Chapter 35
That's what they thought that they would be able to go to Levi’s office, but… There were many people outside the mansion, seemingly protesting to drive Ana out of the town of San Alfonso. Ana’s men were scattered throughout the mansion to stop the people.
Ana was just staring out her window when she saw the angry mob protesting the death of Tasing.
“You can’t leave, Ana. There are too many people protesting. Our men can’t stop them,” Paris said irritably.
Ana furrowed her brow. “Tell our men not to hurt anyone. I’ll let them do as they please,” she said seriously, watching the protesters in front of the hacienda.
“Ana?”
Ana looked at Paris and smiled. “I’ll let them be angry at me, so Levi will know he succeeded in trying to destroy me.”
Paris sighed and left Ana’s office. She couldn’t read her mind, but she also felt sorry for her.
“It’s terrifying out there!”
“What’s Ana’s plan? The protesters are increasing. If Martin arrives, we’re all in trouble,” Klein said, frustrated that they couldn’t help Ana.
“Ana will just let them do what they want. Occasionally I really can’t understand what’s on Ana’s mind,” Paris said, shaking her head.
Paris went to the gate, but the protesters only got more agitated. Someone even burned an effigy of Ana.
“Get rid of Ana Mystica!”
Paris looked at the man with a large placard demanding Ana’s removal. She knew this worker started it all.
“Miss Paris, we can’t control them anymore!”
Paris sighed and glared at the protesters. “Make sure no one gets hurt!” she shouted at their men, who nodded.
Paris looked up at Ana’s office window, but she wasn’t there anymore.
“What is Ana thinking?” she muttered, wondering what they could do to help her.
They wouldn’t let all of Ana’s hard work go to waste. They couldn’t let Ana down, and they wouldn’t let Levi succeed in his plans.
Meanwhile, Levi was delighted with the news.
“Ana won’t find out that you’re behind this, right,
honey?”
Levi grinned. “Of course not. The people I hired to discredit Ana are doing an impressive job. And now, she’s being harassed at the mansion. It’s not over yet, as I have more to do to make Ana leave this town. The Montecillos will also be gone from the map, and we will rule this town without any obstacles,” he added.
Chloe was pleased to hear this, as she had been waiting for Ana to be removed, so there would be no more obstacles between her and her husband.
Meanwhile, Ana was still watching the tireless protesters in front of the mansion. She sighed and clenched her fists on the table.
After a few moments of thought, she decided to go out and talk to the people because they won’t stop until she came out.
“Where are you going, Ana?”
Ana took a deep breath and looked at her companions. “To talk to them. They won’t stop until I come out. They’ll only get hurt,” she said, about to leave when Paris stopped her.
“It’s dangerous, Ana. They might hurt you.”
Ana smiled at Paris before leaving the mansion. When the people saw her, they immediately started shouting and cursing her.
One of Ana’s men stood by her side to protect her. She looked at the man who started the chaos, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze.
“Will you gain anything from your protest? Will anything happen? Will mother Tasing come back to life? No, right? You won’t gain anything by shouting in front of the mansion all day just to make me leave,” Ana said seriously to the people. “I didn’t kill mother Tasing. Do you have any evidence that I killed her?”
The people stopped and looked at each other. They couldn’t answer because they didn’t know what to say.
“You believe in baseless rumors. You believe in hearsay that isn’t true. Is this how the people of San Alfonso are? Is this how you treat a stranger in your town? By driving them away and saying hurtful words? Is this really how people live in this town? I helped other people because I wanted to,” Ana took a deep breath and sadly looked at the people. “I wanted this town to progress, just like what Don Martinez did when he was still alive. I never thought that by helping, you would take it the wrong way,” Ana said, shaking her head when the people didn’t respond to her.
The man looked at his companions in panic. “Don’t listen to what she’s saying! She just wants to deceive you—” The man’s voice trailed off as he caught Ana’s dark gaze. His eyes widened, and he seemed to be frozen in fear.
Ana smiled. “Don’t worry, I will find the person who killed mother Tasing. I won’t let violence spread in the town. I will seek justice for mother Tasing,” Ana said seriously to the murmuring crowd. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt, so I’m asking for your cooperation. We won’t achieve justice if you believe in a lie. The town won’t prosper if you insist on oppressing each other. We are all in the same town, so we should be united.”
Ana turned to go back to the mansion but paused and looked back at the people. “Do you know that you are trespassing? I can have you arrested if you continue to cause trouble here. Don’t force me to have you all taken by the police,” Ana said emotionlessly, then turned and walked back into the mansion.
“Leave now! Don Martin is coming! You might get caught!” Ana’s staff shouted.
The people’s eyes widened, and they suddenly became nervous because Martin was known for his temper.
“Why should we be afraid of them—” The man was cut off as the people started throwing tomatoes at him.
“Why should we listen to you? You’re just a liar! You wasted our time!”
“Lady Ana is right! We’re not sure about what happened! We don’t have any evidence!”
“It’s your fault if we get arrested!”
The man was bombarded with tomatoes by his companions, and one by one, they left the front of the mansion.
“W-wait… I’m telling the truth!” the man shouted, trying to stand by his words, but the people no longer listened to him.
