Chapter 15 — What Goes Around Comes Around

(Natasha)

I TURNED off the television after I saw that Leon Ricaforte had been escorted by the cops. His hands were now cuffed. He was currently being surrounded by the furious crowd. There were some people who even threw eggs on his face and other fluids before he got inside the patrol car. I already expected that he’d be imprisoned but I didn’t expect that people’s reaction would be this tremendous since the public used to treat him like an idol.

Leon was not being careful since he had always believed that there would be Rogues who would clean up his mess. But those Rogues were gone now that’s why it was easier to lure him in a trap.

Leon’s businesses were falling apart. It had been three months when I found out that what Joshua wanted me to watch was about the news of how Leon’s investors pulled out from their businesses which was all because of Cain’s servants who were all in the business world. But because of my father’s encounter with the Rogues, I didn’t have the luxury to celebrate the first victory he talked about.

Despite all that, Leon still had time to meet Annie, the beautiful Vampire with Mexican features who was also working for Cain. The woman sent him a photo of her in messenger, expressing her sympathy, saying that she was still his fan despite what was happening lately. Annie said the words Leon probably wanted to hear at a time like this. He didn’t even had doubts. But then again, that old bastard could just be really horny. Like what he did to Gwen, when Annie went to the comfort room, he quickly put a sleeping pill inside her drink.

When Annie pretended to be asleep, Leon’s new bodyguard carried her and took her to the nearest hotel. The only difference now was that Annie was a terrific actress. Before Leon could even put his dirty hands on her, she screamed and ran in the hallway with her messy hair and tattered dress which caught the attention of the guests in the nearby rooms. The Vampire reporter was also waiting for them outside.

Now, Leon made it to the headlines once again. Before that, Cain’s men were able to locate Gwen and her family. It turned out that they were threatened by the Ricafortes. I still couldn’t forgive them for their accusations against my father. But every time I’d think that their lives were on the line, too, which forced her to come up with something like that, I begin to understand her situation.

When I assured Gwen of her safety, Gwen revealed herself to the public. She filed a case against Leon and admitted the truth. She also did a public apology to my father. And then, came the issue with Annie. This time, not only the hotel crew and guests were the witnesses. There were CCTV footages as well.

Leon couldn’t get out of the situation especially when Gwen’s medical evaluation came out and found his semen on her body. It was the Vampires’ doing. As much as possible, I didn’t want to play dirty but the opportunity was too sweet to ignore. I wanted his family to experience how it felt to be played. And seeing the shock on Leon’s face when the medical evaluation came out was worth remembering for a long time. His wife, Monique, even fainted while being harassed by the reporters who were so adamant to hear from her while Eunice was trying so hard to escape from being interviewed.

“How was it? Did the news make you feel better?”

I glanced at Adam Montealvo. He was sitting on a wheelchair. His nurse was behind him. He had an accident which made him unable to walk anymore. Cain could have done something to treat Adam’s legs but the latter politely refused the offer saying that Cain had already done so much for our family and he didn’t want to be indebted to him again.

Cain’s connection all over the world was no joke. He even discovered my father’s roots. I could still remember the day he came to the mansion with Adam.

“I knew it. Thank you very much, Your Highness. I don’t have to see the DNA result anymore. Ricardo looks so much like his mother,” Adam said with tears in his eyes while looking at my father.

Papa’s treatment was successful. He was able to restore his reputation. But he was never the same again. He isolated himself after the treatment. The three of us were now in the same house, in the house which Cain bought for me, but we rarely talked. Papa and Kurt were always inside their rooms.

I just forced Papa to come out of his room tonight because of the guest.

“I am Adam Montealvo and I am your father. I’ve searched for you for so long, my son.” He spread his arms but my father who was crying, too, just turned his back on Adam.

“I don’t know what’s happening here but I’m sorry about that,” I said apologetically. “My father is going through a lot right now.”

Adam wiped his tears. “It’s okay. I understand where your father is coming from. I would have done the same if I was in his situation. I would have hated my father, too. I would have hated me,” he added in a sad voice before he tried to smile. “I’m assuming that you are Ricardo’s eldest child? The one His Highness talked about?”

