Chapter 77 - Connecting Dots

William gazed at a set of jewelry he held, intended for Ava, whom he had long desired to give it to.

In that position, someone knocked suddenly on the door of his office.

"Who is it?"

Moments later, the door swung open, revealing Javier, who immediately fixed his gaze on William.

"What brings you here?" William asked Javier.

Instead of answering, Javier simply glanced at William and sat directly on the visitor's couch in his office. He casually picked up a magazine nearby when approached by William.

“I’m expecting someone. It’s not bad etiquette to refuse a visitor without an appointment,” William stated to him.

Javier ignored him at continued reading the magazine.

“Probably not. I wanted to make an appointment. I didn’t know you were going to take care of Marco Yboa that quickly.”

“What are you talking about?” William firmly exclaimed.

“What do you think I’m talking about?”

“Javier!”

Javier's jaw clenched. He forcefully dropped the magazine he was holding, stood up abruptly, and squarely faced William.

Javier could feel the intense anger in his heart as he looked at this man who seemed to have no conscience whatsoever. It was as if he was completely calm and indifferent to his surroundings.

This indifference further fueled Javier's rage because of the man's excessive wickedness.

"If anyone gets in the way, do you just get rid of them?" Javier yelled at William, full of threat and anger.

Ava heard it clearly while she was outside William's office. She was about to enter when she froze upon hearing what was being said.

“He said he would try to convince you to turn yourself in. You once shared ordinary dreams with Marco. You were once a simple and honest person. He wanted to try to have you admit your mistakes, and find a way to pay for your sins. He said he wanted to give you a chance—”

“Stop the bullshit!” William shouted sharply at him before he could continue speaking.

Javier's anger flared even more as he stared straight at William. He could see in his eyes that he seemed fearless. Was this really how he was?

“How dare you threaten me? What a cocky bastard! Do you have proof? Do you have proof that I tried to kill him?”

Javier smirked. “No.”

“What?” William exclaimed with so much confusion.

“It’s my gut feeling. I came here with my gut feelings only, but…” Javier’s smile widened even more.

He knew that eventually, William would confess to his wrongdoing, but he also knew that it wouldn't be easy, and he might be the next one in jeopardy.

But Javier didn't care at all. He had no regard for his own life. The only thing that mattered to him now was Megan's safety.

“Seeing how you reacted, now I’m sure it was you who tried to kill him,” Javier confidently declared to William and smirked at him even more.

“Bastard!” William exclaimed and was about to lunge at Javier, but he quickly spoke again.

"The proof..." Javier paused and immediately retrieved the flash drive containing the voice recording and presented it to William. "I have it here."

William was so stunned that he gasped, staring at Javier and the flash drive.

"On the day of the president's passing, the conversation was recorded on his cell phone," Javier stated firmly to William, who began to feel fear creeping in.

Ava nearly collapsed to the floor upon hearing what Javier said from outside the room.

“Obviously, if you try to kill me because I have proof now, you can go ahead. But there is no such thing as a perfect crime. In the end, your life will be filled with anxieties. You’ll just end up killing more people,” Javier muttered some curses as he narrowed his eyes on William.

“Wouldn’t you regret it in the end? I’m sure you weren’t born to just do that.”

Javier scoffed as William avoided eye contact. William couldn't speak again. Javier knew that William had no escape and couldn't defend himself anymore, especially not Ava.

"I will go straight from here to Ava. I will convince her, and I will stay with her for the rest of my life," Javier declared boldly to William, who seethed with even more anger.

Meanwhile, Ava, still outside and listening to their conversation, didn't know what to do first. She thought the recording had been disposed of as William had assured her before.

“As for this file… you have 24 hours to send this to the police.”

Javier could clearly see the overwhelming anxiety in William's eyes. He glanced at him briefly before finally leaving the office.

Unbeknownst to him, Ava was still there. She sat on the stairs near the fire exit, her hands trembling.

Why was she feeling this fear as if she was ready to let go of everything and live quietly? This feeling was all too familiar to her. It was what she felt the night she killed that man.

The feeling of fear of being imprisoned. Until now, it remained her biggest fear.

But unlike before, unlike Javier's relentless pursuit of his wrongdoing, no one would come after her now. She couldn't escape the sin she committed against Pantaleon Hidalgo.

No one is willing to take the blame for her and go to jail for her because Javier is no longer with her.

"You've been moving like a car with no brakes."

Perhaps everything Javier said to her that night they talked was true. Ava admitted to herself how far she went just to stay where she is now. She didn't even look back at the people she stepped on along the way and just kept moving forward.

Ava continued to cry silently in that place until her cell phone suddenly rang. When she saw that it was Javier calling, she cried even harder.

Are his words true? Is he willing to stay with her for the rest of her life? If she surrenders, will he wait for her to come out again?

Will he still love her?

That last question is one Ava can no longer answer for herself.

