Chapter 17 — Hello Again, My Old Friend

(Natasha)

“HOW dare you turn my family into a laughingstock?!” Eunice yelled before I could step inside Cain’s Entertainment Company. I came here after sending Grandpa and Kurt to the airport so I could rehearse some more. When my brother’s health became stable, he said he wanted to continue his studies in Canada. Grandpa went with him to show Kurt the property he bought for him there.

I would have wanted to travel with Kurt, too. This would have been our chance to bond as siblings before the semester starts. But Kurt insisted that I stay in the country with Papa. It was our first time to be apart. There was still a gap between us now, a gap that I was hoping I could cross one day.

Cain called and told me to rest. He wanted me to rehearse tomorrow instead. I’m now preparing for my debut album. I had been guesting nonstop in TV and radio shows these past few weeks and I’m beginning to get the public’s attention again. And this time, it wasn’t because of the Ricafortes or the Montealvo Group of Companies.

People were finally noticing me now as an artist especially since I’m constantly seen on televisions and billboards because of the endorsements I got from my sponsors. There were so many activities I needed to do. And I welcomed them all. I needed to bury myself in work so my mind would have lesser time thinking about those ruthless memories that had been haunting me day and night. That was the reason why even if it was past six in the evening, I still came here.

And on a night like this, the last thing I’d want to see was Eunice’s face. I only saw her mother’s face just three days ago when she came to my house and kneeled, using my past friendship with Eunice as an excuse for me to help their business. But I did exactly what she did to me before when I came to their mansion to confront Eunice about the songs she'd stolen from me. I ignored her and didn’t come out to see her.

The Ricafortes were still always on tabloids. Before, the reason was about how noble they are for donating in charities, about their successful businesses, and about Eunice’s singing career. But it was different now.

Three days after Leon was sent to prison, he called his lawyer and shocked the public by his sudden confession. He had dark circles under his eyes and with trembling hands and a shaky voice; he confessed his sins and enumerated all the names of his victims. Even I was surprised. I was preparing myself for a long and tiresome battle before I could make him confess. But it happened too soon.

Leon didn’t mention the Vampires. But then again, who would believe him if he did? He only revealed that he had people do the dirty work for him. He even had a detailed confession about how he had his victims assassinated that’s why there were countless cases filed against him. His wife, Monique, was also accused as an accessory to the crime and the mastermind behind the murder of the ones she met in casino.

Their victims were all listed on the missing persons cases. Because of his confession, the cops were now busy finding the corpses of sixteen people they ordered to be slaughtered. According to the latest news, seven of the bodies had already been found. Every time a corpse was found, it causes the public to be more infuriated.

I already had a hunch that Cain was behind Leon’s sudden confession even if he never told me about it. And Agatha confirmed it to me.

“His Highness would scold me if I tell you this. So, this has to be our little secret, okay? I heard that His Highness made Leon fall asleep all day long and gave him nightmares about all the people who died because of him and his wife. According to the jail guards, Leon had been screaming in his cell the whole time, but they could not wake him up. He was crying in the middle of his sleep, begging for things to stop, begging to be awakened.”

What he did proved once again, how powerful he was. The people I considered as undefeatable foes were just average humans for him. Nevertheless, I’m relieved that the families of the Ricafortes’ victims could now put an end to their search and could finally mourn for them. It was a sad tale that we all had to live by all because we encountered the Ricafortes.

I turned to Eunice who was red with fury. She had probably heard how her mother was kicked out of their Company this morning since it was no longer theirs. The Montealvos were able to buy all of their shares. Leon sold all his shares to a man called David, his trusted friend, and also one of the previous board members. That person sold it all to Grandpa. It turned out that Monique had been tricked by David. She trusted him with the important documents since she rarely attended meetings because she knew nothing of the business. But he sold her shares to Grandpa without her permission. He betrayed Monique just so he could get close to the Montealvos. That was what she had been screaming at our gate for a few hours yesterday as she asked for my mercy, something which Monique and her family had denied from me and from so many people over and over again.

She was being chased now because of her millions of debts in casino. Even if she had sold all their jewelries and cars, the amount would never be enough to pay her debts. Not to mention that Leon had mortgaged all their properties as a collateral to make up for the losses in their other businesses two months ago which didn’t work.