Even if I was still confused, I nodded. Who would not know the billionaire Adam Montealvo? He was on the top five list of the richest people in the Philippines. In fact, he was second on the list this year. Adam was the man behind the Montealvo Group of Companies. I had heard his name from Joaquin many times since he was his idol when it came to business. The San Diegos and the Ricafortes had always wished to do business with the great Adam Montealvo but they could not even get close to him. Joaquin said that Adam was very picky when it came to his business partners.

And now, Adam was telling me that he was actually my grandfather.

“Yes, I am. My name is Natasha.”

His tears fell once more. “You have Ricardo’s eyes and nose which he inherited from my late wife. You also have their hair color. I am your grandfather, Natasha. It’s a long story but I will tell you about it later. For now, can you please give this old man a big hug?”

That night, I learned about the Black Swans, they were the very few humans who had a deep relationship with the Vampires. They had served as the Vampires’ assistants since the beginning of time, back when the night creatures still thought that their sun problem would never be solved. Strangely enough, the Black Swans’ minds were stronger than ordinary humans because compulsion never worked on them. They became the richest humans as time passed by because the Vampires pay them a hefty amount for their service. The Vampires continued to hire them even if their sun curse had been lifted with the help of the Mages.

And Adam happened to be a Black Swan. He used to work for Silas, Cain’s best friend and the one who ruled the Night Creatures while the latter was asleep. And just recently, Cain stepped down and gave him the full authority to formally become the new Night King although I heard that Cain became the King’s advisor and was also the most important member of the Council.

“I was in France at that time and was still working for the Night King when we were ambushed by the Rogues. My Filipino assistant was able to escape with Lennon, your father’s birth name. I told him I would find them in the Philippines. He gave me his address but I lost it after the Rogues kidnapped us. The Rogues specifically targeted the Black Swans at that time to get information from us about the Council. We were rescued by the King’s Knights later on but that incident made me quit working for them to be able to take care of Lennon better,” Adam said.

“I hired so many private investigators to search for my son, but they all failed. I decided to live in this country, hoping to be reunited with him one day. I cut all ties with the Council while trying to start again for Lennon’s future. I was wrong.” His voice cracked. “I was wrong to be stubborn. I should have asked for the Night King’s help. But after the ambush, the first one that I ever experienced which almost harmed my only child, I blamed the Vampires, thinking that Lennon and I would not have been separated if not for my connection with them. Aside from that, I was also guilty. I blamed myself for the kind of job I had back then. Had I been a normal father, I wouldn’t have lost Lennon. But after finding out what happened to my son, I regretted it. I should have asked for the Vampires’ help sooner.”

I also found out from Cain that Adam’s assistant had a severe illness when he came to the Philippines. Since he needed an urgent treatment, he left Papa in an orphanage for a while and wasn’t able to come back because he died. That was the reason why Adam had a difficult time in trying to find them.

Thankfully, Cain was able to find Adam through a blood spell. He said he only wanted to find out if my parents still had other relatives left. That was how he discovered about Adam Montealvo.

“Natasha?”

My mind drifted back to the present when I heard Grandpa’s voice. Who would have thought that my father was now the sole heir to the Montealvo Empire? My Latina grandmother died giving birth to my father. He had never remarried afterwards.

A few days after Adam found his son, he immediately released a press conference and proudly introduced us as his family. Papa was forced to show up, but he went home right after. Grandpa also paid all the things that Cain had spent for me and my family. But we still owed him so much for Papa’s life and Kurt’s safety. That was something that we could never repay.

“Did the news somehow made you feel better?” Grandpa asked again.

“So many innocent people suffered and died because of the Ricafortes. This was nothing compared to what they did to all their victims. My mother also died because of them and they almost killed my father. So, no, Grandpa, this wasn’t enough to make me feel better.”

