Chapter 5: Eliana Grace Herrera

Elijah Theodore Martinez

“Eliana Grace Herrera, twenty-seven years old. An undergraduate college student taking up Business Management majoring in Accountancy. She has five younger siblings: Eric, twenty; George, sixteen; Elise and Eliza, ten-year-old twins; and Gasper, four, who is currently in the hospital after being hit by a motorcycle while playing outside their house. Based on the information I received from the hospital, the child is suffering from internal bleeding and injuries, but the organ most severely damaged by the accident is his brain. That’s why he needs immediate surgery. The problem is the amount of money required for the operation,” Rashid explained the basic information I had asked him to gather about the girl Miko mentioned yesterday.

I remained silent while staring at the picture of the woman who might carry my child. There was no doubt that this girl was truly beautiful. That was why Rashid teased me yesterday, saying that I got stunned just by looking at her picture.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

It wasn’t the first time I had seen a beautiful woman, but I don’t know… there was something different about Eliana’s beauty. Her face looked gentle, yet you could also see strength and courage in her eyes. Maybe because at such a young age, she had already become a parent figure to her five younger siblings.

“What was the reason her parents died so early?” I asked, trying to know more about her.

Rashid lowered the folder he was holding, which contained Eliana’s information. “According to what I heard, their parents died in a fire in Tondo four years ago. After the fire, they were taken in by Eliana’s mother’s sibling here in Makati, but they experienced abuse and mistreatment there. So Eliana ran away with her siblings, and ever since then, she’s been the one finding ways for them to survive,” he explained, sounding as though he personally knew the woman.

We continued talking about Eliana and our plan until I finally decided to call Miko so we could discuss what to do next, since he would be our middleman. As much as possible, I didn’t want the woman to see me personally.

“Sir, what do you need?” Miko asked politely while holding the tablet containing my meetings and agenda for the day, thinking that was what we were going to discuss.

“Sit down,” I simply said while pointing to the chair in front of me beside Rashid.

Though confused, he still obeyed before looking at me attentively, waiting for me to speak.

“I already did a background check on the girl you mentioned yesterday,” I started while he remained silent. “Everything so far looks good. Her record is clean, and she’s not currently in a relationship.”

“That’s good to hear, sir. Grace is also kind. I’ve only personally spoken to her twice because of Calix and my girlfriend, but I’ve seen how kind she really is,” he said with a smile.

I slightly frowned when he called her Grace, so I immediately opened the folder again to check her name before realizing he was using her second name.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied irritably for reasons I couldn’t understand. “That’s why I called you here. I want her to become my surrogate, but she’s not allowed to know who I am. That’s why you’ll be the one talking to her, understood?” I continued explaining.

At first, Miko seemed uncertain about what he should do, but after Rashid and I explained everything, he eventually agreed.

“I want you, Miko, to talk to her and explain everything carefully. If she agrees, I want you to give her this. This is the contract she needs to sign. I want everything written in this contract to be clear to her so we won’t have any problems later. As for the payment she’ll receive, just tell her to name her price, and I’ll give her whatever amount she wants,” I instructed before finally dismissing him.

I continued with my daily routine. Rashid also left after our discussion with Miko because he said he still had a hearing to attend. But no matter how much I tried to focus on work, I still couldn’t get Eliana out of my mind. So instead of paying attention to the folders I needed to review and sign, I unknowingly found myself staring at and rereading the information we had gathered about her.

When five in the afternoon came, I hurriedly left. But instead of heading to my condo, the bar, or Dad’s house, I suddenly found myself inside the hospital where Eliana’s younger sibling was confined.

As it happened, she was outside her sibling’s room, talking with Miko and another woman whom I assumed was Calix, Miko’s girlfriend. Quietly, I hid behind a large plant several meters away from them. Even though I couldn’t hear their conversation, the distance was enough for me to freely observe Eliana’s face.

While the three of them were talking, a deafening sound suddenly echoed through the hallway, as if there was an emergency somewhere. When I looked back toward Eliana and the others, I was shocked to see several doctors and nurses rushing into her sibling’s room while pushing large medical equipment inside.

And because of what happened, Eliana suddenly grabbed the contract Miko was holding and signed it without hesitation, followed by what looked like desperate pleading for her younger sibling, who was now fighting for his life inside that room.