The Next Heiress

Chapter 8 - Plan

Upon reading the short message written on the back of the paper, my eyes squint in wonder. A lot of questions are starting to flood my mind. One of them is my growing curiosity about its contents. Should I open it? I ask myself as I stare at the letter's overall look. In a gentle manner, I examine each corner of the folded paper. The paper that is supposed to be in white color has now a brown shade. There are even some marks on some of its sides. It is so old like it was written a long time ago.

"Maybe, this is older than me," I jest, chuckling at my own joke. "Whatever, I'm gonna put this back."

Instead of reading it, I just brush off my nosy trait. I've just moved here, and I shouldn't be meddling with some of the stuff of this heritage house. If there is one person who could answer the questions in my mind, it is none other than my Mom. She could possibly know what this letter is all about. Besides, I could even ask her for more about my strange encounters here.

And, it is just my first day in this house.

Before putting it back inside the small wooden box, I take one more glance at it, then I close it tenderly.

From the thick maroon carpet, I stand up with the box in my hands. My head turns to the left to look at the study table. When I reach it, I pull one of the drawers and put the box inside. Carefully, my eyes watch as my right hand pushes back the drawer inside the study table.

Did I make the right choice? I ask myself again, referring to not reading the handwritten letter.

I shake my head, trying to stand my ground. I guess, it is the right thing to do with the respect to the past owners of this house. But you're the new owner now, Celine, a voice inside my mind suddenly teases. As I make another step away from the study table, she adds something more to tell me; You can do anything you want here. Your mother isn't around. Once more, I shake my head to drive away these tempting thoughts.

"No, stop it," my fist clench in a playful manner while a smile plays on my lips. "I can be consistent."

In a slow manner, I walk back to the carpet for the oil painting. Still, I find myself glancing back at the study table. I really wonder what's inside...but no, I keep reminding myself. To distract myself, I've decided to put back the artwork to where it belongs. My head roams around the library, and there I find a silver hook located in the middle part of the room.

"That must be it," I pinch my chin.

From the floor, I grab the oil painting gently, placing it on my chest as my hands hold the golden frame on both of its sides. With my five feet and three inches height, the artwork covers my chest down to my knees. In a careful approach, I walk towards the wall where the hook is placed, and my feet raise up to hang the painting.

"There you are," I shake my hands, eliminating some of its dirt and dust away. "Where you belong."

I take one more heedful stare at its features. The Nipa Hut, water well, flower garden, plants, and the stream. They are so beautiful. I take the time to admire its workmanship when suddenly, something catches my attention. Realization hits me. I could feel my eyes widening in shock as if I'd seen a ghost.

"N-no," I tremble, covering my mouth with my palms. "How did that happen?"

In the Nipa Hut, the shadow of the tall man has already vanished. I blink my eyes rapidly in an attempt to make my vision clearer than before, but the figure that can be seen through the raised window of the stilt house is already gone.

"This is ridiculous," I gulp down in nervousness.

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ALCANTARA FAMILY'S RESIDENCE. MEETING ROOM. YEAR 1931.

My father stared at me with coldness laced in his wrinkled eyes. There, he was sitting on his grand wooden chair accompanied by my mother. As usual, both of them were sitting with poise, one of their legs was on top of the another. With a slump back due to distress, I stepped forward at them to deliver my last attempt of conveying the devastating news.

"I'm telling you," I say with a shaky voice. My teeth were gritted as I felt frustrated in making them believe the information I had. "He's already dead!" I yelled at my father with a grieving tone.

To my surprise, the old man flinched for a moment. He looked at me from head to toe, unsure of what he should feel. The room was so quiet. I could even hear the sound of my breathing. Everyone, including the servants and his wife, had their heads lowered as they waited for his reply to my trembling voice.

"Why would he do that?" My father tapped his wooden chair in a repetitive, slow manner. "I don't like him for you, but that's shocking to know."

"And you're surprised?" I chuckled, hinting in a sarcastic tone. "You even order people to kill."

"Enough!" His voice raised, echoing within the whole room. "Yolanda, you have no respect. You're the worst!"

"No! You are!" I pointed at him with disgust written on my face. "Tadeo killed himself because of you!"

Surprisingly, my mother cried. There were thick teardrops falling down to her full cheeks. Immediately, a female servant rushed to give her a white handkerchief. She got it to wipe her face. Despite being strict, she seemed to feel a little sorry for my depressing condition.

"What should we do?" She asked her husband nervously. "His mother might ask us about him if the news will reach to her."