***

“The car that was following Marco’s car pushed his car off the cliff and ran. The police believed that it was intentional,” Amy explained very well to Megan.

They were currently in the waiting lobby of the hospital where Marco was confined. Amy immediately went there to report the update on Marco's case.

Megan felt anger rising in her heart upon hearing Amy's words. She was right in her suspicion. Someone tried to kill Marco, and she was sure it was Ava and William.

"So who did it?" Megan asked Amy firmly.

Amy avoided her gaze. "It's that... there were no cameras in the area and no eyewitnesses."

Megan swore harshly upon hearing that. She knew this could happen. She knew it wouldn't be easy to catch the two because they might have been doing it for a long time. Just like what they did when they covered up her father's murder.

But Megan swore once she got to prove it to everyone, she would take them down one by one. No mercy.

“The investigation has been halted. So, I was just thinking…”

Megan quickly looked back at Amy because of that.

“on his usual route to his home, I was checking the cameras on the roads…” Amy paused and took out her phone. She did something on it before handing it to Megan.

"And found this."

Megan quickly took Amy's phone to see what was on it. It was CCTV footage.

"On the day of the accident, Secretary Cruz was tailgating Marco's car."

Megan furrowed her brow and turned to Amy.

"Secretary Cruz is... the one who works for William, right?"

Amy nodded at her. Megan looked at the video again and zoomed in on the picture of the car in the video before turning her gaze back to Amy.

“Can you send this picture to me?”

“I will.”

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when Megan's phone suddenly rang. When she saw that one of her staff members, who was currently attending to Marco, was calling, she answered it immediately.

"Hello?"

"Ma'am, someone came here to visit Marco."

"What? Who came?"

When Megan heard the name mentioned, her heart almost dropped from intense anxiety.

Meanwhile, in the room where Marco, unaware of the situation, was located, Megan's two bodyguards surrounded the entire room, seemingly powerless as William suddenly arrived. William stood by Marco's bedside.

Megan's blood boiled with fury as she stormed into the room. Seeing William holding Marco's hand only fueled her rage. Every fiber of her being was consumed by anger and betrayal.

Her heart pounded with intensity, her hands trembling with raw emotion as she forcefully tore Marco's hand away from William's grip. The betrayal cut deep, igniting a fiery wrath within her that demanded retribution.

Her eyes blazed with fury as she fixed a piercing gaze upon the two bodyguards, their failure to heed her instructions stoking the flames of her anger even further.

"Weren't you listening? I told you not to let anybody in, didn't I?" Her voice rang out like thunder, laced with seething rage and disappointment.

The weight of her fury hung heavy in the air, a palpable force that demanded obedience and accountability.

“I’m sorry.”

“Megan—”

She turned to William with ferocity in her gaze. "I want you to leave now," she ordered William firmly, but he didn't even flinch at her threat.

"How can you care for a critical patient like him? I will send someone to look after him. Go get some rest—"

"That's okay. I will handle this," Megan forcefully interrupted William's words, but he seemed not to hear her.

She knew he had intentions to finish off Marco for good, so she couldn't let him succeed in his plan.

“This is too much for you to handle. I will send some reliable—”

“Do you think such a person exists in this world? Such a person doesn’t exist to me. I will protect him myself. So… please leave now,” Megan's words were sharp and filled with rage as she confronted William.

For a few seconds, William met her gaze until he was the first to break away, reluctantly exiting the room.

As he left, Ava arrived. Megan followed suit, and they found themselves face to face with William in the hallway.

"Ma'am…" William muttered.

Megan's anger intensified at the sight of the woman.

"I heard that Mr. Yboa was in a car accident. How badly is he injured?" Ava asked, about to enter the room, but Megan quickly blocked her path, surprising Ava.

“Can you open your purse?” Megan issued a cold command to Ava.

"Megan—"

"I have to check to see if there are any weapons."

"Megan, what do you think you're doing?" Ava exclaimed, incredulous.

Megan grinned.

“Can you take off your coat?”

“Are you really suspecting me?”

“Yes,” Megan responded directly to Ava.

Ava just sighed. Megan waited for the woman's next move. After a moment, with no emotion, Ava opened her purse and emptied its contents onto the floor before tossing the purse itself onto the ground. Next, Ava removed her coat and discarded it onto the floor as well.

"Ma'am," William interjected, but he couldn't do anything.

Megan smiled and glanced at the items on the floor one by one.

"Ma'am, what are you doing?" William asked her.

“Do you want me to take off anything else? Who knows? I could have something in my underwear.”

“Ma’am Ava…”

Megan immediately stood up upon hearing that and gave Ava a smirk.

"I would appreciate it if you would do that," Megan stated coldly.

William, bewildered behind Megan, cursed under his breath.

"Ma'am, what are you doing now? Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Megan is getting me all wrong. I want to vindicate myself," Ava replied, beginning to unbutton her blouse. William quickly averted his gaze from her.

Ava was about to unbutton the second button of her blouse when Javier arrived and stopped her.