guest had arrived. Louisa quickly acknowledged the message and instructed Lyn to let them through immediately. Pumped up with nervous energy, Louisa literally jumped up on her feet and started pacing the floor.

A couple of minutes more and Matthew was bristling through the door, with whom, she dared presume, was the ‘professional’ Matthew had found. She grabbed the manila folder on her desk then motioned for both men to follow her to the small sitting area in her office. After getting settled on the plush armchairs situated directly in front of her, Louisa finally got a good look at the man that Matthew brought along.

At first glance, he would not be mistaken for a PI. He wore casual, nondescript clothes, the ones commonly seen being worn by college students. But when you get a good look at his bespectacled eyes, you would see the shrewdness and intelligence that seemed to crackle behind them. And if Louisa had any apprehensions about the man, they were quickly discarded. Despite his youthful appearance, Mr. Cruz exuded confidence and, something she found rare these days, an aura of trustworthiness.

“Louie, this is Mr. Cruz. He’s the one I was telling you about. Tony recommended him to me,” Matthew said.

Mr. Cruz leaned forward, his hand extended towards Louisa. “Nice to meet you, Miss Almendrez,” he said.

“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Cruz,” Louisa replied, shaking the man’s hand.

“Matthew told me of your immediate need, but he did not say the name of the subject.”

“Yes, it has to be done quickly. I don’t have time for a long, thorough investigation. I just need a few more details about a certain person. We’ve already done some investigating on our own, so you can skip over those that we’ve already found out. Here, this is everything Matthew and I have on her. Perhaps you can use these as your starting point and go from there,” Louisa said, handing over the folder containing the bits and pieces resulting from her and Matthew’s efforts.

She found it strange that the PI seemed to smile as he skimmed over the contents of the folder. After a couple of minutes, he placed the folder on the low table before him, leaned back on his chair, and smiled widely. Louisa couldn’t help but glance at Matthew, who she saw sported the same bewildered expression she had.

“You’re in luck, Miss Almendrez. It so happens that I’ve just recently concluded my investigation on the same subject,” the PI said in reply to their questioning looks.

“Really? Well,” Louisa said, unable to believe her good fortune. This would definitely speed things up. They could very well conclude their investigation on Isabella this very day.

“I’m just curious as to how this subject has become so popular these days,” the PI said.

“Yes, I’m quite curious as to who would have her investigated, as well. May I know who acquired your services for that?”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that, Miss Almendrez. I’m sorry but the client’s identity always stays confidential.”

“That’s reassuring,” said Matthew.

“Yes, quite. But do you still have her file?” asked Louisa.

“You really are in luck, Miss Almendrez. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I still have my file for the subject here.”

Mr. Cruz dug into his backpack and pulled out a medium-thick brown envelope which he passed on to Louisa.

“I was supposed to deposit it for filing at my office but somehow, I got sidetracked and forgot that I still had it with me. Up until you showed me your own file, that is.”

Actually, he got pretty thick into enjoying the fat paycheck he received from Angelo that he had not stepped into his office for almost a week now. He had planned on going there today when he got a call from Matthew’s friend telling him he’d just been recommended for this new assignment. He met up with Matthew and they’d come here straight so he had no time to dump his files in his office. That oversight turned out to be fortuitous, however, as it seems he’d be getting another nice paycheck for practically doing nothing. His sense of right, however, got the better of him. Besides, he’s not greedy. He’ll probably just charge this nice, young lady half of his regular fee. He believed in nurturing clients, and he had a funny feeling that this would not be the last time he’d be working for this lot.

Louisa couldn’t believe her luck in finding not only a reliable investigator but one who seemed to wield a magic wand. The fates seemed to be finally smiling down on her. As she scanned through the file, she caught sight of a small envelope inserted between the neatly printed pieces of paper. She saw that it was a compilation of photos of Isabella, presumably taken by the PI during the course of his investigation. There she was, Isabella, the woman who threatened to destroy her world. She was photographed in various activities – exiting a plush Spanish-style house, driving away, entering a mall, going inside a hotel, coming out of it with a man. Typical activities, nothing scandalous, except for one which showed her kissing the man she left the hotel with.

Having seen nothing really extraordinary, Louisa was about to return all the photos inside the envelope when she caught sight of the one showing the man Isabella was with. The other photos did not show his face in full as they were either taken with him wearing sunglasses or obliquely turned against the camera. But this one was different. It was a close-up of him and Isabella, but this time, he was squarely facing the camera. And for one second, Louisa’s heart seemed to stop, caught in her throat, suffocating and choking the air from her lungs.

Oh, my God! This can’t be real! It’s him! It really is him, isn’t it?

Louisa’s brain went into overdrive, and she was transported back to that terrible day ten years ago. A day she’d tried hard to forget and bury under tons and tons of other trivial memories. But somehow, it still came back with a vengeance. With trembling hands, she grabbed at that lone photograph of the man she thought she’d already forgotten. She wanted to be wrong. She wanted to be assured that she was not seeing it right. Yet the longer she stared at it, the more she concluded that she wasn’t wrong, and what she was seeing was not a figment of her imagination. It really was him!

But what was he doing back here? And why was he with Isabella? What the hell is going on?