Chapter 4

It was late when I returned to the boarding house. I'm glad I made it before curfew because I didn't want to pass through the back of the school. The forest is scary at night. Before leaving the apartment earlier, I edited a video to release some of the things I found out. I mentioned in it that the Navarros were the ones who killed James because he discovered their plan. Yes, call me foolish, but I did it to bring justice to James. I wouldn't be able to keep quiet if I stayed silent. I'm sure my conscience won't leave me alone.

I also searched for a bank where I could hide the gold I found. At first, I was terrified that they might ask me where I got it. But luckily, they didn't question me and immediately rented me a safe deposit locker. I took some gold from one bag because they asked for a high fee. I trust that it won't go missing since my fingerprints are needed to open the locker, and I still have the key. I turned it into a necklace and went home.

Lana was already asleep when I arrived. I was extremely careful with my movements because I knew she would inquire about my absence throughout the day. But before I could even lie down, Lana suddenly sat up.

"Jane! Where were you? Turn on the lights!" she commanded. I winced and followed her instructions. Lana stood up and approached me. "Where did you go?"

"Um, well. You see, I had some sudden errands."

"Where exactly?"

I took a deep breath and met her gaze. "Why? Also, why are you still awake?"

"I was waiting for you."

I rolled my eyes and walked towards my bed. I sighed and stared at the ceiling. Lana came closer and sat on her own bed.

"But why did you take so long? You didn't even inform us. You didn't even answer our calls. Do you know that Lawrence almost searched the entire Samar just to find you?"

I winced and looked at her. "Why? I'm not a child that you have to look for. Besides, I just went to the neighboring barangay. We were invited by a relative. We had a feast there."

"See! You didn't even invite me!"

"Sorry. You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you up."

She glared at me. But then, she suddenly looked at me with widened eyes, as if something suddenly struck her memory. "Oh yeah!" She approached me and sat on my bed. "Friend, how did you meet Gov. Rod?"

My smile immediately faded. "Gov. Rod?"

Lana nodded repeatedly and lightly hit my arm. "Really? What if you're actually connected to them?"

"What? What would I even do there? And why should I care about Gov. Rod?"

"Are you sure?" She still couldn't believe it. "So, you haven't really talked to him?"

"Oh? I bumped into him yesterday, but we didn't really talk privately. What does a governor need from me?" I chuckled, although I was getting nervous about Lana's questions.

"Why was he looking for you earlier? He even came to our room himself."

"What? W-What did he say?"

Lana shook her head. "Nothing. He left immediately when I told him you weren't here. Wow! He's really handsome up close, Jane!" she said, getting excited.

I swallowed and became even more anxious. Rodrigo Navarro visited me? Why? For what reason? I stood up again. "I-I just need to use the bathroom," I informed Lana and walked towards the bathroom.

"Okay. Are you going to eat? I saved some food for you."

"Not anymore. Tomorrow is fine."

"Okay. Just turn off the light again. We have an early start tomorrow."

I didn't respond to Lana anymore. I kept exhaling deeply to calm myself while inside the bathroom. Why was he looking for me? Oh God! Did he find out what I did? I'm so foolish! I shouldn't have meddled in the first place.

I exited the bathroom and turned off the light. I took my laptop and searched for the video I made. I was amazed to see that it had already reached nearly a hundred thousand views even though I had only posted it less than half a day ago. Along with exposing their wrongdoing against James, I also included other parts of James' video.

The Navarros are really horrible!

I thought Sir was kind. Turns out, he's a killer.

Mama, I'm in love with a criminal. <3

Are you really sure about this? Maybe they just want to destroy Gov. He's so kind. And handsome.

Those were some of the comments I read on the video. Some couldn't believe what they saw. Others remained neutral. And there were those who agreed with James. There were many comments, but one caught my attention.

Do you still love your life?

My throat felt dry as I read. Could it be that Rodrigo Navarro found out about what I posted? I closed the laptop and lay down, teary-eyed. I held onto my necklace. Oh God, please guide me.

The next day, I woke up early because I could hardly sleep, constantly thinking about why Rodrigo Navarro was looking for me. I kept replaying his voice in my head. Maybe if I didn't know about his evil deeds, I would have been infatuated. But fear dominated me.

"You woke up so quickly," Lana commented when I came out of the bathroom. She was already preparing coffee for both of us.

"You said we have an early start," I lied. I approached my bed, put on our skirt, and sat in front of the table.

"I feel lazy going to class," Lana complained. "I should have just studied in a convent school. Oh well..."

I looked at Lana with a smile. "You made me your idol, and now you're copying me."

"Well, it would be boring if we weren't classmates."

"Of course. You wouldn't have anyone to copy," I said, still laughing.

We stopped talking when we heard a noise outside. Lana and I exchanged glances when there were consecutive knocks on our room door.

"Uh, I'll get it," Lana volunteered. She approached the door and opened it. But she suddenly screamed and ran towards me. When I looked outside the door, my eyes widened as I saw two men standing there, holding long guns.