Chapter 37

They were interrupted by someone rushing into the conference room.

“Someone is causing trouble outside, Don Levi! The town lunatic! The window is broken!” the person said frantically, causing them to stand up and go outside to see what was happening.

Ana frowned as she recognized the familiar town lunatic causing a commotion outside. She approached the door, and Levi followed her out.

“You will die, Levi Villalobos!” the town lunatic shouted, grabbing rocks from a sack and throwing them in front of the office. Levi’s men quickly shielded them from the rocks.

“Arrest that lunatic!” Levi ordered his men, who followed, but they couldn’t get close to the town lunatic, who continued to throw rocks at them.

“You will pay, Levi Villalobos!”

Chloe screamed as the town lunatic threw large rocks at them. She was unable to get close because she was afraid of being hit by a large rock.

“Let’s go, Ana,” Martin said, pulling Ana, who didn’t follow and suddenly stood in front of the Villalobos; she was getting hit by a large rock on the head.

Ana sat down and held her head as she felt blood trickling down.

“Damn!” Martin exclaimed, helping Ana, who smiled to assure him that she was okay. Ana looked at the town lunatic and frowned when she saw his reaction.

“Arrest him!” Levi ordered, and his men and the police finally apprehended the town lunatic and took him to the station.

Martin carried Ana into the car to take her to the clinic because he noticed her paleness.

“Damn it. Why did you do that?” Martin asked angrily. Ana just laughed and wiped the sweat from her face.

“I-I’m fine,” she replied. Martin didn't say anything else because he was still furious.

They arrived at the clinic, where Ana was promptly attended to and her forehead wound was treated.

“Good thing, Lady Ana, it’s not too deep, so it will heal quickly,” the nurse treating her wound said with a smile.

Ana just smiled at the nurse to express her gratitude. Levi Villalobos arrived at the clinic to check on Ana's condition.

“Ana,” Levi called out as he entered the room to talk to them.

“Thank you for saving me,” Levi said. Ana paused for a moment, then just grinned at Levi.

“No problem. You’re the mayor of the town, so who else would help the people if something happened to you?” Ana replied.

Levi was taken aback and looked down. “I feel really ashamed of myself. We accused you of a crime you didn’t commit. And now, you saved me. Don't worry, I’ll take care of that lunatic,” Levi said to Ana, who raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

“I want to talk to him,” Ana said seriously to them.

They were surprised, and Martin quickly approached Ana. “Ana,” he said, shaking his head, but Ana just smiled at him.

“I would like to talk to him, please?”

Martin and Levi exchanged glances and both sighed.

“Fine, I’ll arrange for Chief Chen to allow you to talk to that lunatic. But be careful, he’s insane,” Levi said seriously to Ana, who nodded in agreement. He then left to talk to Tyron.

“Why did you save him?” Ana asked Martin.

Ana looked at Martin, whose expression was blank. She just grinned and stretched her arms. “Why did I save him, Martin?” Ana asked with a smirk. Martin furrowed his brow, unable to read her actions. “Hmm?”

Martin just stared at Ana, then sighed and shook his head. “Why did you also tell them that Tasing was the only survivor of the Tragedy?”

Ana grinned even more at Martin, as he seemed confused by her actions.

“Martin,” Ana said with a sigh, and grinned. “Do you know me?” she asked, making Martin furrow his brow even more.

“Of course—” Martin paused and looked at Ana, who just grinned at him.

“Yes, whatever you’re thinking, you’re right. I did that because of my plan,” Ana grinned and stood up. “Let’s go. I have someone else to talk to.” She patted Martin on the shoulder before walking out of the clinic. Martin sighed and followed Ana.

They went to the police station to talk to the lunatic, who was still shouting when they arrived. The police were trying to restrain him as he might hurt someone again.

“Don’t kill me! I’m innocent! It’s Levi! He’s the murderer!”

Ana furrowed her brow when she saw the homeless man shouting while talking to the police and Levi.

Martin grabbed Ana’s arm to make her turn around.

“Are you sure about this? Can you really talk to him? You know he’s crazy. He might hurt you,” Martin said, trying to stop Ana from approaching the man. Ana just smiled and took Martin's hand off her arm.

“I know. I’ll be fine. I want to talk to him,” Ana said seriously. They looked at each other until Martin finally agreed, seeing Ana’s determination to talk to the homeless man.

“He might hurt you again,” Martin warned.

Ana looked at Martin and smiled, shaking her head. “No, he won’t,” she replied before letting go of Martin.

Meanwhile, Tyron looked at Ana and nodded before leading her to a room.

The homeless man continued to shout while his hands were handcuffed to ensure that he wouldn't hurt anyone. Ana followed the man to the room to talk to him.

“Are you sure about this, Ana? You saw how bold he is,” Levi asked.

Ana just smiled at Don Levi.

