Tides of Betrayal (Casa del Pueblo Series #1)

Kabanata thirty-four

Kabanata thirty-four

More than anything

Apollo's expression softened, isang matinding kalungkutan ang bumalot sa kanyang mukha. "I was at school," he continued, his voice thickening as if the memories were flooding back, sharper than ever. "I remember walking into our neighborhood, and there was smoke... so much smoke. The entire block was in flames. The house I grew up in, the streets I played on... lahat sinunog. Ang pamilya ko, Elle... they were still inside."

I felt a lump rise in my throat as his words sank in. He looked at me, his eyes distant, almost like he was looking past me, reliving the horror of that day.

"I lost everything," sa nanginginig na boses. "Wala akong naabutan. Wala ni isang katawan na ililibing. The fire had taken them all."

My heart clenched. I had never known this part of him, had never imagined this kind of pain had been buried beneath the surface of the boy I once loved.

"I spent years, Miss Elle," patuloy niya, his voice growing quieter, but no less intense. "Years trying to figure out who did it. Why? I grew up with that emptiness, that anger... lahat ng iyon, dala ko habang tumatanda ako. And every step I took, I was chasing shadows, building something for myself, hoping I could find the truth."

He looked up, his eyes locking onto mine with a rawness that made it hard to breathe.

"And then I found out," aniya, his voice now rough, tinged with both anger and sorrow. "I found out it wasn't just some accident or random act of violence. Your father ordered it."

I took a sharp breath, my body freezing at the accusation. My mind spun, refusing to accept what I was hearing. "No..." bulong ko, shaking my head in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"He wanted the land," mapait na sabi ni Apollo. "All of it. Kailangan ng tatay mo yung lupa sa Santa Fe, Elle, and mine... mine was in the way. So your father had it burned down. He made sure no one survived to challenge him."

The silence between us was deafening, the weight of his words crashing over me like a wave. May mga ginagawa si Daddy na ayaw ko pero I know... he's never capable of something like this. Never capable of destroying lives just to build something new.

"No, Apollo," ani ko ulit sa basag na boses, tumutulo na ngayon ang luha ko. "Hindi gagawin 'yon ni Daddy. He's a good man."

Isang mapait na tawa ang pinakawalan ni Apollo, his eyes hardening. "A good man? Maybe to you. Maybe to the world that saw him in his suit, shaking hands and building his empire. But to me? To my family? He was a monster, Elle. He was the reason my life turned into a nightmare."

Hindi ko na napigilan ang mga luhang umaagos sa aking mukha as I struggled to reconcile the man I knew as my father with the man Apollo was describing. "Bakit hindi mo sinabi sa akin?" tanong ko, my voice barely a whisper, my hands trembling.

Apollo's jaw clenched, and I could see the battle raging in his eyes. His voice dropped to a low, rough whisper, as if every word weighed heavily on his soul. "Elle... paano ko sasabihin sa'yo? How could I look into your eyes... those eyes I fell in love with... and tell you that your father was the reason I lost everything?"

My heart skipped a beat as his words cut through the air, sharp and filled with pain.

"You don't understand," patuloy niya, his gaze locked on mine, unwavering. "The moment I realized what your father had done, I couldn't breathe. I hated him, Elle. I hated the man who took my family from me. But you? You were everything I didn't expect. You were... you were my peace in a world filled with chaos. The only thing that made sense in my life."