Chapter 1 - The Day Everything Ended
1447 Words
The sky was painted in shades of orange as students flooded out of San Isidro National High School, their laughter filling the streets.
“Graduation in two weeks!” one of the girls cheered.
Nina Santos laughed along with them, hugging her books against her chest.
“I still can’t believe we’re finally graduating.”
“You’ll probably cry on graduation day,” her best friend, Mae, teased.
“I won’t!”
“You cried when our classroom fish died.”
“That was different!”
Their laughter echoed through the neighborhood as they walked home together.
Nina had always been the kind of person who made people smile.
She wasn’t rich.
She wasn’t the smartest.
She wasn’t the prettiest.
But she carried a warmth that made everyone around her comfortable.
Teachers loved her.
Children in the neighborhood adored her.
Even the elderly vendors smiled whenever she greeted them.
She had dreams.
She wanted to finish college.
Get a decent job.
Buy her mother a small house someday.
A peaceful life.
Nothing extravagant.
Just…peace.
But every smile she gave disappeared the closer she got home.
Her hand instinctively tightened around the strap of her worn-out school bag.
Because waiting inside that house…
…was her mother’s partner.
Rogelio.
Even saying his name made her skin crawl.
He had never touched her.
Never crossed the line.
But his eyes…
Those lingering stares…
The unnecessary brushing of his hand against hers whenever her mother wasn’t looking…
The way he smiled whenever they were alone…
She hated it.
She had told her mother once.
“Mama…I don’t like the way Tito Rogelio looks at me.”
Her mother merely sighed.
“You’re imagining things.”
“But—”
“He has raised you since you were little. He treats you like his own daughter. Don’t make accusations you’ll regret.”
After that…
Nina never brought it up again.
Because her mother always chose him.
Always.
⸻
Her phone vibrated.
Mama:
- Nina, I’ll be home late tonight. Overtime at work.
Her footsteps stopped.
Late?
Her mother never worked overtime.
Not without telling her days ahead.
A strange feeling settled in her stomach.
She quickly typed.
- Can I stay at Mae’s tonight?
A few seconds later…
No.
Don’t trouble other people.
She stared at the screen.
Her fingers trembled.
For the first time…
She didn’t want to go home.
She looked down the street where Mae had disappeared moments ago.
Maybe…
Maybe she should still go.
Maybe one night wouldn’t matter.
But then she’d have to explain.
Mae would ask questions.
Her family would ask questions.
And Nina had spent years pretending everything was fine.
She sighed.
“It’s just one night…”
She whispered it more to convince herself than anyone else.
Then she walked home.
⸻
The house was unusually quiet.
She slipped off her shoes and immediately headed toward her room.
Just one night.
Stay inside.
Lock the door.
Sleep early.
Everything would be fine.
She had barely reached her bedroom when she heard his voice.
“Nina.”
Her body froze.
“You came home.”
“…Yes.”
“Aren’t you going to greet me?”
She forced herself to turn.
“Good evening.”
He smiled.
A smile that made her stomach twist.
“You’ve grown so beautiful.”
“I’ll…go change.”
“You don’t have to rush.”
She didn’t answer.
She locked herself inside her room.
Click.
She leaned against the door.
Her breathing became uneven.
It’s fine.
Mama will come home soon.
Everything’s okay.
Everything—
A loud knock.
Bang.
Bang.
“Nina.”
She stayed silent.
Bang.
“Nina.”
“…What?”
“I bought snacks.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Silence.
Then…
“I insist.”
Another knock.
Harder.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
She looked around.
Her room suddenly felt too small.
Then…
The doorknob moved.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Her heart nearly stopped.
She had locked it.
Why…
Why was it moving?
“Nina.”
His voice sounded different now.
Lower.
Slower.
“I know you’re awake.”
She backed away.
Another twist.
Then—
CRACK.
The old lock gave way.
The door swung open.
“N-No—”
He stepped inside.
Closing the door behind him.
“You’ve always been such a beautiful girl.”
She backed away until her legs hit the bed.
“Tito…Please…”
“I’ve waited long enough.”
