Clash Of Crowns (MIKHAIAH)

XXXIII || New Lead

Please note: This story may contain errors and grammatical mistakes. Your understanding and patience are appreciated as this is a work in progress.

-------------------------------------------------------------

MAXINE'S POV

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the warmth beside me. Nakadantay sa dibdib ko si aiesha at mahimbing pa ang tulog niya.

For a moment, I just lay there, watching her. Nakadagdag rin ang sinag ng araw, para mas makita ko pa ang mukha niya.

I had never felt so protective over someone, and as I watched her sleep, I realized how deep these feelings had grown.

I shifted slightly, para sana hindi siya magising, kaso mukhang nagising na siya.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me with a sleepy smile. "Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning," I replied, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, stretching a little before sitting up. "Yeah, I did." She glanced around the room, then back at me. "But we should probably get downstairs. The others are probably waiting for us."

I smiled at her, feeling the urge to keep her here just a little longer, but I knew she was right.

May mission pa kami at kailangan na naming matapos yon. I stood up, offering her a hand as she climbed out of bed. "Let's go, then."

We made our way downstairs together, and as soon as we entered the living room, I could see the others were already gathered, going over plans for the day.

Cole was seated on the couch, looking over some papers, while Skye and Gian were leaning over the table, discussing something with serious expressions.

"Well, look who finally decided to join us," nang aasar na simula ni skye pag ka kita na pag ka kita samin ni aiesha.

"Yeah, ang tagal niyo ah," Gian added mukhang seryoso lang yung pag kakasabi niya pero yung tono niya may halong pang aasar rin.

I rolled my eyes at them, but I could feel Aiesha tense beside me. I gave her hand a quick squeeze to reassure her. "We’re here now. Let’s focus."

"Morning," Aiesha said softly, offering a small smile to everyone.

"Morning," Cole said with a nod, his serious demeanor returning as he turned back to the table. "We have a lot to cover."

Pamaya maya ay dumating narin sila yves, solace at shee at pare pareho namin pinasadahan lahat ng mga impormasyon na nakalap namin. Eto ung mga bagong information tungkol dun sa  mga pangalan at transaction nung organization na pinaiimbestigahan nila dad. It felt like we were close to a breakthrough, but something was still missing.

"We’ve got leads," Skye said, pushing a photo across the table. "This guy is connected to one of the shell companies they’re using to funnel money. If we can track him, we might get closer to finding out who’s pulling the strings."

Tinignan ko yung litrato, pamilyar siya sakin pero hindi ko matandaan kung saan ko siya nakita... "What’s his name?"

"Joaquin Mendoza," Gian said. "He’s been keeping a low profile, but we know he’s a key player."

I nodded, filing the name away in my mind. "What about the organization’s name? Have we figured that out yet?"

"Not yet," Cole admitted. "But we’re close. We have a few aliases, but nothing concrete. We’re hoping today will give us the final pieces."

Before we could continue, Aiesha suddenly spoke up, her voice hesitant. "There’s something I need to tell you."

Everyone turned to look at her, and I noticed how she shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. I placed a hand on her back to steady her. "Go ahead," I encouraged.

Aiesha took a deep breath, then started. "Last night, narinig ko si dad na may ka usap sa cellphone niya. They were discussing the possibility of starting an illegal business... hindi ko na narinig yung ibang detalye dahil tinawag na kami ni mom para sa dinner."

Tumahimik naman ang lahat at mukhang napa isip rin sila.

Yves, who had been quietly observing, exchanged a glance with Solace and Shee. "That makes sense," Yves said slowly. "During the meeting with the Alvarez organization, they were discussing a new business venture. It wasn’t finalized, but there was talk of expanding into something more... questionable."

Solace nodded in agreement. "It wasn’t completely on the table, though. Marami ang naguguluhan at hindi agree sa plano ng higher ups. But if what Aiesha heard is true, it sounds like there’s more going on behind the scenes."

I leaned back in my chair, thinking. This was getting more complicated by the minute. If the Alvarez organization was involved, even tangentially, that meant we were dealing with something bigger than we originally thought.

And we couldn’t reveal our alliance with Aiesha, Yves, Solace, and Shee without risking everything.

"So, anong gagawin natin?" Gian asked, breaking the silence.

"We keep digging, hanggat hindi natin nalalaman kung sino ang nga nasa likod ng organization na yan hindi tayo titigip," I said firmly.

"We need more proof before we can confront anyone. And we need to stay under the radar. Pag nalaman to nang magulang natin, paniguradong malaking gulo to."

The others nodded in agreement, alam kong kinakabahan ang iba samin lalo pa at mag ka iba kami ng organization, pag nalaman ni dad to elite council na ang mag paparusa samin at malalang parusa ang ka ka harapin namin dahil pag tataksil to sa organization.

Ganun rin sila yves, solace at shee dahil official member rin sila ng alvarez org.

Aiesha sat quietly beside me, her hands folded in her lap. I could tell she was still worried, and I couldn’t blame her. This was her family we were talking about, after all.

I reached over and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We’ll figure this out," I whispered. "We’re in this together."

She looked up at me and nodded, though the worry in her eyes hadn’t completely disappeared.

"We’ll split up again today," Cole said, standing up and gathering the papers.

"Maxine, you and Aiesha follow up on that lead we got about the Mendoza guy. The rest will keep digging into the other names we found."

"Got it," sagot ko dito.

As we all stood to leave, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were getting closer to something big, kaya kailangan naming mag ingat sa bawat plano at hakbang na gagawin namin.
------------------------------------------------------

● Don’t forget to vote, like, and drop a comment if you love the story, your support means everything, and keep the updates coming!