"No," he touched his lips, thinking of the next words to say. "Have you ever forgotten? She's a p********e for American soldiers, Barbara."

My mother shook her head. "But Armando, it's her son, she must—"

"Stop," he flicked his left hand over her face to interrupt her from speaking. "Caring about her reaction is just useless. She wouldn't put her child for adoption if she really cared for him."

His wife didn't utter anything. Instead, she lowered her head as her response.

"Our daughter is the only person who cares for him, when in fact, she shouldn't," he glared at me. "Am I right, Yolanda?"

Upon hearing his words, I found myself balling up my fists. I'd thought that hearing this tragic news would soften his stone heart just for a little, but seeing his wrinkled face forming a smug look, my expectation had already vanished in the thin air. I still can't believe that this tough, degenerate, and misogynistic old man was the person that I got to call my own father.

"At last! This is the end of our problem," he announced in the room after a few minutes. His face was so focused on mine, raising the corner of his lips to form a smirk. "Do you have any requests, Yolanda?"

As much as I wanted to hit him with my hand, I couldn't do it. This old man was too undeserving to be touched, even a s***k wouldn't bring justice to his soulless deeds. Instead of beating him up, I kneeled on the floor, bawling my eyes out in extreme sorrow. All of the people in the meeting room gaped at me. Some were shocked, while others were pleased just like my father. I didn't care at all. This was the only time that I felt so desperate.

"Have a proper burial for him inside this villa. Just this once, Father. Please..." I begged, staring at his eyes in despair.

He heaved out a sigh. "Where's his body?"

I bowed my head, glancing at the wooden floor. "Asuncion and I found him near the lake."

In a blink of an eye, he snapped his fingers loudly. Quickly, Luis and his men formed in line in front of him with their hands on their backs. They were standing quietly as they waited for his command.

"Get his body. Now," he ordered with a stern tone.

With no questions, they got out of the room. As my head was still facing the floor, I found myself loosening my clenched fists. A small yet satisfied smirk grew on my lips.

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SIX DAYS EARLIER...

Asuncion grabbed Tadeo's hand and mine. The three of us had formed a circle, then she closed her eyes. I squint as I heard her murmuring something. As her words weren't clear enough for us to understand, I glanced at my lover with a curious look, and he only shrugged at my reaction. A few minutes later, a light appeared before my eyes. It was a different kind. The brightness was so intense that I covered my face with my arms. Slowly, it diminished, and when it was completely gone, I saw a Nipa Hut. It stood beautifully in the middle part of the land that was covered in grass.

"Where are we?" I asked her with wide eyes.

To examine the surroundings, my head roamed around. My sight caught the figure of Asuncion, touching her head as she stood up. On the other hand, Tadeo was still sitting on the ground.

"I-is this the painting?" His voice stuttered, looking frightened.

In response to him, Asuncion nodded. Just like my lover, I was also bewildered at this happening. My head moved around once more, analyzing if the things we'd been witnessing were real. I even stomped my foot to check the grass. There were some leaves attached to my low heels Oxford shoes.

"It's real," I state, a mixture of amazement and nervousness is evident in my voice.

Upon hearing me, Tadeo stood up, wiping the dirt off his faded brown pants. He went closer to the woman. "How could you do that?"

She stared at us blankly, speechless.

"We just held hands together, right?" He walked toward me and touched my hand for demonstration, then he faced back to her. "Did you...say something?"

We looked at her in great bafflement. Slowly, I removed my hand from Tadeo's hold to talk to her. When I reached my servant, I tapped her shoulder gently. My other hand squeezed hers in a tight manner.

"What are you, Asuncion?" I asked, gazing directly into her eyes to get her answer from the heart.

On the spur of the moment, her hands shook. Her fingers were quaking as if she did something so horrible, and we caught her in the act. She even removed my grip and fell down to her knees, making my eyebrows raise in more confusion.

"Please forgive me, Señorita Yolanda," she cried. "I used to perform black magic."

Upon hearing her sudden confession, I could feel my head floating up.

"W-what?" My voice quivered.

Asuncion clenched her fists to the ground. "I indulged myself in studying it to destroy your mother."

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LAGUNA LAKE, MANILA.

"It's confirmed," Luis glanced over his shoulder, then turning his body to face us. "This is him," he declared with a stern voice after examining the soaked purplish body they took from the lake.

My father laughed. "Look, the gods are hearing our prayers."

I stared at him in pure disgust. "You are sick."

