The Billionaire's First-Born

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I shifted a bit in my posture when someone tapped my shoulders. I hurriedly turned to look at who it was, and I almost sighed in relief when I saw Mrs. Lucero, Monique's class adviser, looking and smiling at me genuinely.

I was busy looking at her locker, which was currently locked when Mrs. Lucero approached my side and tapped my shoulders.

"I saw your father leave earlier when the ceremony ended," she said, which made me nod at her and turn to look again at her locker.

I saw some foul words written outside her locker. It seems like the foul words were just erased to show us that Monique is okay at school. It looks like the faculty tried to erase this kind of evidence just to keep the name of their campus clean.

I felt my hand clench in anger. It seems like I want to punch the locker in front of me, but it seems like it's not appropriate even though Monique's class adviser is in front of me.

"Is... there any problem, Ms. Javier?" she asked curiously when she noticed what I did.

I swallowed the lump in my throat before I turned to look at her once again. "Is it true that Monique was bullied in your class?"

"Excuse me?"

I sighed deeply before I shook my head and tried to fix my question. "Her classmate told me that Monique has been being bullied in class since she came to your class. I was just asking if it's true or one of your students was just pissing me off earlier."

"Monique never complained to me," she said while looking at me. I averted my eyes from her and looked again at the lock. "Whenever I ask her, she just smiles at me while keeping her mouth shut. I've never seen her bullied by her classmates, so... I don't h-have any idea what happened."

It seems like my mind is busy thinking of other things. She stayed on my side, and it looks like she has no plans to let me go. She knows that I still need her, so even though she still has something to do, she just stays by my side.

I respect her because she is Monique's adviser. I respect her because my family also knows her. I respect her because she is smart. But because of what happened to Monique, it seems like I have lost trust in everyone around us.

I stretched my hands in front of her, which made her brows shut. I said, "Please, I just want to borrow her keys."

It looks like she knows what keys I'm asking for, so she didn't ask me.

I let her search inside her bag for the keys she referred to earlier in the text message, and when she saw them, she hurriedly handed them to me, making me take them to open the locker of my late sister.

"She had no problem with her academic performance before, but recently, it looks like she's gradually losing her appetite for everything," Mrs. Lucero said, while I was busy searching for her things. "Her grades are slowly dropping. I tried to ask her, but she did nothing but shake her head. She looked pale back then, so I couldn't help but ask her if she was sick."

I saw some letters inside her books, and the letters I found made me a bit confused. The letter itself is from Meriah and is named after her.

"I saw her skin with a few bruises. It looks like someone was aggravating her back then," she added. I turned to look at her because of what she said, so she couldn't help but pucker her lips while looking at me. "The bruises I saw weren't trivial. It seems like she went through a hazing—"

"Do you have any idea who Meriah is?" I asked, which made her nod her head at me. "Give me her address, Mrs. Lucero."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

I felt silent for a couple of seconds before I looked at her eye to eye.

"I have the guts that she had something to do with what happened to my sister." She hicupped because of what I said. "And I want her to pay for what she did to Monique."

"But—"

I said, "I'm going to make her live in hell," I said, almost a threat before I closed the locker I had opened.

I knew that she was scared of what I said, and I expected that she wouldn't help me with what I planned to do, but when it was eight o'clock in the morning, that's when she told me about Meriah's address near where we lived.

"Do you want me to call a patrol to arrest them?" she asked, which made me smile a bit at her and nod at what she wanted to happen. "Don't worry because I also want to give justice for what happened to her."

Mrs. Lucero was there when the police told us that they had already picked up Meriah's group, including the two boys who delivered Monique that night. I felt my lips raise a bit before I cut our call.

"Do you mind if I asked you what's with your smile?" Blake asked when he noticed my smile.

It's not a genuine smile. Nor can I say I was happy with the smile I showed him. That smile is a smile of contentment and success for what I did for my younger sister.

All I have to do is file a lawsuit against Meriah's group and give her a blow that she will never forget. Mrs. Lucero told me that I have to go to the police station now, so even though I want to talk to Blake, I don't have that time.

"I need to go," I said before I stood up from my seat.

I saw how his eyes widened a fraction when he saw me stand up. He hurriedly paid our bills and escorted me out and to his car. Even though he doesn't speak, it looks like I already knew that he wanted to take me to the police station, which I accepted.

