Fairytales Gone Wrong

Chapter 11

APOLLO

FUCK! s**t!

HINGAL NA HINGAL akong napahinto sa pagtakbo habang nakatitig sa nakalayo ng sasakyan. Lulan nito si Raelle na nakadungaw sa likod na bintana, nakatingin sa akin. Mariin kong kinuyom ang mga kamay ko habang nakatitig sa kaniya. She looks innocent and scared as hell.

Puta? Sino ba 'yon?! Bakit siya kinidnap? Hindi kaya, human traffickers? Putangina talaga!

“N-Nasaan na sila?” tanong ni Peachy na hingal na hingal din sa pagtakbo. She is Raegan's wife.

“I... I lost them, sis-in-law,” sagot ko at napakamot sa aking ulo. “Bakit ba kasi lumabas siya?”

“Baka may nasabi ka?” wika ni Peachy.

Napakunot ako ng noo sa pag-iisip pero wala akong nasabi sa pagkakaalala ko. Hindi kaya nakita niya kaming nag-uusap ni Peachy? We were look like we're arguing over her. Napailing ako at kinuha ang aking cellphone saka tinawagan si Sancho. Ilang segundo pa ng may sumagot sa kabilang linya.

“Anong kailangan mo?” sagot ni Sancho sa tawag.

“Hello to you too,” nakangiwi kong sabi. “I need your help.”

“Tungkol saan?”

“My... My maid has been kidnapped,” sagot ko at tumikhim.

“Maid? Kinidnap? Wala bang ibang pamilya 'yon at ikaw ang umaasikaso?” wika ni Sancho na bakas sa boses ang pagtataka.

“Wala na siyang pamilya. Can you just help?” naiinis kong sabi.

“Tumawag ka ng pulis—”

“Come on, Sancho. Baka matagalan sa pulis. She's innocent as hell! Hindi niya alam kung mabait ba o hindi ang mga kumidnap sa kaniya. She... She can't really read and write.”

Namayani ang katahimikan sa kabilang linya hanggang sa tumikhim si Sancho. I know, retired na siya sa ganitong trabaho, but he is the only person I know who can help me.

“Mukhang kakaibang maid 'to ah,” aniya na may halong panunukso.

“Quit that. Bilisan mo na—”

“Oo na,” sagot ni Sancho kaya nakahinga ako nang maluwag. “Tell me your exact location and time ng kidnapping.”

“Dito sa harap ng dojo center ni Peachy. The kidnapping just happened now,” sagot ko.

“Peachy? As in Peachy? Raegan's wife? Our brother's wife?” paulit-ulit na tanong ni Sancho.

“Oo! May kilala ka bang ibang Peachy?” naiinis kong sabi.

“Oo na. Wait a second, I'll call you again... And oh! Don't involve Raegan's wife in any danger. Papatayin ka nun!”

“I know, fucker.”

Binaba ko ang tawag. Panay ang tapik ng paa ko habang naghihintay sa sagot ni Sancho. Peachy looks so confused and she's looking at me intently. Kumunot naman ang noo ko at tumikhim.

“What?” tanong ko kay Peachy na nanliliit ang mga mata.

“Sabihin mo nga, sino ba yong babaeng 'yon?” nanliliit ang mga matang tanong niya.

“She's a maid.”

Nagtaas ng kilay si Peachy. “Maid? Just a maid?”

“Oo. Mayroon pa bang iba?”

“You're sounds defensive,” aniya at humalukipkip. “If she's just a maid, then why waste your time here? Call the police, Apollo. You're a freaking CEO?!”

I froze.

She's right. I am a f*****g CEO and I have a company to run, deals waiting for my signature and a hundred of problem that could collapse my company if I leave it unattended. But... But she has been kidnapped and I can't just sit behind my desk and let police handle everything when it was me who brought her here.

“Peachy,” I mumbled. “Raelle, was a victim of illegal imprisonment for fifteen years.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “A-Ano?”

“She is innocent and too trusting,” I added. “And I was the one who saved her from that nightmare. Hindi kakayanin ng konsensiya ko na may mangyaring masama sa kaniya matapos ko siyang iligtas.”

“I... I understand now...”

“I'm a f*****g playboy, pero hindi naman ako masamang tao,” dagdag ko.

Matapos ko sabihin iyon ay katahimikan ang namayani sa aming dalawa. As much as I want to keep Raelle's trauma a secret, I need to say it to make everyone understands her.

“Fine,” wika niya at kinuha ang kaniyang cellphone. “I'll call Raegan, para makahingi kami ng tulong sa mga dating gangster. You know, bagong buhay na si Sancho.”

