Dark secret

"Is that really you, Nica?" Rita was still hesitant about the woman who introduced herself as her friend.

"Yes, I am. I gave you the name Tata."

Eager to see her friend again, Rita immediately believed Danica. She said many things that proved she was Nica. Many introduced themselves to her back then after she made public about finding a friend. But none of them can say the same names. Only Danica matched as her lost friend.

Ever since she met Danica, she had become part of her family. She was also happy because she liked her brother. But her older brother had no interest in her. She did everything to make her happy.

"Have you ever asked her something that only we know?" Nicole said to Rita when she didn't speak.

Rita shook her head sadly in response. Because she believed her, she didn't think to ask her the thing that was the most secret between her and Nica back then.

"How can I be sure she didn't tell you the secret so you know that thing?" Rita was still not trusting her.

"Ask her," she dared Rita.

"If you're really my friend, why are you just telling me this now? What's your motive for all this?"

"I need your help so I can find my other child."

"What?" Rita asked, she felt like she became temporarily deaf.

"I know you know Danica has an ovary problem. Believe it or not, she just used me to have a child with Steven for her own gain."

"No…!" She covered her mouth with both palms while shaking her head. Gradually, everything Nicole said to her made sense.

"She imprisoned me and everything she said, that I want to marry your brother is just a lie. I managed to escape with Sean, so I'm still alive today."

Tears welled up in Rita's eyes and she could feel the hardship that Nicole went through.

"You are my only hope to help me. She trusts you and you are the only one who can get close to her that she will not suspect. Please, help me find my other child."

Rita felt her head grow bigger at what she heard. "Child? W-What do you mean by that?"

"I gave birth to triplets."

Rita covered her own mouth as she lose her balance. She couldn’t believe everything Nicole had revealed. She has yet to get over Danica's true identity. And now? She has three nieces and nephew and Danica is keeping one of them? She could not accept that the person she fully accepted was capable of murdering.

"I know it's hard to believe, but you're the only one I thought could help me, Rita. Now I'm going to ask you, save my child!"

Rita moved away from Nicole, as if she would get burned by her touch. She shook her head several times because her mind still could not accept everything. Her muscles trembled with mixed emotions. Hatred, sadness and fear. She hated herself for letting Danica make a fool out of her. Sadness because she did something bad to the person who was her true friend. And fear for her niece that Danica allegedly hid. If everything Nicole said was true, it's not unlikely that Danica will harm her for her own happiness.

"Rita, please! You're my only hope!" Nicole continued to plead with her.

Rita's trembling hand reached for the doorknob. She felt like she was choked and needed to breathe fresh air right away.

Nicole burst into tears when Rita came out of the room without responding to her. She didn’t seem to believe her and chose to turn her back on her.

"Is there a problem, Hija?" Asuncion asked Rita when she saw her in the garden, holding onto her own chest.

Rita was surprised when she looked back at the old woman. She had been there for a few minutes, trying to calm herself.

"You're pale, are you feeling unwell?" The old woman asked worriedly.

Instead of answering her grandmother, she hugged her. "I'm sorry, Grandma! I'm to blame for everything, why an innocent person is hurting now. If only I had listened to you before."

Confused, Asuncion pulled away her granddaughter’s face that was buried in her shoulder. Her cheeks were wet with tears and she could see in her eyes the agony.

"I can't tell you the reason yet. But I will find a way to correct my mistake." Rita had already made a decision and she will do it on her own.

It all started with her as to why an impostor had entered her family. So she will make everything right. She had to be careful because it could affect their lives.

"Whatever it is, I know you can do that right. I'm only here if you need help." She said to her granddaughter.

"Thank you, Grandma!" Rita hugged her grandmother again and she let her cry on her shoulder.

After treating Danica's elbow, Steven left her and went to Nicole. But she didn't want to face him, nor talk to him. He just decided to go see the two children playing in their playroom.