“Lady Ana, you can talk to him now,” Tyron said when he came out, so Ana took a deep breath before nodding at Tyron, who accompanied her inside.

Ana sat in front of the homeless man, who was looking around and muttering.

“I want to talk to him,” she said, looking at Tyron, who was standing guard behind her. “Alone.”

The people outside were surprised by what she said, especially Tyron, who would be in trouble with Martin if he left Ana alone with the crazy man in the room.

“Chief Chen,” Ana called Tyron, who scratched his head and sighed.

“Fine. But, be careful,” Tyron whispered to Ana, who nodded at him.

“Oh… Wait!”

Tyron stopped when Ana signaled him to come closer. “Turn off the CCTV. Close the curtains and lock the door, and also turn off the speaker so no one can hear our conversation,” Ana whispered to Tyron, who widened his eyes and nodded at her.

“Martin will kill me. I swear, Ana,” Tyron whispered, worried that he would be hurt by Martin.

“He won’t… Go.”

Tyron cursed under his breath before closing the curtains and locking the door. He went to the CCTV and turned it off, and did something on the computer to prevent his colleagues from bringing back the CCTV signal to the room where Ana was. After doing everything Ana asked, he returned to where Martin and Levi were waiting.

“What happened? Why are the curtains closed, and the door locked?” Levi asked in surprise, and Tyron scratched his cheek because Martin was already looking at him with a disapproving look.

“It’s Lady Ana’s orders,” he said, and Tyron looked at Martin, whose expression was blank. He then made a peace sign at Martin, but there was no reaction from him, making Tyron even more nervous about what would happen later.

Meanwhile, Ana just stared at the homeless man, who was still muttering. Ana sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

“Can you stop acting like that?” Ana asked the homeless man with a wry smile, but he didn’t seem to be listening.

Ana took a deep breath to stop herself from screaming. “Stop pretending to be crazy. No one can see us or hear us,” she said seriously. But the man still didn't listen to her. “I know you’re not crazy,” Ana added.

The beggar stopped and held his head, then chuckled softly. “You’re smart. You caught me,” he said, looking up.

Ana grinned and shrugged. “I saw you when I got hit by a rock. You were surprised when I blocked it,” Ana said with a smile. “Who are you?” she asked. The beggar raised his lips and grinned, then shook his head.

“Ah… Ana Mystica is indeed clever,” he said, leaning back in his seat. “I am Detective Paul Enriquez,” he introduced himself, extending his hand to Ana. Ana looked at Paul’s hand and then at the man.

“Detective?” Paul nodded, and Ana did too. “Then why are you pretending like that?”

Paul laughed at Ana and grinned. “To find out every move of Levi Villalobos.”

Ana frowned because she felt that the man was mad with the Villalobos.

“I can sense that you know something about the Villalobos, and by your actions and words, it seems like you have a lot of anger towards them,” Ana said seriously to Detective Paul, who also became serious.

“Ana, Levi is dangerous. I know you’re here because you want to get revenge on what they did to you, right? But it’s difficult to get rid of Levi Villalobos because he has many henchmen who can be ordered to kill you,” Detective Paul said seriously. Ana took a deep breath and just leaned back in her seat.

“I know, I’ve been careless with my movements. I also know that they are preparing to get rid of me,” she sighed because she had indeed been careless with her movements.

“Like what happened to the Montes.”

Ana was taken aback, and her eyes widened as she looked at Detective Paul. She suddenly became interested, hoping to get some answers from the detective. “Do you know the Montes? Do you know anything about the secrets of the Villalobos? What do you know about what happened 28 years ago? What do you know about the Montes and the Villalobos?” Ana asked. Detective Paul chuckled softly and shook his head. “Why are you laughing?” Ana asked irritably. Detective Paul fell silent and looked at Ana.

“Should I trust you?”

Ana was taken aback by the detective’s question and realized that he was right; they shouldn’t trust each other. In today’s world, there’s no one else to trust but yourself.

Detective Paul chuckled when he noticed that Ana didn’t answer him. As he observed Ana’s movements, they seemed very familiar to him. His eyes widened, and he looked away, seeing Lady Stella in Ana.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I can trust you because I can sense your determination to find out what happened back then,” he said. Ana's eyes widened as Detective Paul nodded at her. “We have the same goal, to seek revenge against the Villalobos, especially Levi Villalobos.” Ana bit her lip and looked away, feeling that the person in front of her was a good person.

“Like Mother Tasing, who was a maid at the Hacienda, I was also a right-hand man to Don Ignacio Montes.”

Ana was even more surprised and was rooted to her seat. She could hardly believe that she was face to face with a survivor of the tragedy.

“I-I thought… Mother Tasing was the only survivor?” Ana asked in disbelief.

Detective Paul grimaced bitterly.