Even though this is the second time we have seen each other, I feel like I am comfortable in his presence right now. There’s something unusual about his presence that makes me comfortable. Something that made me feel contentment and safety.

Just like what I said, Blake took me to the police station. I told him that he didn't have to accompany me inside, but he insisted on accompanying me.

"What if something bad happens to you, Solanna?" he asked, as if he was joking with me.

I rolled my eyes at him, which made him chuckle at me.

"If anything bad happens to me, you don’t care about it anymore," I replied.

We walked towards the information desk, and the policemen on duty at that time motioned for us to follow them to take us to the room where Mrs. Lucero and Meriah were.

From afar, I saw Meriah and her friends, who looked drugged. They looked awful and selfless, so I couldn't help myself when I walked closer to them and gave them a strong and violent blow.

Meriah almost kissed the table because of what I did. I broke the tooth of one of the men with her, while the other lost consciousness because of my punch.

I yelled and cursed at them. Even though they can't hear me, I know that they feel my anger for what they did to my younger sister. I almost screamed in annoyance when the police told me that Meriah and her friends drugged my younger sister and r***d her that night.

I know that my dad will lose his sanity if he ever finds out about it, so I begged the police to hide that part from my parents, especially my father, who has a weak heart.

I thanked Mrs. Lucero for helping me that day. She told me that she was willing to help me with the expenses for the case I filed with them. Even though I can’t tell her that I am thoroughly grateful for her help, I know that she already knew that I am thankful because of her help.

Because of her, justice has been served for my sister's death, and I... I also wished that wherever Monique was now, I wished that she was in a good place.

Even though we often argue over simple things, I know that she loves me dearly, and I know that she knows how much I love her. She's the best sister I've ever had, and I will never forget the time we spent together.

All of our resentment over the loss of Monique gradually healed. Our parents have mourned the death of my younger sister for almost two months, and I'm glad that somehow they have gradually forgotten what happened.

I don't know if that was the result of my secrecy about Monique or maybe they just quickly accepted what happened, but I'm sure that even if they forgot what happened in Monique's life, I know that they were happy when I told them that Monique is probably happy with where she is now.

Finally, Marco underwent heart surgery. He doesn't have any idea what happened to Monique because the doctor told us that he couldn't be surprised or cry over what happened. We know that, so even if I want to tell him the truth, I restrain myself. I've already lost a sister, so I can't afford to lose another one just because of my negligence.

He always asked me and my parents about Monique, and we couldn’t do anything but hide from him what really happened.

"She's a graduating student in junior high, she's so busy," my mom said before she smiled weakly at him.

I nodded at him when he turned to look at me for his second opinion. I bite my tongue whenever I want to speak. I feel like I can say something that will affect his health if I allow myself to talk to him.

"Doesn't she have vacant time, even just for two minutes, to visit me here?" he asked, as if he was already sulking with his sister. "She's always doing this to me, mom, dad, Solanna. She always dumped me whenever she had the chance."

"Don't say that, Marco," Mom said before I heard her sob and ran out of the hospital room.

I saw how Marco furrowed his brows because of what she did, so I took my mom's place.

"I know that Monique loves you so much, and I know that Monique will get mad at you when she hears what you said."

He puckered his lips because of what I said. "It's true, Solanna. Monique always dumped me whenever she had a chance to dump me. She never had time for me. Sometimes, I wanted to play with her, but she always refused my request. At that time, I was rushed to the hospital. She wasn't with you. She wasn't with our parents. She wasn't with us." I wiped the tears pooled in the corner of my eyes because of his resentment towards her.

When it was time to rush you to the hospital, that’s when Monique took her own life.

I shut my mouth and let him throw hurtful words at his sister. My father didn't ban him either because he knew that it would hurt Marco's health if he ever said anything about Monique.

I admit that I also feel bad for Monique. She thinks that taking her own life is the best decision she ever made. She thinks that she can do the same thing that happened to her if she ends her life. She doesn't have any idea that she will only suffer more for what she did.

She never thought that there was a solution to her problems, and she never thought of the family waiting for her when she came home. She chose to take her own life just to get rid of her own problems, instead of asking us for help.

I hated her, but I missed her so much. I missed my sister.