ELLISON MANSION — POOLSIDE
The raised voices by the pool sliced through the quiet night like blades. From the gazebo, Don Ramon paused mid-sip while Don Rodrigo slowly straightened, his sharp eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the scene unfolding.
Harrison and Brent stood chest-to-chest, halos magbanggaan na. Their shoulders were tense, jaws set, eyes blazing with a kind of fury that went beyond a simple disagreement. And between them—frozen, distressed—was Psyche, her breath caught somewhere between fear and confusion.
“Pare…” Don Rodrigo muttered darkly as he rose. “Hindi maganda ’to.”
Don Ramon set down his glass and followed beside him, cane tapping lightly against the marble. The moment the two patriarchs approached, the tension shifted—like a storm forced to bow under the weigh
