Chapter 36

“Why is this happening?!”

Everyone looked at Martin, who had just arrived from Manila. It took him a few days to get back to San Alfonso due to his work. He was worried about Ana when he heard what had happened, so he rushed to finish his work, but he still couldn’t come home right away because he had a lot of business to take care of.

Martin looked at Ana, trying to calm himself. “Ana, what did I tell you?” he asked.

Ana turned to Martin, looking at him emotionlessly, but she sighed. “Martin, I just wanted to go around the whole area of San Alfonso and help the people who are struggling because of their low wages under the Villalobos,” Ana explained in a calm voice. “I know you're just worried about me, but I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me anymore.” She smiled and held Martin's arm to calm him down.

Martin took a deep breath and just shook his head, as it seemed that Ana had plans that he didn't know about. “Who’s Tasing?” he asked Ana, who paused but just smiled at him.

“Mother Tasing is the survivor of the Montes Tragedy,” Ana said, surprising everyone except for Martin, who was still confused. “I talked to her, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. She’s with someone pretending to be her 'granddaughter'.”

Martin furrowed his brow, as he had never heard that name before.

“Mother Tasing used to be the housekeeper of the Montes hacienda,” Ana added, leaving Martin stunned, as he had just learned that there was a survivor of the tragedy.

The information they gathered back then led everyone to believe that everyone died in the fire at the Montes' hacienda.

“Now that she’s dead, it seems like she's been silenced because she might have been one of the people who could reveal what happened 28 years ago. I was the one they suspected because I was the last person who talked to her before she was killed,” Ana said. Martin took a deep breath and sat back in the swivel chair.

“Don’t worry, they haven’t caused any trouble since the last time I talked to the people who were causing a commotion outside the mansion. We can have them arrested if they do it again,” Ana said with a smile, putting her hand on Martin's shoulder to calm him down. “We’re going to Levi’s office to discuss the past commotion.”

Martin nodded and gestured to his friends to leave him and Ana, who quickly followed, fearing that Martin might get angry about what happened.

“What will you do now?” Martin asked Ana who just grinned at him.

“For now, I just want to know what they plan to do with me, whether they’ll kick me out of San Alfonso or choose to let me stay here,” Ana said with a smile. Martin sighed and held Ana’s hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m just worried,” Martin said softly. Ana smiled to reassure Martin that he didn’t need to worry about her.

“No need to worry, Martin. I’m fine, okay? Nothing bad will happen to me, I’ll find a way to fight back against the Villalobos. For now, I just want to observe Levi’s next moves against me,” Ana whispered to Martin and kissed his cheek before leaving the office to prepare for their visit to Levi Villalobos office.

Martin watched Ana leave and sighed, running his hand over his forehead, as he hadn’t had much sleep worrying about Ana’s situation.

After finishing their tasks, they went to Levi Villalobos office and noticed many people waiting outside. They exchanged glances before getting out of their car. The people outside noticed their arrival and were surprised to see Martin again. They felt nervous and scared, fearing that Martin might be angry about what they did at his mansion, especially to Ana.

Martin held Ana’s hand, and they walked straight into the building, despite being blocked by the media waiting for them. They went straight to the conference room, where they were the only ones waiting.

“Good day, Lady Ana and Don Martin,” greeted Levi’s allies. They nodded. “Now that we’re all here, we can discuss the recent incident that caused chaos in the town due to the death of one of the townspeople,” he added.

The board fell silent for a moment, but Chloe took the lead, as Ana’s stay in San Alfonso was getting longer.

“Why don’t we send Ana away? The incident happened when she arrived here,” Chloe said, grinning at Ana, who just stared at her.

“Who do you think you are?”

Chloe was taken aback by Martin's emotionless face.

“D-Don M-Martin…” Chloe whispered, clenching her fists as she received a death glare from Levi for interrupting.

Ana just smiled and leaned back, not feeling like explaining herself.

“Lady Ana, you were the last person to speak with Tasing Bartolome, according to our investigator.”

Ana turned to the man who spoke, grinning at her, but she just smiled back, surprising him. Everyone looked at Ana, who still didn’t speak, making them feel like she would rather not talk to them.

“Lady Ana, please don’t lose interest because if this continues, the entire town of San Alfonso will be ruined. We still can’t decide whether to send you away or let you stay. Mrs. Chloe has a point that this only happened when you arrived in town,” another person said, looking at her and Chloe, who seemed to think she had won.

Ana just sighed, as it seemed they had no idea who Tasing was. They didn’t even seem concerned about the death of one of the townspeople. Their reputation in town was still more important to them.

“What do you want to imply that Ana is to blame for what happened?” Martin interrupted, making them stop talking. They didn’t answer and just avoided eye contact. “This is bullshit!” Martin shouted, silencing everyone even more. Ana held Martin’s hand, and he turned to her, but she just shook her head.

Martin took a deep breath to calm down, as he was worried about Ana. Ana smiled when she saw Martin calming down, so she looked back at everyone.

She leaned back in her chair and observed the people in the room. She sighed and then spoke. “Do you even know who Tasing is in this town? It’s like you’re concerned about her death, but the truth is… You’re more concerned about your reputation in town. TSK,” Ana said, shaking her head. Their eyes widened, but none of them spoke. “You speak as if everything is my fault. If the people suffer, is it still my fault?” she scoffed. “I helped the people, but I never thought you would twist it against me.”

They fell even more silent after Ana’s words. Ana looked at Levi, who was staring at her.

“Tasing used to be the Montes' housekeeper,” she said, looking at Levi, who was taken aback and looked away.

The people were surprised and started murmuring…

“W-what?”

“D-didn’t… Didn’t everyone die in the fire?”

Ana grinned as she heard the mixed reactions from their colleagues.

“You removed everything related to the Montes from the map, so you didn’t know that there was a lone survivor in the tragedy that happened 28 years ago. Now that Tasing is dead, no one can speak about what really happened 28 years ago,” Ana said with a smile, looking at the Villalobos, who seemed frozen in their seats.

Everyone turned to Levi, who remained silent.

“Don Levi, you told us that there were no survivors from Don Ignacio’s people. You said many died in that tragedy. We agreed to erase the Montes from the town's history because of Don Ignacio’s case, which caused chaos in the town. What is Lady Ana talking about?” asked a man who was Levi’s ally.

Ana just grinned and looked at her companions, who were starting to question Levi, which she found amusing. Levi clenched his fist and took a deep breath before slamming the table to silence everyone.

“Can you all calm down? Why would you believe someone who knows nothing about what happened back then? Don’t be foolish! What Ana is saying is impossible!” Levi said angrily, which only made Ana grin even more.

“Yeah, he’s right. Don’t trust me,” Ana playfully said to them. They glared at Ana, who continued to smile at them.

This was her plan, to stir up trouble among the Villalobos' allies.

‘Sorry, mother Tasing, I used you for my plan. Don’t worry, I'll find justice for you,’ Ana thought to herself as she watched her companions argue.

She sighed and lost interest in talking to her companions, who were only concerned about their reputations.