Chapter 13

(Austin)

“WHY ARE you putting them in a box?” I asked the maid when I caught her putting several thick, black journals in a box. She was taking them from one of Dad’s drawers in the library.

I went to Olongapo today to visit my parents and to personally inform them that I would be bringing my girlfriend home tomorrow. But they were both sleeping when I came that’s why I decided to look around the house for a while.

“Ma’am Alexandra ordered me to throw away all of Sir Benedict’s diaries since he could no longer remember these things,” Linda said as she continued to put the journals in the box.

My brows furrowed. I did not know that Dad had a diary, lots of them. I’ve never pictured Benedict as a sentimental man. It didn’t suit his personality. When I was young, I admired him so much, especially Ansel because Dad seemed to be capable of doing anything he puts his mind to.

Benedict seemed like the man who had the power and control over things and people. I was hurt when he divorced Mom, but my brothers and I have come to accept it as years go by. Besides, their divorce had served its purpose. From the beginning, we were never Dad’s priority and when their marriage ended, it made us finally come to terms with the fact that we would never be able to become like other normal families.

For the past years, the thought that Benedict tried to work on his marriage with Alexandra somehow comforted me and my siblings. Besides, Mom loved us so dearly that we couldn’t complain about the situation anymore because she dedicated almost her whole life in raising three sons back in Boston.

“Just leave them there,” I told the maid after a while. “I will take care of those journals myself.”

Each time I’m done catching up with my parents, it became my habit to visit the library because Dad had tons of books. And I’ve always been curious about the two medium-sized drawers inside. I couldn’t open them before because they were locked. Now I know that they were actually Dad’s storage of his journals.

Linda looked reluctant when she glanced at me. “But Sir Alano strictly commanded me to never allow anyone else to touch these diaries. He even wanted me to burn them all as soon as possible.”

So Alano knew about those diaries as well? He and Mom seemed to be in a hurry to get rid of the diaries. “Who gave you the keys to those drawers?”

“It was Sir Alano. Ma’am Alexandra handed him the keys a few months ago.”

That was another revelation. “That was quite an important task. I’d finish it off for you. You can take a rest now.”

Linda seemed hesitant but then she stood up. “As you wish, Sir. Please call me when you’re done putting them in a box and I’d be the one to burn them.”

“All right. Thanks.”

When Linda left, I closed the door. I was never the type to interfere with others’ belongings. But there was a voice inside me that urges me to interfere after what the maid said. It was like there was something that Mom and Alano were trying desperately to hide. I opened the first diary that I saw and skimmed through the pages. But they were all just about business transactions. The other diaries were the same.

In the end, I just shrugged. Maybe I was wrong. I continued putting them in the box. I was almost done and there were only four more journals left inside the drawer. But something dropped on the floor when I took one of them. They seemed to be photos that Dad must have hidden in his diary. I took them and scanned them one by one only to be surprised.

The first thing that I saw was Maggy’s picture. It was taken during her college graduation. My heart pounded. What does this mean? Did Dad know her a long time ago? I skimmed through the other two pictures and was stunned to see Alano’s wife there. So Dad knew her as well. The last picture was a woman, too, whom I haven’t seen before. The pictures were all taken during their graduation day. They all had medals and beside them, there was an old man with a proud smile.

What’s the meaning of this? Why did Dad have their pictures in his diaries?

I picked up the diary which had the pictures. I took a deep breath before I started reading it. The first few pages were about Dad hiring a private investigator to search for three women. While browsing the pages, my heart never stopped racing. The sixth entry on his diary left me dumbfounded.

I’ve finally found them. I’ve found Clarice, Maggy, and Yalena. They've been in Nevada all this time. I was there on their graduation day as Harry put medals on them. I saw the determination in those little girls’ eyes. And I know—I’m sure of it—that one day, they would come back to the Philippines. Their eyes held so many promises. One of which I was certain, was the promise of revenge.

I wasn’t surprised to see that anymore. The day I allowed them to leave the country, I knew they’d already marked me. I knew, one day, they were going to make me pay. And even now, I can’t help but wonder…how far will these girls go in the name of revenge?

Benedict I could feel the blood rushing to my head. I read the entire diary and the other ones left in the drawer. Written there were Dad’s darkest secrets when he was younger. I read about a woman named Carla, his first and last love. And then I read about the things I never thought Dad would be capable of doing.

The very man I adored and respected the most… turned out to be a criminal. And the only woman I’ve ever fallen in love with was one of his victims. She really did come back, just as Dad predicted. It was to seek for revenge. Alano’s wife had a motive for approaching him, too. And there was one more woman who was about to come in our lives. It was Yalena, Maggy’s twin sister.

Maggy once told me that she was only in the Philippines for a vacation. She was originally from Nevada. I’ve tried searching for information about her on the internet. But there were no articles about her family. All I found out was that she was the CEO of YCM Hotel and Resorts. I would have wanted to find out more but I didn’t want to use extreme measures to do that. I decided to wait for her to tell me more about herself in her own pace.

Maggy said that she would only be staying in the country for half a year. I was a fool to hope that I could make her stay when her life was in Nevada. But I was willing to compromise. I’d already planned to visit her if she decided to leave. If I have to fly to Nevada weekly, I would, since our family owned a chopper that I could use any day because I couldn’t bear not seeing Maggy for a long time.

All of a sudden, I thought about our conversation when I accompanied her to the orphanage. I remembered being amazed by the way she treated the kids there. That’s when I discovered that she had been visiting that orphanage ever since she came back in the country. And she also had other orphanages that she supported in Nevada. I also remembered falling for her more because of that.

“You’re like an angel incarnate,” I commented after we got back in the car. It was almost dinner time. Maggy spent the entire day playing with the kids.

“I don’t really give a damn to other people. But those children reminded me of myself and my sister. I know how it felt to be so powerless over a certain situation. I know how it felt to be so overwhelmed by an urge to do something but you couldn’t make a move because you’re just a kid.” She took a harsh breath. “Sometimes, when I see myself in someone, I get too emotional to the point of helping them. But I’m usually cruel. I’m the angel’s opposite, Austin.”

I laughed bitterly at the memory of it. I remember not knowing how to react at that time after seeing her become so stern. Now I know why. She was never predictable. There were moments when I’d even feel frustrated because I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. It turned out she had this all planned out.

I was still laughing miserably when the door opened. Alano entered the library. He looked startled after seeing me. It was Saturday and we normally visit our parents on weekends that’s why I’ve already anticipated seeing my brothers here, too. That’s also the reason why I could tell that the shock written on his face was not about me being here but about the diaries I was holding.

“So… you knew?” I asked, it was barely a whisper. I don’t know what exactly to feel. “You knew about Maggy, Clarice, and Yalena. Was that why you wanted to burn the diaries? To erase the evidence?”

“Austin, listen to me for a moment—”

“Clarice came. You knew that the twins will also come anytime soon, Alano!” My chest constricted. “You should have at least, warned me! So I could have prepared myself a little before someone arrives and destroys the hell out of me. It’s as if what happened to her family was my fault that’s why she’s taking her revenge on me.”

I remembered the first time I met Maggy. I remembered how I searched for her like a love-struck teenager, how she suddenly appeared after a few weeks, and how she responded to my touch and kisses. Were they all part of her plan?

Maggy never once talked about herself, about her family. My knees started to shake upon the realization. She never loved me. All this time that I've been busy making plans for our future, Maggy has also been busy planning something else.

For the first time in my life, my tears fell.