Chapter 38

Ana couldn’t sleep because of her conversation with Detective. She was still thinking about everything she had heard and learned. She took a deep breath and paced in front of the bed, trying to piece everything together, but there was still missing information. Furthermore, she didn’t find what she was looking for.

“Can’t sleep?” Martin asked as he woke up and noticed Ana wasn't beside him.

“You can sleep more,” Ana replied. Martin furrowed his brow when he saw Ana couldn't sit still.

“What did he tell you?” Martin asked seriously. Ana stopped pacing and scratched her hand, then shook her head at Martin. “Did he hurt you?”

Ana looked at Martin and shook her head. “No. He will never hurt me.”

Martin furrowed his brow even more because Ana seemed sure that the man wouldn't hurt her. “Then, what is it? What’s bothering you?”

Ana sighed, crossed her arms, and turned away from Martin. “I-I don’t know…? That old man… He’s not crazy,” Ana said with her eyes closed, then turned to look at Martin again.

“What? If he’s not crazy, who is he?” Martin asked. Ana just stared at Martin and bit her lip.

“He’s Detective Paul Enriquez.”

Martin froze and held his chin, the name Ana mentioned was familiar to him. “Paul Enriquez? Hmm… Wait…” he said, looking at Ana. “Damn. I know him. How did you know that he’s not crazy?”

Ana sighed and sat next to Martin. “I felt that he’s not crazy. When he saw me get hit by a rock, I saw him surprised by what I did. So… I spoke with him,” Ana said.

Martin paused and remembered what happened at the station when Ana talked to the m

an as if she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

“He told me many things. One of them is that he was Don Ignacio’s right-hand man.”

Martin was surprised by Ana's words and remembered seeing him with Don Ignacio when he was a child, going to their

hacienda.

“I met him when I was young… It’s all make sense now.”

Ana nodded, but was still worried that she might hear more from the Detective. “Like me, he also wants to get revenge on the Villalobos, especially Levi Villalobos,” she said and sighed. “With everything he told me, I don't know what other information I'm looking for. That’s not what I wanted to hear from him.”

Martin approached Ana and supported her. “Hey, you’re not alone, okay?”

Ana nodded and clenched her fists. “I don’t know! I just want to get revenge on the Villalobos! All of them because of what they did to me! That's all I want! But now… Everything seems to be getting more complicated.”

Martin hugged Ana to calm her down, but she still seemed unsettled.

“We can’t trust anyone, Martin. We can't afford to make mistakes in our actions. They might be watching our every move,” Ana said firmly. “I still want to hear more from Detective. I feel like I'll learn more from him about what really happened to the Montes 28 years ago.” Ana added.

Martin stopped and pulled away from the embrace, then looked at Ana, who couldn’t meet his gaze. “No. You’re in danger!” Martin said firmly to Ana, holding her by the cheeks, but Ana just smiled.

“If this is the only way to bring them down, I’ll do it. Even if it means risking my life. They didn’t just kill me! They didn’t just kill me!” Ana shouted, and they both paused. Ana looked away and bit her lip.

“What do you mean?” Martin asked seriously. Ana closed her eyes and smiled bitterly.

“I-I was pregnant… I was pregnant when I had the accident, Martin. Didn't you see it in the doctor’s findings when I was operated on? They tried to kill us. They killed my child,” Ana said, caressing her stomach. “Do you know how I felt when I remembered everything that happened to me? I remembered I was pregnant before the accident. I didn’t tell Mateo because I wanted to surprise him, but I was the one who got surprised.” She laughed sarcastically and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you,” Ana bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears as she looked at Martin.

“That’s also why I’m so angry at them. Why I’m even more determined to get revenge on them. That’s why I also want to know what really happened 28 years ago because that’s what I’ll use against them,” she said, standing up. “I still need to talk to him,” she added, about to grab her phone when Martin stopped her, so she looked back at Martin. “Martin?”

After hearing Ana’s words, he didn’t know what to feel, but there was one thing he wanted to know… “Why do you want to know what happened 28 years ago?” Martin asked seriously. Ana paused and noticed Martin’s blank expression.

