PRICELESS

Mr. Azzua took a very long blink. Then he peeled his eyes, massaging his temple with the free hand to calm himself down as he picked up the conversation with a different tone. He spoke calmly. "He's responsible for unspeakable acts. He kidnapped and tortured Deep, my son. He is in bad shape."

Shock and disbelief painted Hellen's face as she struggled to comprehend the gravity of Mr. Azzua's words. "No, that can't be true. Ejay wouldn't do that. What proof do you even have that it was him who did that to your so-called son?"

"He's been haunting us for a while, Hellen. My family, my wife, and me." Mr. Azzua interrupted, his voice quivering with the weight of the revelations. "He has tormented us for a long while without us knowing that it was really him, and now he's crossed a line that I cannot ignore. He has gone way too far! Involving my son is unforgivable."

Hellen's eyes widened with a mix of horror and denial. But then, the anger that she felt for that family surpassed every other sense, turning her into a ruthless, bitter woman! "Well, do not forget that Ejay is your son too, Azzua!”

“I do not have a bastard who is such evil! Someone who takes pleasure and draws satisfaction from hurting other people cannot be my son!” Mr. Azzua affirmed, his red eyes denoting the intensity of the weight his affirmations carried.

Another bitter smirk emitted from Hellen’s lips. Actually, it was just a quick one that did not last even for a second. It was cloaked by a serious face, her nerves screeching as her muscles stiffened with anger. She spoke between gritted teeth. “Of course. You never cared. You never loved him. You never wanted him. You never acknowledged him. It does not come to me as a surprise that you still do not want to be associated with him even now. You have always been a selfish man!” She fumed.

“You are dragging this back to the past. This has nothing to do with it. Perhaps it actually does.” Mr. Azzua’s mind snapped all of a sudden. “Is this why he is doing all this? Just to seek recognition and acceptance." He queried and stayed hopeful to get clarification from the other side, but what he got was so contrary to what he was expecting.

“And just what makes you think that I would tell you anything even if I knew, huh? The nerve you had to call me to demand answers after you spit me and my son out of your life like we were stinking garbage!” She fired, her voice echoing in the lonely, lit room, the echoes of her own voice bouncing back to her own ears.

Mr. Azzua clenched his jaws, veins erupting from her forehead, a clear indication that the conversation was not going like he wanted. “I do not want to imagine that you are in any way in support of your son’s heinous acts, Hellen.” He urged.

Hellen sighed after noting that she had gotten on the man’s nerves. “Look, you are wasting my time. All I will say is that you brought this upon yourselves. No child deserves to be treated the way you did with my son. Pay the price and stop whining. Knowing my son, if he has already broken the walls of jail, you and your family better start hiding. I wish you all the luck in the world in that.”

“And you are so happy about what your son is doing? Killing and hurting innocent people? Kidnapping and whatnot? You could be indicted for supporting such atrocities, Hellen! You better watch what you say or do because this is not a joke.” Mr. Azzua warned with a serious tone.

“And who will accuse me, huh? You? Stop with your cheap threats, Azzua!” Hellen said.

“You don’t want to dare me, Hellen. The lives of my people are in grave danger. Innocent lives have been lost, and a lot more are in danger as we speak. I will not hesitate to hand you over to the law if I find out that you are hiding your son.” Mr. Azzua warned again.

“I don’t expect anything less from you, but the truth is that my son is not with me. I know nothing about him or his whereabouts. But do you know what else?” A fleeting moment of silence passed through them. Then she spoke calmly, softly, but with immense loath. “I don’t care what happens to you or to your disgusting family. You spit me out like I was nothing before. You ruined my life, and you never cared about Ejay from day one. You-”

“You and I had an agreement, Hellen! And I lived to that agreement.” Mr. Azzua interjected, feeling pissed off.

“Your money, Mr. Azzua, meant nothing! I did not touch even a single dime of it! It is still lying in the account, from the first cent up to the last one. Go take your money. I don’t need it. I never needed it! It couldn’t buy me! Not even all your wealth can, Mr. Azzua! My son and I were priceless!” Her voice was cold, every word of it carrying the same weight as the others.

That cut through the man’s pain. He had thought that they had come to an amicable agreement back then. But now Hellen was making him feel like he had made that decision alone without her consent. All the same, he did not care, she thought. Their safety mattered the most. “Well then, tell your son to brace himself, Hellen! The moment I catch him, he will be sorry for all that he has done! I will personally make sure that he pays not only for what he has done to my son but for every single person that he has victimized.” He made his final remark, and he did not want to hear her riposte!