Tumango lang ako at nang tumunog muli ang cellphone ko ay agad kong sinagot iyon.

“Grab your keys, I'll tell you their exact location,” wika agad ni Sancho.

I nodded and ran towards my car. Sumunod sa akin si Peachy at nang pasakay na siya ng kotse ay umiling ako. Kumunot ang noo niya at nang buksan niya ang pinto ng kotse ay naka-lock na iyon. I rolled down the window and sigh.

“Sasama ako,” aniya.

“No,” I replied. “Papatayin ako ni Raegan kapag may nangyaring masama sa 'yo.”

She stopped and nodded. We both know how protective my brothers are when it comes to their own family. Papatayin talaga ako ni Raegan kapag sinama ko si Peachy. I drove fast while following Sancho's instructions.

I know, this is f*****g stupid. Pucha! Saan ka nakakita ng CEO na sumugod sa mga kidnappers para sa maid niya?

Me? I'm the f*****g stupid.

HUMINTO AKO SA PAGMAMANEHO nang makarating ako sa isang warehouse. Kunot noo akong napatingin sa paligid para maghanap ng ibang tao pero wala akong makita.

“Sancho, I'm here.”

“Okay, now call the police,” aniya sa tonong medyo naiinis.

“Are you sure, dito 'yon?”

“You f*****g moron! Don't you dare come inside alone!” pasigaw na sabi ni Sancho.

“Sancho—”

“Tangina mo, Apollo! Don't Sancho me! Hintayin mo ako diyan!”

“Peachy called the former gangster—”

“Tumigil kang supot ka! Sa palaka nga, takot ka! Susugod ka pa diyan sa kidnapper's den? Maghintay ka!”

Bahagya kong nilalayo ang cellphone sa tainga ko dahil sa sigaw niya. Matapos sabihin iyon ni Sancho ay binaba na niya ang tawag. I took a deep sighed and tapped my fingers on my steering wheel. Every seconds is important.

Why they kidnapped her? Is she just a random victim of human traffickers? Or she's really the target?

Dahil sa inip ay nagpasya akong lumabas ng kotse para tingnan kung nasa loob ba ng warehouse na iyon si Raelle.

Am I scared? f**k yeah! I am scared.

Unlike my brothers, I am the only one who grew up with golden spoon—no, scratch that, a golden f*****g cutlery set, literally. Ako ang tumira sa mansion, naiwan sa puder ni mama na kahit ang bunsong si Napoleon ay lumayas din ng nagka-negosyo.

Damn it! My brothers are, former gangster, former secret agent, a lawyer, a f*****g haciendero na batak ang katawan sa pagod pero para parang modelo ng magazine, a freaking president of his own company who can turn any competitors s**t themselves the moment he entered a boardroom, and a business owner of a restaurant that turns into a bar at night, where he somehow always ends up stopping drunk customer from turning the place into a f*****g battlefield.

Napaigtad ako nang makarinig ako ng malakas na sigaw. Pero hindi iyon boses ni Raelle kundi boses ng isang lalaki. Napakunot noo ako at dahan-dahan na pumasok sa loob. Walang bantay, na para bang napagtripan lang nilang mag-kidnap ng tao.

Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko at napatitig sa direksyon ni Raelle na nakasalampak sa lapag habang nakatingala sa lalaking nakaupo sa upuan. Bakas sa inosente niyang mukha ang pagtataka at takot.

I don't know what happened to me. I just suddenly feel my feet stepped out from where I am hiding. Revealing myself to Raelle's kidnapper, showing them that I am here to save her.

“Apollo!” sigaw niya sa pangalan ko. Her frightened eyes widened the moment she saw me as if she couldn't believe I was really there.

My mind went blur.

I was supposed to stay hidden and wait for Sancho, wait for back up. But seeing her scared like that erased every rational thought in my head. Danger became meaningless.

“Let her go.” My voice came out colder than I thought.

“Apollo...” her voice trembled. “Sabi nila papatayin ka nila!”Raelle cried. Tears cascaded on her red cheeks.

Pucha! Naninikip ang dibdib ko sa galit!

I clenched my jaw and took a step forward, ignoring the weapon they're pointing at me. Nagbago ang ekspresyon ng kidnapper at napaatras pa ito.

“Then, let them try...”

“I-Isa pang hakbang!” sigaw nito.

Hindi ko maalis ang aking tingin kay Raelle na hindi maitago ang takot. For the first time, I wasn't thinking like a CEO. I wasn't thinking about the consequences. I wasn't thinking about my safety.

I was only thinking of saving her...