Igniting a Heartbeat

It's your love
That always gets me back on top
And it's your love
That always makes me feel enough (feel enough)
And I knew on the day I met you
That you would save my life
It's your love
That always gets me back on top

Back on top Honne
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                                            1 year later​​​​

 

 

 

​"Franco Sy, Marjorie Sy at Yeorum Sy, mga may-ari ng isang kilalang kompanya sa bansa– ang Sy's Pharmaceutical Laboratory, na sangkot umano sa paggawa ng mga ipinagba-bawal na gamot na mas delikado pa sa , at sa pagpatay ng mga iilang empleyado, umamin na..."

 

 

 

I immediately closed the television after hearing the wonderful news, smirking while doing so. Then, I placed the remote control on the table, put my arms under my neck atsaka marahang sumandig sa swivel chair ko, sighing in pure satisfaction.

 

 

 

Well, I am just so happy with the news and of course, with the turn of events.

 

 

 

Isang taon ko din kasing pinag-isipan at pinag-planuhan kung paano ko ba pababagsakin ang mga Sy's na 'yan. And if you're wondering why it took me a year even though we have ample evidence naman... well, yun ay dahil I want to take my sweet-sweet time muna in dealing with them.

 

 

 

And by that, I meant, slow torture. Kumbaga, starting from the bottom all the way to the top ang peg of revenge ko.

 

 

 

What I did is that I slowly planned for their company to go bankrupt first. With the help of the spies– whose sole purpose is to give us informations everytime na may magaganap na secret drug transactions sakanila– that I implanted to their company.

 

 

 

And with that, natutulungan nito sila Tito Jace and his team sa pagre-raid, preventing them from doing their transactions, which cost them to lost millions upon millions of money.

 

 

 

And of course, trust from their "so-called" partners.

 

 

 

Not just that, I also spread rumors regarding about the dark secrets of their company– and by that, I meant the illegal activities that they were doing and of course, the murders– all around the country and even sell informations to the major exclusive broadcasting companies here sa bansa to slowly ruin their reputation.

 

 

 

Then, my Mom, Mommylola and I also purchased our own pharmaceutical laboratory– pero under a different name and a pseudo owner na gumaganap bilang CEO para hindi kami mahalata– to rival theirs. The difference though? Is that di hamak na mas malinis ang intensyon, at mas may malasakit talaga kami sa mga tao't empleyado namin.

 

 

 

And we made sure that the people know that we really care for them by providing them with our transparent transactions to let them know how thoroughly sincere we are when it comes to their health.

 

 

 

Plus, di hamak na mas mataas din ang efficacy ng medical drugs namin atsaka idagdag mo na din na mababa lang ang side effects nito since we hired thousands and thousands of experts to create and thoroughly research the ingredients for every medicine that we sell. Tapos, ibine-benta pa namin ito at a very low affordable price point kaya kayang-kaya talaga bilhin ng madla.

 

 

 

At first, we just did that to spite the Sy's but then, the company boomed in just 6 months time since pati mga private hospitals and even the government that provides to the public health ay dito na rin bumibili sa'amin.

 

 

 

In result, sa'akin na ipinamahala nila mama ang kompanya dahil total, idea ko naman daw ito. Eh tsk, for all I know, tamad lang sila mamahala eh. Masyado na kasi nilang kina-career ang pagiging tambay sa bahay.

 

 

 

Kung tutuusin, I am already super qualified to rule the "Riego Empire" since I already know everything there is to know when it comes to handling our business. Even my Mom and Mommylola says so too. Sabi pa nga nila, hindi ko na daw kailangan pang mag-aral pa because I am already smart and excellent. I mean, tama naman sila.

 

 

 

Pero ako lang talaga ang sadyang ayaw pang magmadaling mamahala dahil mas maganda pa rin talaga kung makakapag-graduate muna ako at isang degree holder. That's because I believe that a degree adds to your credibility as a working person.

 

 

 

Well, hindi naman lahat need ng degree as some people strive without it pero sa case ko kasi, with our company, hindi lang naman kasi ako ang nagho-hold 'non.

 

 

 

May mga investors, mga employees and whatnot that would question your entire educational background dahil ganon sila ka insecure– charet! Pero yes, yun nga. More like, pang back-up credible source ko lang talaga ang degree ko.

 

 

 

Kaya if ever they would question my credibility, may ipang-supalpal ako sakanila na papel with my degree written on it and then, no questions asked after that.

 

 

 

Pero ayun nga, in continuation, now that the Sy's are on the verge of loosing their loser company, they desperately tried to get as many investors as possible to invest into their company... but sadly, and as predicted by me, no one would invest in them anymore.

 

 

 

And that's where we come in.