“I don’t know! Please, Martin, if you won’t help me… Then, fine. I’ll do it alone,” she said, lying down on the bed. She turned her back on Martin and pulled the blanket over her, closing her eyes, knowing that things would change because of what she had admitted.

She heard Martin leave, so she held the blanket tightly. “I-I’m sorry…” Ana whispered and closed her eyes, but tears fell from her eyes.

Meanwhile, Martin paced in front of the table in the library, thinking about what Ana had told him. Until he decided to call Ana's doctor.

(“Martin?”)

He took a deep breath and held his head. “Was Ana pregnant before the surgery?”

The doctor was silent for a moment before speaking. (“Oh… That… I tried to tell you, but you were too preoccupied at the time. She had a miscarriage when she had an accident. I apologize for not informing you.”)

Martin ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath, clenching his fist. He ended the call and sat down on the swivel chair, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling.

“F-ck,” he sighed heavily, resting his arm on his forehead, feeling everything crumble.

While the detective was looking at the files sent by his nephew, he was startled by a piece of information. “N-no… It can’t be…”

***

Ana and Martin returned to their respective tasks, focusing on their work and planning their next steps. They needed to observe Levi’s actions against them.

“So… This old man was Don Ignacio’s former right-hand man? One of the survivors of the tragedy?”

Ana nodded at Tyron, whom she had asked to go to the mansion to discuss what had happened at the station.

“So, why did he come back?”

Ana shrugged and leaned back in her swivel chair. “For revenge? Just like I want to do,” she replied while reviewing documents. “There are still many people against me here. Levi hasn’t decided whether to kick me out or let me stay. They’re not convinced by what I’ve told them.” She added, dropping the papers on the table and leaning back. “Ugh! I hate papers!” she complained, spinning around in her swivel chair.

Tyron chuckled and shook his head. “They’re planning to investigate your background and where you came from,” he said.

Ana laughed, realizing that the high-ranking people in San Alfonso were quite different, as they seemed to want to meddle in her private life as well.

“Just do whatever they want. They already know I’m an orphan. My foster parents are dead. They won’t find out anything more about my past,” Ana said with a smile, looking at the pictures on the whiteboard. “Mother Tasing was killed because she was a maid for the Montes. She was probably a loyal worker for Don Ignacio, which is why they wanted her dead.”

Tyron nodded and crossed his arms. “So… What will we do now?”

Ana looked at Tyron. “Instruct your people to keep a close eye on the detective. We can’t predict what will happen. He might be next once his true identity is revealed. We can’t trust anyone; our plans might fail.” Ana sighed. “Continue monitoring Levi, and let me know his next moves.”

Tyron nodded and turned to Ana. “Did you have a fight with Martin?”

Ana stopped and slowly shook her head. “No, we just had a misunderstanding,” Ana said seriously. Tyron scratched his head and just grinned.

“Have sex with him. Martin is just moody,” Tyron said with a smirk. Ana’s eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed her pen and angrily threw it at Tyron, who caught it.

“Get out! I’ll call you later. TSK!” Ana shouted in frustration. Tyron just laughed as he left Ana's office.

Ana shook her head at the man who did nothing but tease her. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She didn’t know how she would talk to Martin. He might still be surprised by what she said about her pregnancy.

She held her stomach and clenched her fists as she remembered when she first found out she was pregnant.

*** FLASHBACK

“Congratulations, Mrs. Villalobos! You are 1 month pregnant! Where is Mateo?”

Ana just smiled and touched her stomach. “I want to surprise him,” she said with a smile to her OB, who just shook her head at her.

“Just do whatever you want! Hahaha. Come back here if you want advice from me,” the doctor said and winked at her, so she just laughed before saying goodbye and going home.

She wanted to surprise her husband, but before that, she would make him suffer through her cravings.

*** END OF FLASHBACK

Ana’s fists trembled as she remembered all their dreams with Mateo, but it was all ruined because of greed. She didn’t regret not telling Mateo right away because all their time together, all of it, was a mistake.

A mistake she made in her entire life.

“You killed my child. You didn’t even give him a chance to be with me. I swear, you will experience everything you put me through,” Ana said firmly, wiping away her tears.

