Vindicated

Chapter 1

Home?

We arrived in Madrid, Spain around midnight. The limousine we are currently in is headed to El Castillo De Luca. Kaiji, Zendaya, Tío Rafa and our men rode in different cars. Two cars were in front and the rest was following behind us, guarding the vehicle we were in.

I wore a black trench coat and a face cover to avoid being seen by the media earlier and to avoid alarming the Ndrangheta Mafia, De Luca Mafia's main rival. Now that I'm back, not only will the Ndrangheta Mafia come after me but also the other organizations that want me dead. All of them will start crawling out from their hides now that I am back.

"The entire clan of De Luca will come later. All of them helped in winning the trial, thank them when you get home, yeah?" Papá asserted while sipping on his wine.

"I will, Papá. And why are you drinking wine? It's literally midnight!" I scolded him. Ibinaba niya naman agad ang hawak na wine glass at sinimangutan ako. I heard Devon & Dean's chuckles on my side.

"Finally! Alam mo bang ayaw makinig ni dad sa amin? Palagi 'yang umiinom, gabi-gabi. It's a good thing you're back, mi hermosa. Please, scold him as much as you want." Ani Devon at inakbayan ako. He was smirking at our father who's currently on a defensive face.

Pabukas palang ang bunganga ko ngunit agad niya akong inunahang mag-salita. "FYI. In my defense, I do drink everyday. BUT! It's only like... one glass of Henri Dudognon Heritage. Plus! It's only champagne, mi princesa. No biggie!'' He said defensively, even raising his index finger and widening his eyes like it would help in preventing me from scolding him.

"Only? It contains 41% of alcohol, you'll die early from drinking that everyday." Gatong ni Dean.

"Everyday isn't good, thrice a week is enough papá. Pag nalaman kong araw-araw ka na namang umiinom, gagawin kong pulutan 'yung mga ahas mo." Panakot ko sakanya. I know how much he adore his snakes.

"Galawin mo na ang lahat, wag lang ahas ko. Pupulotanin ko 'si bigmac at claudia sige ka!" Pinanlakihan pa niya ako ng mata. bruh.

"Bruh. Hindi ko kayo kapamilya. May saltik kayo sa utak." Umiiling na ani Devon.

"Y'all crazy." Iling-iling na saad Deangelo. Makapagsalita naman 'tong mga ito. Parang hindi obsessed sa lion at mga tigre nila, ah?

"How are you, darling?" Dad asked, looking at me with his jet black eyes. It was confronted with longing and sadness.

The light atmosphere was gone; it was now replaced by a gloomy and serious one. I felt my brother's serious demeanor as they intently waited for my response.

I tightened my lips and glanced downward, a sense of unease washing over me at a simple question. My body grew cold, and I could feel the trembling in my hands. Beads of sweat began to form on my palms, forehead, and neck. In a split second, memories of the dreadful Mount Maramo incident from two years ago rushed back to me, causing me to feel as though I was trapped in a suffocating, anxious place.

Itinago ko ang aking nanginginig na mga kamay sa bulsa ng coat at naglabas ng pekeng ngiti sa aking mukha. I was always good at hiding my emotions. It was my forte. But at the moment, all my skills seemed to have disappeared.

"I'll manage, dad." I was able to say in my hoarse voice. I'm sure they noticed how I reacted. They didn't say anything but Devon held my hand, Dean hugged me and Papá joined us. A lone tear escaped from my eye.

I let out a shaky breath to stop my tears from falling further. I didn't want to be seen as a  weak person. All my life, people only saw my inevitable side, I couldn't risk showing them my vulnerable side. They'll take advantage of it. They always do.