“And me also, like Mother Tasing, I was a survivor of the tragedy. Like her, I escaped and was a coward back then. We left everything behind. Even though our employers were already distressed, we still left them. We left the people who took care of us.” Detective clenched his fist, remembering his cowardice. “That was my mistake,” he added, taking a deep breath and staring into the distance. “It was a big mistake to leave Don Ignacio and Lady Stella. Don Ignacio was imprisoned, and Lady Stella escaped with her unborn child.” He looked at Ana and smiled bitterly.

“The hacienda and the other lands that Don Ignacio worked hard for were burned, and the people who were like family to them betrayed them,” he said firmly, his hands trembling as he recalled the bitter past. “The town is a traitor, Ana, they are traitors. There’s no one else you can trust but yourself. You can trust Don Martin because he was just like his father, who was a close friend of Don Ignacio. I don’t want the history of San Alfonso to repeat itself, so I killed the person who killed Mother Tasing, and I helped the one Levi sent to harm you escape.”

Ana was taken aback, and her eyes widened at what she heard from the Detective. “I-I don’t understand…” she said, shaking her head, as none of the Detective's words provided the answers she was looking for.

Detective sighed, perhaps realizing that Ana was confused by what he was saying. “Can I ask you something?”

Ana looked at Detective, waiting for his question. “What is it?”

Detective grinned. “Why are you curious about what happened 28 years ago?”

Ana paused and clenched her fist, as it was also a question she had been asking herself. She touched the necklace she was wearing and took a deep breath. “I-I don’t know, I just overheard Martin and his uncle talking about the Montes. That’s why I started to become curious about the tragedy that happened to them back then. I feel like I have a connection to them, or maybe… Is this also what Don Martinez wants?” she said, shaking her head and looking at Detective, who was staring at her.

“I just want to get revenge on the Villalobos for the way they mistreated me in the past, where they deceived and played with me. That’s all I want, to bring down the Villalobos, but I didn’t expect it to be so difficult. I’ve been planning everything for a long time but… It seems like everything is falling apart,” Ana said, covering her face, knowing that she couldn’t stop because she knew there was still a reason for everything and there were other reasons why she was in San Alfonso.

“I understand your desire because I’m also looking for answers to everything that happened,” Detective said, smiling at Ana.

Ana took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair before looking at Detective again. “There’s something missing in every story… Are all the things you said true?” she asked. Detective grinned, impressed by Ana's intelligence.

“Ana, believe it or not… We share the same goal. To bring down the Villalobos. And to give justice to their wrongdoing.”

Ana just lowered her head but clenched her fists.

“I came back here because of this. I want to make amends for everything I’ve done. And to uncover every action of the Villalobos, like you… I also gathered a lot of evidence against them because I would like to be the one to expose all their wrongdoings,” the Detective said firmly, clenching his fists. Ana just closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up at Detective.

“I’ll take care of your case, we can talk again. I’m sorry,” Ana said with a sigh as she opened the door, and Detective returned to his usual manner.

“Be careful! They’re dangerous people!” Martin hugged her, and Ana and Detective exchanged glances before leaving the room.

“They’re dangerous people!” Detective shouted as the police held him.

Ana sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Tyron asked.

Ana nodded and faced him. “Let him go, have mercy on him. He won’t hurt anyone anymore,” she said to Tyron, who was stunned. Ana then left the station.

“Ana, what happened? Did he do something to you?” Martin asked.

Ana shook her head and rested it on the wall.

“I just want to rest for a while,” Ana said, looking out the window, contemplating everything the Detective had told her.

She was even more confused because the Detective hadn’t provided the information she was looking for. She needed to talk to Detective again to clear things up.

Meanwhile, Detective Paul was thrown out of the car because Ana didn’t press charges against him for what he had done.

He stood up, dusted off his shorts, and grinned before walking back to the hut where he was staying. He made sure that Don Levi’s men didn’t follow him.

“Omar.”

(“Yes, uncle?”)

“I want you to go to the orphanage.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, so Detective Paul looked at his phone, but the connection was still there.

(“I know that’s what I’m going to do next, so I went to the orphanage, but the old orphanage you’re referring to has already burned down. They said no one died because the children and the caretakers were able to escape, so no one died in the fire.”)

Detective didn’t speak because he had also heard about what happened.

(“I’ve asked around and found where they relocated. I’ve also spoken to the orphanage manager, and I’ll send you the files you need, uncle.”)

He ended the call, clenched his fist, and looked at the pictures of the Villalobos family on the wall.

If his hunch was correct, he needed to protect Ana even more from Levi, whom he knew to be

a traitor. He couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes, and he couldn’t afford to be a coward. He would finally get revenge on the Villalobos, and they would experience all the pain they had caused in the past.

“Don Ignacio and Lady Stella… Sorry, I’m late.”