They left, and he was the only one left at the mansion. He suddenly felt scared when he sensed someone behind him.
“Why aren’t you leaving? We’ll be forced to hurt you, especially after what you did to our Lady!” one of Ana’s staff said aggressively, clenching his fists.
The man’s eyes widened, and he ran away from the mansion, seemingly with nowhere to go, as no one believed in what he was saying. Ana grinned as she saw the people leaving and no one listening to the man any more before she finally closed the mansion door.
“Ana!”
She was surprised when Paris and Rielle hugged her.
“We were worried about you! We could have been in trouble with Martin if something bad happened to you.” Rielle exclaimed while hugging Ana. Ana just laughed and patted Rielle’s head.
“I just made them understand that evil will never win,” Ana said with a smile. Her friends smirked, and the mansion’s servants breathed a sigh of relief because they knew their Lady was innocent in the recent killing.
Teresita, the hacienda’s housekeeper, wiped away tears as she remembered a similar scenario that happened to the Montes. It’s a good thing their Lady is brave, so she won’t be driven out of town.
The man who started the trouble was wandering on the street because he didn’t know what to do. No one believed in him anymore, and he couldn’t go back to Levi because he knew what would happen to him.
He didn’t realize that he had bumped into someone.
“S-sorry…”
The man looked up and also apologized, intending to leave, but he was stopped when he heard what the other person said.
“Back off while you still can, before your whole family gets involved.”
His eyes widened as he looked at the man he bumped into and wondered if it was really him who spoke, as he was known to be a madman in town. He ignored it and continued walking until he reached his home.
The man was surprised to find Levi’s men inside the house playing with his children.
“Where have you been, Benji? I’ve already cooked. Don Levi and his men sent us food. Come on, let’s eat!” his wife cheerfully said.
He smiled at his wife, patted his children on the head, and took a deep breath.
“Oh… I think Don Levi needs me. I’ll be back soon,” he kissed his wife and children on the forehead before leaving the house and following Levi's men to an abandoned warehouse.
Benji felt nervous and scared as they arrived at the warehouse. He only did it for the money. Levi’s pay was meager, so he did what he had to do for his family. He reluctantly accepted Levi’s orders for the sake of his family.
“Benji!” Levi greeted him cheerfully as he sat on the sofa, drinking alcohol.
Benji bowed his head and nervously fidgeted with his hands. “D-Don L-Levi…”
Levi grinned and set his glass down on the table. “Looks like you didn’t destroy Ana,” he said.
Benji suddenly knelt down and trembled in front of Levi. “I-I don’t want to do it anymore, Don Levi! I-I can’t do it anymore!” He pleaded.
Levi chuckled and laughed. “You know what I do to people who back out of my orders.”
Benji hung his head and begged Levi.
“You know what to do with someone like that. Kill him so he can't talk.”
Benji was left stunned as Levi’s men dragged him to a secluded place where no one could hear him. He knelt down and prayed for someone to help him.
“You should have done your job properly and not messed up.”
The gun was pointed at him, so he closed his eyes, but a few moments later, Benji opened his eyes when he heard a thud.
He turned around, and his eyes widened as he saw all of Levi’s men lying dead.
“W-what…”
He was startled when someone pulled him and put him in a car. He widened his eyes even more when he saw the man he had bumped into earlier.
“I told you to back off while you still could. Levi Villalobos is not a good person. Leave this town. You're not safe here. Levi Villalobos will hunt you down and kill you, so while there's still time… leave.” the man said seriously, looking at
Benji. “You're not a bad person. You only did that out of hardship. I know Lady Ana would do the same to help you stay safe. So please, leave the town.” The man handed Benji a high amount of money. “Use this money to leave and start a new life far away from San Alfonso.”
Benji just cried and covered his face. “W-why, are you helping me? I'm a bad person too.” he cried. The man then put his hand on Benji’s shoulder.
“At the entrance of San Alfonso, my nephew will be waiting for you. He will take you to the terminal. Go!”
Benji nodded and quickly got out of the car and ran into their house. He told his wife that they were leaving San Alfonso, so despite her many questions, he chose not to answer. They only brought clothes and necessities for the children before they finally left their house. Benji looked back at the man who waved at them and hoped that the man would also be safe.
They arrived at the entrance of San Alfonso and the man with the waiting car was indeed there. He helped them to the terminal, and finally, they were able to leave San Alfonso. The man was right that Levi would not stop looking for them, especially if he found out that they had escaped.
(“Uncle, you’re bothering me, TSK.”)
The man just smiled. “You have a reward waiting for you when I get back to Manila. Did you take them to the terminal?”
(“Of course. I made sure that none of Levi’s men were following us. And about the car I asked for, huh.”)
The man just shook his head at his nephew.
(“Take care, Uncle. They can’t find out that you returned to San Alfonso, especially Levi Villalobos. All your hard work over the years will be wasted.”)
The man just grinned. “I won’t let that happen. Don’t worry about me, Omar.”
(“Okay, but still… Be careful.”)
He just shook his head at his nephew, put his phone in his pocket, and looked at Levi’s men’s car.
“What happened before will not happen again, I won't allow it,” he said firmly, then he opened the lighter and threw it into the car before walking away.
The fire ignited as he walked away.
“The past will not repeat itself.”