Unexpectedly, my mother jogged toward me. For the first time in my life, she enfolded me in her arms. Instead of feeling some comfort from her gesture, I backed off and removed her hands away from me. She seemed shocked at my ungrateful action. My eyes pierced into hers, feeling desperate of asking a lot of questions that had been bugging my mind.

"Don't you ever dare to touch me," I warned her with my pointer finger up in the air. "You are a damned slut."

"Your words, Yolanda!" My father raised his voice. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You didn't know?" I looked at him. "She asked Marco to sleep with her, but instead of confronting her about the truth, you killed him!"

My mother pulled my arms, making me face her. With a shaky voice, she asked me; "H-how did you know that?"

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INSIDE THE PAINTING. CONTINUATION...

Tadeo held my hand. His other hand wiped the tears off my cheeks. I'd been crying for several minutes after hearing the terrible revelation from my servant. I knew that my father had been instructing people to kill, but I never thought that he would kill Asuncion's husband, Marco, with his own hands. He didn't even think twice to investigate the real incident before jumping into violence. It was stomach-churning to learn the horrible things that happened in the past.

"I'm very sorry, Asuncion," I sniffed. "On behalf of them, please take the blame from me."

"Stop," she replied in a wistful tone. "It already happened. Even if we do something about it, nothing will change."

Noticing our lonely behavior, Tadeo joined in the conversation. "Can I ask if you did something terrible to Yolanda's mom?"

"No. I was eaten by my guilt. Even if I was so down for revenge, I didn't do it," she shook her head in support of her claim. "I just couldn't."

I glanced at my servant. Her eyes were gleaming from the upcoming teardrops. This woman had undergone a lot of things in her life. Deep inside my mind, there was a thought coming up that I didn't deserve her kindness and loyalty.

"Asuncion," I whispered softly.

It was a shame to think that my parents were the reason that she was a widow. In an attempt to comfort her even for a bit, I stepped forward at her to give her a hug—the type where you couldn't breathe because you don't want to let go. That was the least thing that I could do for her.

My embrace tightened. "I'll be forever grateful for everything."

I heard her crying on my shoulder. Gently, I loosened the hug, and my hands tapped her back. She moved her head to ease her position. After a minute of letting out her tears, she glanced at me and wiped her cheeks as fast as the lightning. In just a matter of seconds, her face was clear. It changed its expression into so serious that I almost forgot that she just wept.

"I will help you, Señorita Yolanda."

My eyebrows raised. "What? I don't understand."

Asuncion exhaled. She peeked at my lover and turned her eyes again to me. "I will make your love eternal. You can still continue it without your parents knowing about it."

Upon hearing her offer, my eyes widened to their maximum level. Tadeo and I looked at each other.

"No way," we said in chorus.

She chuckled at our similar reaction. "Yes, I can do it, and I'll be glad to give it to you. Please let me."

"But why are you doing this? To avenge Yolanda's parents?" My lover asked, wanting to know her true intentions.

"Exactly," she answered enthusiastically. "I'd rather see them being fooled all their lives than killing them both."

I caressed my chin. "And is that a way to say that you're loyal to me?"

"Yes," she nodded.

I stared at her, observing her body language. As much as I want to proceed with the ritual that we had to do, I was still debating whether or not to trust Asuncion with this offer. There was an important matter to think of, and that was knowing the reason why she'd studied this sorcery. She could be deceiving us, couldn't she?

"I get it," Asuncion said, smirking at me. It took me a while to process her expression since I was too overwhelmed with learning her other side.

"Yolanda, if I still want to slay your parents, especially your mother, I wouldn't be wasting my time in serving you," she explained, leaving an impression of something peculiar. "But please, believe me. I really care for you."

Tadeo poked my shoulder with his. "She has a point."

"Okay," I let my head nod. "Let's do it."

A radiant smile flashed on Asuncion's face, but within a few seconds, it was replaced by a deeply ruminative, mysterious look.

"Yolanda, I need to talk to you alone," her head tilted to the side. She was referring to my man going away far from us.

I frowned. "How come that he can't be included in this discussion?"

"I'll tell him sooner. Just trust me," she assured.

With due respect, Tadeo bowed his head. "I'll go to the Nipa Hut first," he stated, smiling at us to show that it was fine. "Take all the time you need."

He held my hand and kissed it. I watched as his body moved with calmness upon leaving us. We saw him passing by a garden before reaching the stilt house.

"What is it?" I broke the silence.