It surprised me how Eunice could still have the audacity to glare at me like this. When my bodyguards were about to block her from approaching me, I raised my hand to stop them.

Cain insisted that I at least keep two bodyguards with me every time he wasn’t around. Even my driver was a Vampire. He was quick. Before my Grandpa could hire bodyguards, Cain had already sent his men to me. And he placed Vampire bodyguards who previously worked as Knights for the Council not just for me, but for my entire family. Grandpa couldn’t decline the offer anymore since he knew that the Vampire Knights could protect us ten times more compared to the humans.

Besides, according to Grandpa, now that I’m associated with Cain, I really had to have capable bodyguards around me to ward off the Rogues.

And I felt more thankful for having those bodyguards with me today because I saw how Eunice got intimidated by them. The Russian Vampires with me were all six-feet tall, with bulk bodies, and with faces that could only be found in magazines. They could actually pass as models with flying colors.

“Miss Natasha, we were ordered to never let anyone to approach—”

I smiled. “I got this, Albert. There is nothing to worry about. Eunice here is not just anybody. She’s an old friend. So, I would really appreciate it if you, guys, will leave us for a while. She probably just missed me so much that she could not help but be angry because we haven’t had any contact for the past few weeks.”

“I understand. We will be nearby in case you need us, Miss Natasha.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The moment the guards had turned their backs, I immediately slapped Eunice’s cheek. And because she wasn’t expecting it, she almost lost her balance.

I’d been dreaming to slap Eunice for months now. But I didn’t want to chase her or find her just to do that. I wanted my friend to be the one to come to me this time. And I had a feeling that just like Monique, Eunice would come find me, too.

“That is for stealing my songs,” I said in a cold voice before I slapped her other cheek. “The second one is for shaming my family and the third,” I slapped her again. “Is for my father.”

Eunice looked flabbergasted as she stared at me while holding her now red cheeks. “How dare you—”

“No. How dare you attempt to kill my father?” My eyes narrowed. “You are asking the wrong questions here, Eunice. How dare you approach me like this as if I was the one who committed a grave sin against you? Are you sure you should be doing this when you ought to be crawling for my forgiveness right now?”

“Me? Crawling for your forgiveness?” Eunice laughed. “I see you are still a daydreamer, Natasha. You haven’t changed.”

“And you are still a pretender, Eunice. For you to come here in person to meet me, you must have been desperate just like your criminal mother.” I grinned. “I pissed you off. Too bad, you’ve lost your Vampires, you cannot have me killed. Even if your mother is a Breeder, no Vampires in their right mind would want her now.”

She gasped. “How did you know—”

“Let’s just say that I know more than you know, Eunice. But it’s a good thing you’re here. We haven’t had a chat for quite a while now. There are so many things I wanted to find out about you. I want to know how you feel now that you are at the receiving end of all those malicious gossips. How does it feel to see your father rot in prison after all the things you did to hide his crimes? And how about you, Eunice? I heard you’ve lost your elite friends, too.”

The last words I said left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had been through all those before, too. Fortunately, even if Monique was a Breeder, no other Vampires had shown interest to her anymore. Cain said that he made sure that all the Vampires who would be associated with the Ricafortes would be severely punished.

“But based on what you said, Breeders are very important for the Vampires. Is it really possible to punish the Vampires who would take an interest in Mrs. Ricaforte?” I asked Cain a few weeks ago.

“Yes,” Cain answered with no hesitation. “I will punish them myself. Anyone who will dare lay a hand on you is my enemy as well. And all the Vampires know that. They would never cross you or any of your family members, Natasha. As for the Rogues, I will eliminate them myself so you can live in a safe, peaceful world and continue on your life without having to worry anymore. Leave everything to me, Natasha, and just do what you love to do.”