 

 

 

Dahil desperado na nga ang mga Sy's na makahanap ng investors, we, bilang mga mababait na nilalang, presented ourselves to invest by buying fifteen percent of the company shares muna on our first business agreement.

 

 

 

But of course, that didn't stop their company from regressing pa din– which is big thanks to my doing– kaya wala na silang choice ulit kundi ang ibenta ang mga natitirang shares ng kompanya nila na walang ano-ano'y binibili naman namin.

 

 

 

I think that kept on going until kami na yata ang may pinaka-malaking shares sa company, even twenty percent higher than the owners themselves. Pero since mababait kami nila Mom and Mommylola, we still let them be the owners kahit na technically, kami na talaga ang owner basing on the shares.

 

 

 

Akala siguro nila mag-bff's pa din ang pamilya namin. Pft, ulol lang ang makikipag-kaibigan sa mga halal ang loob no. Add to that, I just let Yeorum act like she's still the "queen"– yuck– kahit na her worth is literally at the bottom of the system now. Much lower to a slave– a rotten pest, maybe?

 

 

 

My mother also knows this issue din pala. Like way before pa. She also said that she had her suspicions unang-unang kilala niya palang sa pamilyang 'yun pero like Tito Jace, she also couldn't get hold of any evidences din to support her gut feeling.

 

 

 

And so, she kept it to herself nalang muna and continued to befriend the Sy's until they are close enough to trust her, embodiying Sun Tzu's famous quote of "keep your friends close, but enemies closer". Plastikan na king plastikan. So in that way, she could secretly collect their hidden secrets– or evidences for that matter.

 

 

 

I mean, I gotta give it to my Mom for thinking all of that. It was cunning and admirable at the same time if you asked me. At kahit ganyan lang 'yan– mapang-asar, mabait at mukhang gullible– pero mas ruthless pa 'yan kesa kay Mommylola when it comes to business and revenge– especially when it comes to protecting her loved ones.

 

 

 

In fact, the next plan was her idea. And that is... literal torture.

 

 

 

Now, I gotta say this. Pero hindi santo ang pamilya namin. We are not innocent. Heck, my cousin even married a lawyer whose family owns an underground organization– yes, a mafia if you ask. I mean, we came from a bloodline of excellence– in every profession, wealth and influence. So of course, maraming gustong mag-tangka sa pamilya namin.

 

 

 

And you know, every actions must have a consequence– or karma. And in our case, kami ang karma. And so ayun nga, with the help of my cousin's wife, we let karma do it's thing– inflict a well-deserved pain.

 

 

 

Tapos ko na 'to gawin sa obsessed psychotic Sunmi na 'yon, sa walanghiyang relatives ng baby Leafy ko and now, sa mga Sy's naman.

 

 

 

And so, we also kidnapped them just like way they did to my lover, but only ten times more atrocious ang kidnapping experience nila. I made sure na tentfold talaga ang maibabalik na pasakit sakanila.

 

 

 

Dahil lintik lang ang wapang ganti no. 

 

 

 

My cousin's wife was also in charge of implementing the punishments pero from time to time ay nanonood ako to satisfy my curiosity. But I was also quick to stop myself from watching din after a minute or five dahil ang gruesome lang ng mga pinang-gagawa nila. Hindi ko ma-take.

 

 

 

Ang worst lang dahil alam na alam ng asawa ng pinsan ko kung paano mag-torture without killing the person. And whenever they are so close to dying, ginagamot din agad ito only to be under the same pain again.

 

 

 

On the fifth day of their punishment, we– my Mom, Mommylola and I, revealed ourselves to them, much to their surprise. May gana pa nga silang pagbantaan kami na isusumbong at ipapakulong daw nila kami sa police.

 

 

 

But unfortunately for them– and as corrupt as it may sound– but my family holds an even greater influence sa di hamak na mas mataas na mga ranggo ng opisyal sa polisya and even NBI dito sa bansa. At hindi lang sa isang certain district kung saan kami nakatira kami may backer, but sa iba't-ibang bahagi ng bansa din.

 

 

 

Pero kahit na we have that kind of power, hindi naman namin inaabusado ito but more like, need lang talaga namin ng back-up to erase the karma that we had done. Atsaka, hindi naman araw-araw kaming nagiging biyolente no. Sadyang sa mga taong nanakit lang talaga saamin at sa mga minamahal namin.

 

 

 

Kaya ayun nga.

 

 

 

The torture went on for about a month, I guess?  Hangga't sa umabot na sa punto na inamin na ng mga Sy's ang lahat ng mga ginawa nilang krimen, as well as handed us the hidden evidences na matagal na nilang tinatago-tago– which are the skeletons of the employees that they had murdered and buried before.

 

 

 

When I first heard the story of their crimes, I was disgusted to the core. Tapos ang sobrang dami din pala nilang nabiktima. But worst of all, is that they don't feel any remorse at all.