Asuncion stepped closer. "Before I tell you, promise me one thing."

My forehead creased. "Okay."

"Let me explain the whole thing first before asking such questions," she told me, moving her hands in accordance to her words.

I nodded my head in response.

"I will make Tadeo stay inside this painting forever, while you're on the outside, living your life. You're going to marry that Mestizo heir," she began to explain. "Because whether you like it or not, you're still going to do it."

My eyes narrowed in her first statement, making her sigh in frustration.

"But the thing is, you still have him. You can visit him whenever and wherever you want. All you have to do is to speak the verse that I'm going to give you," she half-whispered. "Then you can meet him here."

A scoff escaped from my mouth. I raised my hand to stop her from explaining further. "So, you're going to make him as my paramour, while I have a Spanish husband. Is that it?"

Asuncion rolled her eyes. "Señorita Yolanda, please stop thinking about your morals just this once. You can keep him safe here. Think about it."

I shrugged. "But how are we going to explain that Tadeo suddenly disappeared? My father will still look for him."

"I have an idea," a little smile was forming on her dry lips. "Your father has a room where he stores the dead people that he orders to kill."

I gulped down. "H-he has it?"

"Yes," she nodded. "He usually lets the freshly slain body stay for two to four days inside that room before commanding his men to bury it. We're going to get one from there, and I will perform a ritual that will change the body's face in resemblance to Tadeo's. After that, we'll tell to your parents that he committed suicide."

For a moment, I stopped listening to her come-up plan. My head shook in disbelief with her idea. I am not hearing this, I thought to myself. This was too impossible to believe.

"Asuncion," I stared at her, displaying a blank expression on my face. "You are...out of your mind."

To my surprise, my servant grabbed my hand. As she gave it a soft squeeze, her eyes bored into mine, seeming all with sincerity. "Please," she mumbled, being disheartened at the fact that I just had trust issues.

"This is probably the most absurd idea that I've ever heard in my entire life. I don't even know how you'll do it all," I close my eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "But I know you. I have faith in you."

She smiled at me and bowed her head politely.

"Asuncion, his life is at stake here. This is one big risk for all of us."

"I know," she nodded.

I removed her hand from mine and changed my expression into a serious one, so she would know that I wasn't joking around with this deal. We had no choice. The love of my life and I were in despair, and this was the only way that my personal servant of eighteen years could ever think of. Was love supposed to be this difficult and complicated?

"Tell me," I said, gulping down. "What are the conditions?"

"First," Asuncion started.

"We have to tell Tadeo that he is going to live inside this painting forever," her firm voice almost made my shoulders tremble from the nervousness that I was feeling.

"And you, just like every other mortal will die, but him? He won't," she shook her head to emphasize her statement. "As long as he stays here inside this artwork."

Upon hearing her second explanation, I felt my heart shatter into pieces. "How about me? Can't I just stay in here too? And live like him?" My eyes pierce onto hers, pleading with all that I can.

"No. I couldn't do that. Only one person is allowed to be trapped inside," she replied. I saw her hands touching each other in frustration. "Your parents need you, Señorita Yolanda."

My head lowered, feeling greatly disappointed with the pact. "So, it is only him then."

"Yes," Asuncion moved her head to nod.

After learning the bitter truth, I found myself sitting slowly on the grass. My eyes moved to the location of the Nipa Hut. Even if it was far, I could still clearly distinguish Tadeo's body walking from side to side through the opened window. He seemed a little anxious. Probably because he wasn't included in the conversation. I watched as his head roamed around, wandering the insides of the small abode.

"Can I request something?" I spoke after a few minutes of silence.

Asuncion's brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"Can you bless the girls in my bloodline to have a face that bears a resemblance to mine?"

Her eyes widened, in shock at my request. "Why?"

"Even if I die, I can't see him being all brokenhearted at the fact that he can't live without me in his lifetime," I answered, lowering my head and pressing my fingers in sorrow. My eyes were starting to feel heavier than before. "I'll just have my daughter and future granddaughters to continue what I've started."

Stupidity kicked in for a few minutes until Asuncion came closer. She leaned in to give me a hug. "Your request can be granted, but there are consequences, Señorita Yolanda."

"I know," I squeezed her shoulder. "And I'm ready for that."

The volume of her voice lowered. "I'm sorry, Señorita. This is all that I could do."

"No, Asuncion. You've done enough," I replied, my arms were wrapped tighter than before. "I will make sure that they would love him as much as I do."