My only consolation was that I no longer had to depend on Cain when it came to financial matters. Grandpa was trying really hard to get close to me and my family. He was determined to win our hearts. If only this happened a few years ago, I would have been the happiest woman knowing that this was my father’s dream. He had always wanted to see his parents. But the timing was not in our favor. Because sadness and grief were the only two things that we feel at the moment.

Grandpa was right. He should have found his son earlier. Then maybe none of these would have happened. It was exactly Papa’s sentiment.

“Forgive me, P-Papa. I want to be happy that I met you, believe me. This was my dream, after all. I wanted to experience how it’d feel like to be somebody’s son. And now, you’re here. You found me. Yet, I couldn’t be happy. Was it because you were late? Or was it because you were gone when I needed you the most? I don’t really know. I don’t know anymore,” Papa said a few days ago. I accidentally heard their conversation when I was about to bring his dinner in his room.

Grandpa sighed. Regret was visible in his eyes when he spoke. “I’m sorry, Natasha. I’m sorry if Grandpa came too late.”

“No, don’t say that. At least, you came. At least, you were able to find my father.” I smiled a little. “One day, when the pain is gone, I know the four of us will be able to celebrate like a normal family. I will be waiting for that day, Grandpa.”

He nodded and sweetly smiled. “Me, too.”

There was a long silence between us afterwards but Grandpa was the first to break it. He cleared his throat. “I… I had a reunion with the Night King a few days ago, Natasha. He invited me over his place. And there, I heard some strange rumors from his Knights about you and His Highness. I’m only saying this because I’m concern about you, Natasha. I heard that you made a contract with him. Do you mind if I ask what kind of contract was that?”

I gulped. I was aware that from the beginning, Grandpa had his doubts about my relationship with Cain. I could see it in his eyes. He was more familiar with the Vampires than me. Yet, he chose to be silent than to question me. And I thought he’d never ask. I didn’t want him to ask. I didn’t want him to feel more guilty for not being with us sooner.

Adam was a very bright man. He wouldn’t have been a very successful businessman if he wasn’t. I had nothing when he found me. I knew that Grandpa could have guessed what it took me to strike a deal with someone like Cain.

I took a deep breath. “You don’t need to worry too much about that, Grandpa. I can handle this. The contract is just between me and Cain. It wouldn’t affect our family. I just… did what I had to do at that time. And if I could go back to the past, I’d still choose to do it all over again because it saved our family. It kept Papa alive and it became a way for you to find us. I’m sorry but that’s… all I can tell you for now.”

“If only—”

“No.” I shook my head. Suddenly, I feel like there was a huge lump in my throat. I had enough of those two words. If only I didn’t trust the wrong people, if only I was a better daughter, if only I did this and that, and so on. I can’t remember how many times I woke up in the middle of the night to think about the things I could have done and then I would end up blaming myself all over again.

“I don’t want to hear those words. I’m done with the ‘if onlys,’ Grandpa. Those two words are like poison to me. If we let ‘if onlys’ rule our heads, we’ll be stuck with the past. And I don’t want to remain there.”

Grandpa held my hands tightly. “I hope and pray that after your contract with His Highness, you can still come out of it unharmed. I know the Vampires. I’ve known them my whole life. They may be nice to us, but they are still different from us. Being associated with the likes of them, especially with a man like His Highness will not do you any good, Natasha. As much as possible, I don’t want you to be involved with them. I already ran away from that kind of life that’s why it pains me to see you like this now. You also know what the Rogues did to me and your father before.”

“Cain is not a Rogue, Grandpa. He fights the Rogues.”

“I know that.” He sighed. “I also know that His Highness treats you well unlike the humans he met in the past. He treats our family well. And I am very thankful for that. But you still need to be careful, Natasha. I know that you and him had gotten close these past weeks. Still, try to put a safe distance between the two of you if you can. His Highness was not called a ‘Beast’ for nothing. His past was as dark as the nickname people gave him—”

“Cain was the only door that opened when everything else had closed on me, Grandpa. I’m sorry, but whatever you say, I won’t try to distance myself from him. I will stay by his side as long as he needs me,” I replied in a firm voice.