 

 

 

Doon palang, I wanted to personally hurt them myself pero I stopped half-way when I remembered na ayaw kong mabahiran ng mabaho't nanlalantang dugo nila ang mga kamay ko. I need to keep my hands clean and pure para mahawakan ko pa ang beloved Leafy ko.

 

 

 

But I was so angry. And so, mas dinagdagan ko pa ng ilang weeks ang pagpa-punish sakanila until to the point na they would find the prison cell a safe place for them to stay to. Kasi kung tatakas sila, best believe that I would search all throughout the entire nooks and crannies of the world– even to the depths of hell–  para mahanap lang sila at parusahan ulit.

 

 

 

At yun na nga ang nangyari. The Sy's admitted their crimes to the authorities as said so in the news and chose to go to prison instead of fleeing away.

 

 

 

Pero hindi pa diyan nagtatapos ang kalbaryo ko.

 

 

 

Because I highly miss someone right now.

 

 

 

And that is none other than My Mahal, My Baby, My Leafy. Kaya napasimangot naman ako kaagad.

 

 

 

"Parang tanga yarn? Kanina, ngingiti-ngiti na parang demonyo, ngayon naman, mukha kang pinagsuklaban ng langit na parang hindi ka nadiligan ng isang taon– oh wait, hindi nga pala talaga HAHAHAHAHA." I just rolled my eyes as the annoying voice of someone higher than my age entered my ear drums.

 

 

 

And oh, speaking of that cousin who has a Mafia-blood wife, andito siya ngayon to annoy the of me.

 

 

 

"Ate Jisoo, I brought you here to talk about my beloved girlfriend, not to bring the out of me." I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "I mean, seriously? Paano ka napagtitiisan ni Ate Seulgi?" I spat out but the girl in front of me just sassily flicked her hair to the side.

 

 

 

"Maganda kasi ako, teh." I rolled my eyes again. My God, may love-hate relationship talaga ako sa isang 'to. Sakanya lang kasi ako palagi naa-annoy. Kuhang-kuha niya kasi kung paano ako inisin palagi.

 

 

 

Tumawa ulit siya. "Ang sungit! Balita ko, medyo hindi ka daw nang-aasar these days. Seryoso mo din daw atsaka masungit all the time." I mentally sighed. Yes, she's right about that. I feel kasi na hindi ko pa kayang maging makulit dahil masyadong natatabunan pa ng galit at poot ang puso ko.

 

 

 

Well, aside from the anger na dulot ng mga Sy's and the people who hurted my baby before, may isa pa akong kinagagalitan na sila din ang sole reason.

 

 

 

That's because during this year din kasi, my baby had to undergone a psychotherapy to cope up with her trauma or, I should say, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD in simpler terms.

 

 

 

I had predicted naman na mangyayari ito since God knows what she had gone through lang talaga mula sa mga kamay ng Sunmi na yun all throughout that whole devastating week.

 

 

 

Not only that it had brought her some fresh, new scars, but it also opened the past ones na matagal na niyang hine-heal. And yes, I am talking about the emotional and mental scars niya.

 

 

 

Idagdag mo pa ang mga impormasyong nalaman niya in regards to her parents mula kay Tito Jace. The timing of that revelation was just so not right at that time. Like for 's sake, kare-rescue at kaga-gamot ko lang sakanya but at the same time, I felt like she also needed to finally know the truth. I was just glad na andoon ako sa tabi niya after she  finally learned about everything.

 

 

 

What I did not expect however, was for my prediction to come true in a much sooner manner. It was when I noticed that days after we went home sa bahay namin, she asked for a space that I gave naman since alam kong need niya din mapag-isa to sort everything out.

 

 

 

Hangga't sa napapansin na namin na hindi na siya lumalabas ng kwarto niya kahit na andiyan pa ang mga friends niya to see her, but only does when I plead her to para kumain.

 

 

 

Kapag lumalabas naman siya, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and I know na kulang siya sa tulog because every night, she would have these nightmares. Alam ko kasi palagi akong pumupunta sa kwarto niya para patahanin siya sa pag-iyak dahil sa takot.

 

 

 

It hurts my heart to see my beloved like that at siguro nga, iyon ang naging karma ko. Umabot din ng ilang months na naging ganon. I can't force her to get some help too because hindi rin naman magiging effective na mapapa-oo ko siya. But what I did is that I waited, patiently. Na siya ang kusang gustong bumalik sa'akin.

 

 

 

I patiently waited for that time na she would come back to me. I prayed to God that he would give her back to me.

 

 

 

Fortunately, he answered my prayers.

 

 

 

My beloved got back to her senses. But the demons around her are still there. Kaya hindi na naging supresa sa'kin ang pag-h