Ana stopped when someone knocked on the door, so she quickly straightened up and composed herself.

“Teresita?”

Teresita smiled at her and entered the room. “Someone left this outside the gate, it’s addressed to you, Ana.” Teresita placed a small box on Ana’s desk with a smile. She bowed before leaving the office.

Ana furrowed her brow as she looked at the small box Teresita had placed on her desk. She picked it up and shook it, but there was no sound coming from inside. She then opened the box and found a piece of paper inside. Furthermore, she read the contents of the paper.

“I left a diary outside Don Martinez’s mansion. I don’t know if he still has it or if he threw it away. I’m sorry, I can’t leave the hut because Levi’s men are watching me. All your questions will be answered once you read Lady Stella’s diary. If you want to see me, meet me alone. — Detective.”

“Lady Stella’s diary?” Ana quickly put the paper in her pocket and left her office. She went straight to the mansion’s library, which used to be Don Martinez’s office and was now Martin’s office.

She searched for Lady Stella’s diary, hoping to find answers to all her questions. Furthermore, she looked through the bookshelves in the library, but all she found were old books. Then, she also searched the entire library but couldn’t find Lady Stella’s diary. She went to Martin’s desk and noticed that his things were organized, but she shook her head and continued searching. But, she couldn’t find it, so she sat in the swivel chair.

“Did Don Martinez throw it away?” she sighed heavily and leaned back from exhaustion after searching the library. “What does it look like?” she asked herself in frustration and kicked the table, then heard a sound.

She looked at the table and kicked it again, and the sound was the same.

She knelt under Martin's table and tapped the spot she had kicked earlier. It sounded different without… “Shit!” she whispered, as she removed the items on the table and widened her eyes when she saw a small vault.

“What’s the password?”

She scratched her head because she didn’t know the password for the vault. So, she tried Martin’s birthday, but it didn’t work, and she also tried Don Martinez’s birthday, but it still didn’t work.

“If not their birthdays, what’s the password?”

She wiped her sweat due to the difficulty of guessing the password for the vault. She thought of putting the birthday of Don Martinez’s wife because she saw it in the information she had gathered.

“06-21-6—Huh? Still not working?”

Ana hit the vault because she couldn’t think of any other possible password. “Help me, Don Martinez!” she groaned and leaned on the table.

Ana thought again about what the password could be and remembered some information she had gathered about the Montes' background. She tried Lady Stella's birthday or Don Ignacio’s death as the password… She stopped when the vault suddenly opened.

“Seriously? Even that, Don Martinez?” she muttered as she looked inside. She grinned when she saw a notebook inside. “I found you!”

She took the notebook and closed the vault, and she rearranged the items she had disturbed so that when Martin entered, he wouldn’t suspect that someone had been in the library.

She tucked the diary into her waist and went straight to her office. She locked the door to prevent anyone from entering, and she sat on the swivel chair and began reading Lady Stella’s diary.

The night had fallen, but she still hadn’t finished the diary. She couldn’t find any information about what happened 28 years ago. She stretched her arms and leaned back.

“It’s already late, but the diary still hasn’t reached the climax! Ugh!” she muttered, rubbing her temples and eyes, as she had been reading the diary all day.

There was a knock on the door, so she quickly hid the diary under her desk before opening it to see who it was.

“M-Martin!” she exclaimed in surprise at the man in front of her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She avoided eye contact, afraid that Martin might suspect something. “I’m just finishing my work. I still have a lot to do. Do you need anything from me?” she replied.

Martin looked at her, almost as if he could see right through her, but he just sighed. “Let’s eat,” he said, then turned away, making her pout because it seemed like Martin was still upset.

“Please ask Teresita to bring me some food here in the office, Martin. Thank you. I still have a lot to finish,” Ana said with a smile. Martin paused but didn’t say anything and just went downstairs for

dinner.

She sighed and closed the door, locking it before returning to his seat to continue reading. Despite feeling sleepy and hungry, she felt compelled to continue reading. She paused when she found the surname she had been looking for. Looking at the date, she was shocked to realize that Lady Stella had written the continuation of her diary 28 years ago.

Ana took a sip of the coffee that Teresita had brought her, as she was at an exciting part...