Chapter 42

Ellie had been busy with the preparation for moving to Japan. First thing she did was to inform her family about her decision. Like she predicted, although they did not stop her, they were sad she had to move far from home. She assured her family she’d keep her communication lines open and will call them regularly. She also informed Beth and Maya about her decision. Both were there to see hers and Ryo’s love story and supported the couple. But then they were both breadwinners of their families. The money they earned helped in their family expenses. So, facing the possibility of losing a job disheartened them. They did not need to say it, Ellie knew this.

The universe seemed to work in Ellie’s favor. Her friend who helped her source her coffee beans has put up a coffee shop. As a regular customer of her shop, he is familiar with Beth and Maya. So Ellie did not need to say much. The ladies’ work ethics have spoken for them. They will start working with him as soon as they finish working with Ellie.

She also notified her landlord about terminating her lease contract earlier. He did not give her a hard time and said as long as they follow what’s in the contract, they would be fine. By that he meant Ellie had to pay half of the remaining rent in the contract. In this case, 6 months’ worth of rent. It’s not a small amount, but she already had plans on how to cover it.

With three months more before the year ends, she turned off all online and advanced orders. It’s peak season for cakes and she’s not sure if she’d be able to deliver the influx of potential orders. Everything was going according to her plan. In less than a hundred days, she’d be in Japan with Ryo. And she could no longer wait.

With time in her hands now, Ellie sat in front of her television, foot propped on a small stool as she painted her toes. The news broadcast on her television was in the background. Sometimes Ellie wondered why she bothered listening to the news. It’s the same one every day, anyway. Like today, the anchor reported about another victim of extrajudicial killing. The police found this one at the side of the road. A sign covered his body stating he’s a drug user and dealer whom people should not emulate.

Same old news. Ellie’s hand froze mid-air when the anchor gave further details about the crime. They named the dead body as Angelo Garcia, the son of the former newscaster Diana Castelo-Garcia.

Cold sweat trickled down her spine. With eyes trained on the television screen, she did not notice the nail polish dripping on her carpet. An ugly crying Diana followed. Far from her usual composed and dignified self.

“This is all frame up. My son never touched drugs. How could he be a drug dealer? He’s a health buff. He’s an upright man. The only person I can think of who could do this to her was her ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Ross.”

The anchor probed why she thought that. What would motivate her son’s ex-girlfriend to commission such a crime?

“She accused my son of assaulting her. She two-timed my son, and when he found out, her lover beats him to a pulp. I kept mum about it because it’s my son’s request. But this… this is too much!”

What the?!? Ellie stared at the screen with mouth agape. She experienced a roller coaster of emotion in less than five minutes. First, it shocked her to learn about Angelo’s violent death. Nobody deserved to die that way. Second, she felt confused. She agreed with his mother that he was not a drug user. Angelo’s concerned about his body the most. He did not smoke or drink alcohol and exercised like a freak. So, getting associated with drugs is so farfetched. Finally, she’s furious about the careless accusation his mother threw. She even namedropped her. Not to mention, the picture she painted of her was below the belt.

How could she do that? As a journalist she knew how much weight her words carried. Yes, she and Angelo were no longer on good terms because of his assault. But to commission somebody to kill him is something that did not cross her mind. Heck, she does not even know how one would hire a hitman.

She believed in the law and above all, she feared God and respected life. So how could she want somebody dead?

Her heart raced inside her chest. She paced her living room to calm herself. Her mind tried to wrap around everything that’s happening.

Her phone has not rung yet, so she’s assuming her family has not seen the news yet. What will she do? Does she need to do anything?

“I did nothing wrong. Why do I need to worry?” she tried to console herself but failed.

Angelo was the only son of Diana Castelo-Garcia. She’s a prominent news anchor in her time. Although she’s no longer active in the field, she’s well connected.

More than the damage this news could do to her, she’s more concerned about its impact on her family. Granma’s heart is frail, and both her parents were hypertensive. Her brothers still go to school and are an easy target of bashers.

And true enough, her phone rang. Taking deep calming breaths, she the caller ID. It’s her dad. And like her guess, he’d worried about her and her safety. Only when she reminded him that Ryo’s men guarded her did he calm down.

Like any father, he’s scared that somebody would hurt her. The way Diana has painted her to the public was so bad, she might get a backlash. Her father advised her to not go to any of her social media and to stay in. He wanted her to close shop, but she argued against it.

It felt like she’s guilty of the accusations Diana has thrown at her. Her conscience is clear and so she would not go into hiding. She would take safety precaution but would not hide like a guilty criminal.

Ryo has not called yet, so she assumed the news did not reach him yet. “I guess that’s a good thing,” she muttered to herself. Ryo had the tendency to overreact sometimes. Him doing something crazy is the last thing she needed.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Miyagi received the news of what happened to Ellie from Haru. Ryo was in the middle of a shoot. He was contemplating if he’d tell Ryo what happened right away or not.

It did not surprise him at all that Ellie’s attacker ended that way. It’s bound to happen. He is sure the order did not come from Ryo. Because if Ryo had a choice, he would leave the Clan. Like his parents, violence does not sit well with him but being a member of the Clan is more a birthright than a choice. So much more that he’s born as the heir of the underground group.

He has to accept it like his lungs accept oxygen. There is no going around it. He could delay being the head of the organization, but he could never turn down his duties when the time comes.

Without a doubt, the order to put Angelo down came from the old mansion. It’s a shame to whoever did the poorly executed job. With Ellie in deeper trouble, somebody’s life is once again on the line.

Ryo slumped on the chair, startling Miyagi, which made Ryo frown.

“Spill it, Miyagi,” he said without an emotion. All second guessing and doubt flew out the window for Miyagi. With Ryo’s current mood, even a white lie would come at a heavy price.

“Mr. Matsuda, Haru called—”

“Did something happen to Ellie?” he interrupted. His body shut up like an arrow. Panic visible in his voice and worry replaced the tiredness on his face.

Miyagi nodded, then gave a complete narration of the information he got from Haru. Ryo listened in silence, but his aura became more severe every second. Ryo’s hands formed into tight fists, ready to punch anyone. His jaws clenched and lips pursed into a line.

“Suppress the news as much as possible. Increase security around Ellie and extend it to her family. I want to know who executed the action. Bring that person to me.” It’s rare to see Ryo as cold and dominant. The air inside his trailer felt so suffocating. No one dared to breathe or else he might divert his anger to him.

“Clear my calendar and get the plane ready.” Miyagi and Sam could only bow their heads and turn away to do the order. With such a mood, Ryo would not take no for an answer.

Although he appeared in control and collected, his insides were like jelly. His heart pounded in his chest like wild horses racing. Only when Ellie’s in front of him, would he calm down. If he only knew things would end up this way, he would have turned Angelo into powder when he had the chance. But he stopped himself from ending him when Ellie asked for it.

He’s not a fan of violence and avoided it as much as he could. But at this moment, he wanted to kill. He wanted to make sure whoever put Ellie in this predicament gets it from him. He’ll make sure the person remembers how much he hated poorly executed jobs.

Isamu’s instructions were explicit—no loose ends. But then some lackey took some shortcuts and left a lot of trail. Unfortunately for Ellie, it pointed to her because of the assault. She had the motive and her travel to Japan perfectly aligned to the event. It was like she’s establishing an alibi to isolate herself from the crime. Of all the people who would be dragged and implicated, it had to be her.