“Let’s start from the beginning, Mr. Solano. ”Markus said while we’re inside the interrogating room.
“Galit sa akin si Eri,”I am losing hope. They all want me to pay for the crime I didn’t commit. I kept on saying that I am innocent, but no one wants to believe.
“Giving up isn’t in my vocabulary, Mr. Solano.”he replied.
“We’re not giving up on you. The truth must prevail. The truth must be told. You said that you’re innocent, right?”
I nodded.
“Then prove it. Prove that you did not commit any crime,”madiin niyang sinabi habang nakatingin ng diretcho sa mata ko.
“Tell me exactly what happened, Twixx.”
I nodded.
“You had a fight before the accident day, right?”he took a deep breath and leaned backward. "Can you tell me the reason why you had fight?”
“I heard from my father that he wants to kill Eri---”
“And why did he wants to kill your girlfriend?”
“Because Eri knows everything. His secrets and those crimes he did to the Medical Students every year.”I answered.
Naaalala ko pa rin kung paano siya kinuha sa akin. Naaalala ko pa rin kung paano siya magmakaawa pero wala akong nagawa. Hinayaan ko lang siya na saktan si Eri.
“Do you have evidence to prove your statement? Sa resthouse, Twixx? Meron ka bang naaalala na makakatulong sa atin?”binalik ko sakanya ang tingin at tumango.
“It’s in Eri’s phone,”I answered. She knows everything. She records everything. Every words that my dad said and every threat he said to us.
“It’s in the CCTV that you force Eri to go with you and there’s a bruise on her arms,”
“Did you check the CCTV on the elevator?”I asked. Eri knows that I didn’t force her to come with me. I just want to keep her safe. That's the fucking truth.
"Lukas is working on that evidence,”he answered.
“I am keeping her safe from my father, that’s why I asked her to go with me in Pampanga.”
“Pampanga?”he arched his brows and I nodded.
He opened an envelope and started to read the affidavit. “It’s stated in the affidavit that you went to Mariveles with Eri.”
“No, Charles’s rest house is located in Pampanga. I can give you the address of the rest house. There’s a hidden camera all over the place. Nando’n din iyong cellphone namin ni Eri. We can use that as another piece of evidence,”he nodded and checked om his phone.
“I will ask Lukas to investigate about that," abuhayan ako ng loob at nagkaroon ako ng pag-asa na makakalabas ako. At kapag nakalabas ako, hindi ko na guguluhin iyong buhay ni Eri.
“And then what happened in Pampanga?”
“We spent the whole night together and next morning… Nando’n na si daddy. Ang dami niyang kasamang body guards. Gusto nilang kunin si Eri pero hindi ako pumayag,”I feel like everything was coming back to me.
Her voice screaming my name and asking for help. Her hands holding mine.
“Paano nila nakuha si Eri?”
“They smashed a vase on my head. Nahilo ako. Nahilo ako pero naririnig ko na sinisigaw ni Eri iyong pangalan ko. Nakita ko na dinadala na nila si Eri sa sasakyan kaya pinilit kong tumayo at lumabas,”bumabalik iyong pagmamakaawa ni Eri, pero wala akong naga kung ‘di panoorin siyang kunin palayo sa akin.
“Do you do something to stop your father?”
Umiling ako. “He threatened me that he will kill Eri and her family once I move,”
Wala akong nagawa. Pinabayaan ko siya. Pinabyaan ko si daddy na kunin si Eri dahil hindi ko kaya na panoorin siyang mamatay. My father is crazy. He’s a monster.
“Tapos sinakay nila ako kotse, pero hindi ko alam kung saan nila ako dadalhin. I was blindfolded. I tried to scream and seek for help, pero walang nakakarinig sa akin.”I suffered a lot that day, we both suffered.
Eri doesn’t deserve that pain. She doesn’t deserve to hurt like that.
It’s my fault. I said that I’ll protect her, but I guess that I broke my promise.
“Pinababa nila ako sa isang bahay, pero hindi ko alam kung nasaan kami. Pumasok ako sa loob ng bahay. Hinanap ko si Eri... Tapos…”
“What happened?”
“Nawalan na ako ng malay. May humampas sa likod ko. Hindi ko nakita. Wala na akong maalala. Pagising ko nasa hospital na ako,”hindi ko manlang nakita si Eri kung ayos ba siya.
“It’s in the initial reports mentioned about a knife. It matches your fingerprints. So, you didn’t know about that?”
“Mawalan ako ng malay. Paano ko malalaman kung wala akong maalala sa nangyari?”I hate proving myself that I’m not guilty. Kasi parang wala namang naniniwala sa akin.
“You believe in me, right? You believe that I’m innocent.”I asked him.
He nodded. “I do, but when it comes to court, it’s hard to prove something especially when there’s no evidence.”
“It’s not enough that you just said that you didn’t kill her. All of the evidence leads to you. But if Lukas found another piece of evidence, I will make sure that you will get out of here.”
****
Six days passed. Wala pa rin update tungkol sa kaso ko. Hindi na rin bumibisita rito ang mga kaibigan ko. Para akong mababaliw. Wala akong kausap at walang may gustong kumausap sa akin. Iniisip ko pa rin si Eri. Iniisip ko pa rin paano kung hindi ko mapatunayan na hindi ako ang may kasalanan?
Naubos na ang lahat ng mayroon ako. Wala nang natira para sa akin.
“Solano, may bisita ka.”tumayo ako at dinala na naman nila ako sa visiting room. Doon ko na nga nakita si Markus kasama si Ryker.
“Nandito ka na naman, Ryker.”sabi ko sa kanya dahil parang araw-araw niya na niya akong binibisita dito.
“Magkakasama kami sa labas tapos mag-isa ka lang dito,”sagot niya.
“Gusto mo ba samahan si Twixx sa loob? Kaya ko naman gawan ng paraan.”tinignan ni Ryker ng masama si Markus dahil sa sinabi neto.
“How’s my case?”I asked.
“I will quit my job if I didn’t win this case, Twixx.”I looked at Marcus because of what he said.
“Markus,”
He chuckled.”I received a lot of threats. They want me to drop your case, but you know how hard-headed I am.”
“Being a hard-headed will kill you, Markus. Drop my case. I will find another lawyer."
“Wala ngang gustong tumanggap sa kaso mo, ‘di ba? Pinasa na nga sa akin ni Kyle 'to dahil pinagtangkaan din ang buhay niya. At saka malapit na ‘to matapos. I’ll do my best if this is the last time.”
He's too brave to face his own death.
“I wanna give back the help you did to me before, Twixx. Was that an enough reason for me to not drop the case?”
Silence.
“Threats are part of my job. What matters to me right now is you. And my promise that I will get you out of here."
“I trust you, Atty. Gonzales.”I said and that made him grinned.
“This is my first case. I wanna win this one,”he replied while tapping his fingers on the table. Parang may binabalak siya pero hindi ko maintindihan kung ano.
Parang meron silang hindi sinasabi sa akin, pero pinagkakatiwalaan ko silang dalawa.
“Konting tiis na lang, Twixx, malapit na itong matapos."
BINABASA MO ANG
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