DAMNED

Chapter 2: The First Encounter

Eugenio sat in his office, the blinds drawn against the afternoon sun. His aide, a wiry man named Santos, laid out the latest report.

“She leaves campus around five. Sometimes with friends, sometimes with that boy — Raell Layle. The route is predictable. Two kilometers, mostly lit streets, but there are alleys.”

Eugenio’s fingers tapped the desk. “Follow her. Quietly. I want details. Who she talks to, what she carries, how alert she is.”

Santos hesitated. “Sir, this is… unusual.”

Eugenio’s eyes hardened. “Do as I say. No questions.”

The aide nodded, though unease flickered in his gaze.

-----------------------------------------------

The day felt ordinary, yet Robina sensed something off. As she walked with her friends, laughter filled the air, but her eyes kept darting to the corners of the street.

“Why are you so quiet?” Cris asked.

“Nothing,” Robina replied. “Just… I feel like someone’s watching.”

Joshua chuckled. “You’ve been reading too many crime novels.”

But Robina’s instincts whispered otherwise.

Raell walked beside Robina, his hand brushing hers. He noticed her tension.

“You’re looking over your shoulder again,” he said.

“I don’t know why,” she admitted. “It’s like… shadows moving.”

Raell scanned the street. He saw nothing, but his gut tightened. He had grown up in these neighborhoods; he knew when danger lurked.

Santos trailed the students from a distance. His orders were clear, but his conscience wavered. He watched Robina laugh with her friends, her innocence stark against the corruption he served.

He muttered under his breath, “What are we doing?”

Yet he kept walking, blending into the crowd, reporting every detail back to Eugenio.

**********

Rose noticed her husband’s late nights, the folders he locked away, the phone calls he ended abruptly when she entered the room.

She confronted him one evening. “What are you hiding, Eugenio?”

He smiled, the politician’s mask slipping into place. “Just work. Always work.”

But Rose felt the chill of deceit.

Remore overheard fragments of his father’s conversations. Words like “follow,” “report,” “target” and name “Robina”. He didn’t understand, but suspicion gnawed at him.

He wondered why his father’s voice carried that name.

The students walked home, unaware of the men in the shadows.

Santos reported: “She carries a notebook, sometimes a bag. She’s alert but distracted when with friends. Alone, she’s cautious.”

Eugenio listened, his obsession deepening. He imagined her steps, her laughter, her vulnerability.

Night fell. Robina walked alone, Raell was delayed by a class project. The streets were quiet, the lamps casting pools of light.

Behind her, footsteps echoed. She turned — nothing.

But in the shadows, Santos watched, torn between duty and conscience.

The evening air was heavy, the kind that clung to the skin and made every sound sharper. Robina walked alone, her bag slung over her shoulder, the streetlamps flickering as though reluctant to stay lit.

Her friends had left earlier, and Raell was caught up in a late project. She told herself it was fine — she had walked this route countless times. But tonight, the silence felt different.

Footsteps echoed behind her. Slow. Deliberate.

She turned. A man leaned against a lamppost, a cigarette glowing in the dark. His eyes followed her.

Robina’s heart quickened. She crossed the street, pretending calm, but the man moved too — not toward her, but parallel, keeping pace.

Santos had been ordered to watch, not act. But Eugenio’s instructions had grown sharper: “Test her. See how she reacts.”

So Santos lingered in the shadows, letting Robina feel his presence. He hated himself for it. She was just a student, innocent. Yet his loyalty to Eugenio chained him.

He thought, “Forgive me,” though she couldn’t hear.

**********

Raell left campus just minutes after Robina had gone, as his group mates had postponed their project discussion to the following day. Now he was jogging along Robina’s usual route, his instincts screaming that she should not be alone.

As he neared, he saw her — tense, walking fast, eyes darting. And he saw the man shadowing her.

Raell’s blood surged. He sprinted forward.

Robina quickened her pace, but the man matched her. Panic rose. She reached for her phone, but before she could dial, Raell appeared, breathless.

“Robina!” he called, running to her side.

The man froze, then stepped back into the shadows. His cigarette flared once more before he disappeared into the alley.

Robina clutched Raell’s arm. “I told you… someone was watching.”

Raell scanned the darkness. “You’re not walking alone again. Ever.”

Robina reached home shaken, her mind replaying the encounter. She realized it wasn’t imagination — someone was truly following her.

And in the quiet of her bedroom, Robina whispered to herself: “Something is wrong. Very wrong.”

Eugenio Cardinal’s POV

In his study, Eugenio received Santos’ report via phone. “She noticed. She’s cautious.”

Eugenio smiled. “Good. Fear makes them vulnerable.”

He imagined her wide eyes, her quickened steps. The thought thrilled him.

Rose watched her husband from the doorway. He hung up the phone, his smile unsettling.

“What are you plotting, Eugenio?” she asked.

He turned, mask in place. “Politics, Rose. Always politics.”

But she saw the hunger in his eyes, and it chilled her.

She doesn’t have any idea.

That the hunt had begun.