His hand reached for her wrist.
She screamed.
“LET ME GO!”
He slapped her.
The room fell silent.
The world spun.
Before she could react, he grabbed both of her wrists and shoved her onto the bed.
She fought.
Kicked.
Scratched.
Bit.
Anything.
Everything.
But he was stronger.
His hands ripped at her uniform.
“No! PLEASE! I’M YOUR DAUGHTER!”
“Not by blood.”
Her entire body went cold.
He laughed.
“I’ve wanted you for years.”
Tears blurred her vision.
She couldn’t breathe.
She reached blindly across the bedside table.
Her fingers found something.
Cold.
Metal.
A fruit knife.
Without thinking…
She swung.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Warm liquid splashed across her face.
He stared at her.
Eyes wide.
Then collapsed.
Silence.
Silence so deafening she couldn’t hear herself screaming.
⸻
The front door burst open.
“Nina?”
Her mother.
Finally.
She looked at the blood.
At Rogelio.
At the knife still clutched in Nina’s shaking hands.
Then she screamed.
“What did you do?!”
Nina sobbed uncontrollably.
“Mama…He…He tried to—”
Her mother slapped her.
Hard.
“You killed him!”
“Mama! He tried to r**e me!”
“Stop lying! He loved you like his own daughter!”
“No! He—”
“I SAID STOP!”
Nina’s knees gave out.
Her own mother…
Didn’t believe her.
Sirens wailed outside.
Neighbors had already called the police.
Within minutes…
The small house was surrounded.
An officer gently took the knife from her trembling hand.
Another placed handcuffs around her wrists.
They were cold.
Too cold.
She looked desperately at her mother.
“Mama…Please…Tell them…It was self-defense.”
Her mother wouldn’t even look at her.
Instead…
She knelt beside Rogelio’s body.
Crying.
Holding him.
As if he were the victim.
Nina stood frozen.
Something inside her broke.
Not when the handcuffs tightened.
Not when the neighbors whispered.
Not when cameras flashed outside the house.
It broke…
When her mother chose him.
Again.
⸻
The courtroom was packed.
News reporters.
Curious strangers.
Neighbors.
Everyone had an opinion.
No one knew the truth.
The prosecutor painted her as an ungrateful daughter.
Someone who murdered the man who raised her.
No evidence of attempted assault could be proven.
No witnesses.
No one believed her.
Not even her own mother.
The judge’s voice echoed throughout the courtroom.
“Nina Santos…You are hereby sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.”
Lifetime.
At eighteen years old…
Her life ended before it had even begun.
⸻
Five years later.
The heavy prison gates slowly opened.
A correctional officer handed her a small paper bag.
Inside…
The same worn-out phone.
A faded graduation picture.
A wallet with almost no money.
Everything she still owned.
“You can go.”
Nina stepped forward.
The sunlight hurt her eyes.
She had forgotten how warm it felt.
She inhaled deeply.
Freedom.
It didn’t feel the way she imagined.
There was no one waiting.
No mother.
No friends.
No familiar face.
She smiled bitterly.
“I guess…I’m really alone.”
Then…
A black luxury sedan quietly pulled up in front of the prison gates.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped out.
He looked to be in his forties, dressed simply but impeccably.
His eyes were red, as though he hadn’t slept.
He walked toward her slowly.
Stopped just a few feet away.
“Nina.”
Her breath caught.
She knew that voice.
Barely.
“D…Dad?”
The father who had disappeared from her life years ago stood before her, guilt etched across his face.
“I’m sorry…I came too late.”
Nina couldn’t answer.
Tears welled in her eyes, but before either of them could take another step—
Across the street, leaning casually against a silver motorcycle, a young man watched the reunion in silence.
He wore a black hoodie despite the warm afternoon.
His face was partly hidden beneath the shadow of his cap.
Sharp eyes.
Calm.
Unreadable.
The corner of his mouth lifted into the faintest smile.
“You’re finally free…” he murmured under his breath.
His gaze never left Nina.
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
For years.
She didn’t notice him.
She had never noticed him.
But he had always known her.
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