Danica was so happy even though she hurt herself. Even though Steven said nothing, she knew he worried about her. He believed that Nicole had hurt her, so he did not force her to help Nicole regain her memories further. She smiled widely and she reached for her phone and called Brando.

"Ma'am, the old man's phone is locked, so I can't open it."

"Never mind that, the important thing is that they don't have any other evidence now. If that old man survives, he's lucky." She smirked while talking to Brando.

"That old man's life is like a cat's, Ma'am." Brando laughed.

"How is the girl?"

Brando turned to the girl sitting in the room where they locked her up. "She still doesn't want to eat, Ma'am. She wants to see her Grandma Soledad."

The smile disappeared from Danica's lips and she was irritated. "Force her to eat because she can't get sick!"

Brando sighed. He had no love for children and he did not know how to make her obey with just gentle words. Their boss strictly instructed that they should not scare the girl.

Danica quickly turned off the phone when she heard a knock and Rita entered.

"How are you feeling?" Rita asked Danica sadly.

"Did you cry?" Danica asked her, instead of answering her question.

Rita sadly approached her and sat down on the bed. "Mommy and Daddy's death anniversary is tomorrow."

"Oh, sorry!" She grabbed Rita's hand and looked at her with sympathy. She knew that every death anniversary of her parents, she would cry and blame herself for reasons she did not know.

"Just now I also remembered something. Do you remember?" Rita asked her.

Danica's forehead furrowed slightly and she thought about what she meant.

"I know it's been a long time, but my conscience still haunts me."

"Is there something you're not telling me about the past?" Danica asked her. She could see that Rita was feeling miserable.

"I have a dark secret, don't you remember?" Rita could clearly see Danica's eyes rolling and her confusion. She clenched her fist, knowing what her reaction meant. She was still hoping that Nicole was not saying the truth.

"I'm sorry, we were so young and because of the problems I have now, I forgot some things." Danica gave an excuse and prayed that Rita would believe.

Rita forced a smile and reminded herself that she needed to stay calm. Danica can't know that she's suspecting her.

"Don't be sad, that accident happened a long time ago, so we should forget about it." Danica consoled her.

"You’re right, but I want us to go back to that island and get the thing you buried there."

Danica felt irritated, but didn't make it obvious. She didn't have time for her drama right now. "Can it wait after your brother and I get married?"

Her nails had sunk into her own palm because of the tightness of her fist. Before, she did not give a different meaning to her obsession to marry her brother, but now everything became clear to her.

The real Nica knew that the object she had buried in a part of the island was important to her. She was the only one who knew where she buried it.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed your rest. I'll leave now so you can rest." Rita said goodbye to her.

After leaving the room, Rita burst into tears again. She was a big fool because Danica had been using her for a long time. When she looked up, she saw Nicole looking at her from outside the door of her room. Sadness was on her face and pity for whatever she was feeling now.

Before going to bed, Nicole called Gaven. She breathed a sigh of relief because his father's finger moved, though he had not woken up yet.

WHILE lying down, everything that happened twenty years ago, came back to Rita's mind.

"As your father instructed, try to live and keep your true identity secret."

Seven-year-old Rita stared at the girl she was talking to. She comforted her after telling her about herself. Her father was wounded in the head because a heavy object fell on him to save her. Her mother could not leave the place where she was trapped by the water. Before he breathed his last breath, her father strictly instructed her not to reveal her true identity to her brother and grandmother. Her birth mother had allegedly died already and her father did not want her life to change because of it.

"But, what if Grandma finds out and she rejects me?" Rita asked her new friend in tears. She was still resentful to her father and her known mother.

"Give it to me." Nica took the key her father handed her before he died. That was the key to where the document about the secrets that led to her birth was hidden.

"What would you do?"

"I'll bury it and leave it here on the island so you can forget about it. Because as long as you hold on to it, you'll only remember the painful truth."

"Promise me that only the two of us will know about it."

Tears welled up in Rita's eyes again after remembering the past. Her grandmother and brother did not know that they have different mothers. And she was thankful to Nicole for not telling others about her secret.