Offered Conviction from the Past (Justice Series #2)

CHAPTER 20

JS2: ZARI'S POV.

"This the full statement of Lena Salvacion."

Pinakita sa'min ni Atty. Arinuevo ang sinasabing statement ni Lena Salvacion, ang kliyente. Nakasaad roon na galing sa trabaho si Lena nang madatnan si Akira na gumagamit na naman, katulad ng nangyari sakin dati ay gulat na gulat rin si Lena at kinakalma si Akira pero ang pag iisip ni Akira ay hindi umaayon sa nangyari. Nagalit raw ito sa pag aakalang isusumbong siya kaya inunahan niya na si Lena at pinagbantaan ang buhay nito. May kutsilyo raw itong hawak habang tinututok ito sakanya.

I shook my head and bit my lower lip when I read more of the statement, nilason na ng tuluyan ng droga ang utak niya. I wonder where are the others...how about her friends? How about Leslie?

"The big problem here is their parents,"nabaling ang atensyon ko kay Atty. Arinuevo nang sinabi yun.

"Bakit? Sila rin ba dinamay ni Akira?"napatingin sila sakin pareho.

"Politiko,"simpleng ani ni Atty. Villarial na kaagad ko naman naintindihan.

Well that's the problem now.

Atty. Arinuevo turn on the projector screen and show us some unfamiliar faces. My forehead knotted and tried to study the people on the picture. There were 24 people that obviously powerful, pero ang kasunod na ginawa ni Atty. Arinuevo ay mas lalong nagpakunit ng noo ko.

Hiniwalay niya ang walo roon sa labing anim.

"Familiar?"Atty.Arinuevo asked and chuckle."Senators...there are 24 senators in every gonvernment..those 8 people,"he pointed the separate picture,"They are Salvacion's connection in government."

Napalabi ako at muling sinuri ang litrato. 

The moment Attorney utter the word senators..I know there is something off.

They have connections.

"16 of them are enemies of the Salvacion right?"Atty. Villarial asked.

We nodded. Obviously.

"Kay Akira ba kampi ang parents nila?"I finally ask.

"Obviously...and that's the real problem here."

"Well, you're good at this Ze,"Atty. Villarial to Atty. Arinuevo.

Tumango tango si Atty. Arinuevo at ngumisi."I have you to got my back."aniya sa amin.

We discuss about the case the whole day, I got my bag when my phone vibrated. Nagpaalam na ako sa kanila na mauuna na, mag oovertime pa kasi sila dahil ilang linggo nalang ay magsisimula ang hearing sa korte. Magka-text kami ni Kaden habang tinatahak ko ang daan papunta sa elevator at kinukulit pa akong mag video call kahit ilang minuto lang rin naaan ay magkikita na kaming dalawa. I hide my phone when I encounter another lawyer of the firm and greeted. 

Kaden:

I can't stand not seeing you for a second...oras pa kaya?

I bit my lower lip and control myself not to smile since I'm with some people. Hindi ko na nireplayan si Kaden at hinintay nalang siya sa lobby. May bumabati sa akin kaya bumabati rin ako pabalik...malaki pala talaga ang Arellano Firm. Pumasok nalang muna ako sa sasakyan habang ngingiti ngiti at hindi makapaghintay na dumating si Kaden. But then my smile slowly fade when I received a text from an unknown number.

Nagdalawang isip pa akong buksan ang mensahe pero sa huli ay ginawa ko nalang dala ng kuryusidad.

Unknown number:

Take good care of yourself princess. You still don't know the real him.

That was the message, naisip ko saglit na baka nagkamali lang ng sent pero ng binasa ko ulit ang huling sinabi ay napatingin ako sa paligid ko. Napahigpit ang hawak ko sa telepono, imposible naman diba? Tsaka sinong tinutukoy niya?