The Gangster Princess

Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Unseen, Unsaid

James Alaric Ruiz

Sa gabi ng kaguluhan, I move like a shadow—quiet, swift, gone before they realize I was even there. They call me Phantom Striker.

Pero bago ako naging multo sa dilim, I was just a boy—walang pangalan, walang direksyon.

Walang batang pinangarap maging gangster. Pero minsan, the world gives you no choice. I grew up in a house filled with screams—not the playful ones, but the kind that made you flinch. My father’s fists spoke louder than his words, and my mother she just learned to keep quiet. Like silence could protect her. Like silence could save me.

Life doesn’t hand you what you want. It hands you pain—and waits to see what you do with it.

I was nine when my world broke.

My father was a drunk. Violent. Wala siyang araw na hindi sumisigaw, walang gabing hindi kami natatakot. I used to watch my mom beg for peace with her silence, her bruises hidden behind long sleeves and trembling smiles. Pero ang pinaka-masakit? When she started apologizing to me for being weak. I wanted to protect her, but I was just a kid. Helpless. Useless.

Then one night, I snapped.

Narinig ko siyang sumigaw. Isa na namang gabi ng kalbaryo. I ran to their room, saw my mom on the floor, clutching her ribs. I picked up the nearest thing I could find—a lamp—and swung it with all my strength. Blood. Silence. Then screaming. Police.

And just like that, I was gone.

Sa DSWD ako napunta. Foster homes. Shelters. I bounced from place to place. People only took me in for the money. Pag wala na yung allowance, palalayasin. Lahat pansamantala. Wala talagang totoong tahanan.

At twelve, I ran away. Mas pinili ko pang matulog sa ilalim ng tulay kaysa sa bahay na walang pagmamahal. I learned to survive on the streets. I learned to steal, to fight, to run. I stopped being James. I became invisible. A shadow.

Pero kahit anong pilit kong itago ang sarili ko sa mundo, someone still found me.

Hanggang sa isang gabi, someone finally saw me.

“Ang bilis ng kamay mo,” a voice said behind me habang sinusubukan kong buksan ang kotse ng isang lasing. “Pero sablay ang timing mo.”

I turned. Cassie.

Sa tabi niya, si Tyler, naka-ngiti na parang alam na niya ang buong buhay ko. That was the first time I met the BST.

Cassie offered me a choice. Hindi niya ako pinilit. Just laid it out—shelter, food, protection. In return, gamitin ko raw ang bilis ko. But more than that, she offered me something I didn’t know I needed: a purpose.

Hindi ko sila kilala. Pero I could feel it—they were dangerous. Pero oddly enough, they didn’t hurt me. Cassie just looked at me, as if weighing my soul in her hands.

“You want out of this kind of life?” tanong niya. “Join us. We can teach you better. Or stay here and die slow.”

She wasn’t offering salvation. She was offering survival—with better odds.

I said yes.

And that’s how I joined BST.

I wasn’t the best fighter at first. But I was fast, quiet, and precise. Tyler trained me in stealth. Tres taught me how to use pressure points and how to end a fight before it even starts. Max toughened me up, kahit halos mamatay ako sa sparring sessions. And Cassie? She honed my instincts. Sharpened me until I could read danger before it even arrived.