The Ricafortes regarded human life as livestock that could be discarded any time. These people were sick in the head. How many times had I been tempted to have the Ricafortes get bitten by the Vampires, too? I knew that Cain would indulge me. I once told him about it when I found out that compulsion doesn’t work on my father. I wanted him to forget the agony of being attacked by the Rogues. I know that he had nightmares about it every night. Ever since his encounter with the Rogues, he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

And Cain said that all I needed to do was ask and everything would be set since he gave me an oath about his service. But every time I was so close to doing that, Mama’s smiling face would cross my mind. And that would make me stop myself time and time again from turning into a total monster.

Cain would let me do the things I want but he would always remind me of the consequences. When he swore to pull me back to save me from myself, he really did live up to his word.

“I will comply with whatever you need me to do but is that really what you want?” I remembered him asking. “I admit, every time I see you hurt, I feel the need to hunt your enemies myself and crush them completely. But I hold myself back every time because I want you to have the kind of revenge that will still let you sleep peacefully at night, Natasha. I want you to stay within the law and within your own conscience, too. At the end of the day, living well is still the best revenge. Trust me; knowing that you are succeeding is enough to torture your enemies for the rest of their lives.”

“You’ve lost your sponsors,” I told Eunice after a while. “How does it feel being thrown away by the San Diegos just because you are not suitable to be their daughter-in-law anymore? ‘Guess what? They’ve been calling me nonstop lately to try and set me up with their son. It was so annoying that I had to change my number so they wouldn’t be able to pester me again.”

Eunice’s eyes burned with fury. But before that, I caught a glimpse of worry in her eyes when I mentioned the San Diegos. When she raised her hand, I immediately caught it before she could slap me. She winced when I squeezed her wrist. She tried moving her other hand but I caught it, too.

“It’s time to get down on your high horse, Eunice. Nothing about you rattles me anymore.”

“I heard that it was your Grandfather who bought our Company. How dare a trash like you do that? Why did you do that? To taunt us more? Remember this, Natasha. You may have money and connection now, but you’re still the same in my eyes. In my eyes, you are still nothing but a trash!”

I giggled before I released her hands crudely. “If that’s the case, then you are worse than me. I don’t mind that you stole Joaquin from me, but you stole my songs. So, what should I call a woman who steals from a trash? A woman who was only able to gain her supporters and popularity thanks to this trash’s songs? If I expose that, do you think you can still have the guts to face the public again? Back then, you and your mother were so confident that I would never reveal that to the public because I was a nobody. But the tables have turned. Now, between the two of us, people will choose to believe in me more. After all, you weren’t able to compose another song, right? I heard you tried but the management rejected your songs because they were not as compelling as the first two songs you made.”

“As for Joaquin, don’t worry; I have no plans of stealing your man from you. You can have him all for yourself, Eunice. After all, both of you deserve each other,” I added before turning my back on her. Being in the same place as Eunice suffocated me.

“I regret it, you know. I regret what I did,” Eunice said in a loud voice which stopped me from walking away. “To be honest, if I could turn back time, I would have the Rogues kill your father sooner and your dearest brother next. Too bad, I missed the chance since the Rogues are gone now. But if I could go back in time, I would do it again and again. I don’t mind giving up all that I have just to make sure that you would be just as miserable as me, Natasha. Ever since we were young, you were always the one that people notice. You were always the more beautiful, the more capable, the more talented, and the more intelligent person between us.

“You always get every single thing and every person that I liked. I found it unfair. Who are you anyway? I don’t know what others see in you. What right do you have to easily acquire the things that I worked so hard to get? Yet, I always end up not getting them. You were just the daughter of my father’s bodyguard. You are nothing, but you didn’t know your place and it infuriated me so much. Every day that I was with you, I thought of ways to get rid of that stupid smile off your face.”

I gasped. “Eunice—”

“That’s why when that thing happened to your family and your whole world fell apart, I was happy, Natasha. I was very happy to see you finally fall, to see that bright smile of yours finally gone. That was the most fulfilling day of my life,” Eunice continued. “And until now, I know I’m still winning against you because the bite marks of those Vampires will forever haunt your father. I know because I’ve been there. I had to let them feed on me as a price for doing it to your father. Too bad, he didn’t die. But I still believe it was worth it. Even if the marks disappeared, the torture of being bitten will haunt him.” She giggled. “No matter what you do, you and your family will never be completely happy, Natasha.”