Chapter one
668 Words
The Fuentebella brothers sat in a corner of the casino, confused by what they had discovered about their youngest sibling.
"Bro! What are we going to do? Why her? It could’ve been you or me!" Mark lamented, tears welling in his eyes.
"I don’t know either. I thought Dad loved the baby so much," Christian said.
Mark blamed himself for thinking his sister was just joking when she asked him for help the other day — he had let their father take her along.
"Let’s find a way, kuya, to get the baby out of that hellhole!" Christian said, seething with anger.
As the brothers tried to figure out how to rescue their youngest from their father’s organization, they overheard two men talking about a powerful, well-connected man. Then one of the men, leaning against a wall, spoke up suddenly.
"Oh, so Mathew’s here. A miracle... It’s like he hasn’t been here in ages," the man said.
Christian heard this, so he crept quietly toward the wall and pressed his ear against it to keep listening to the two men leaning there. Mark, meanwhile, sat cross-armed on the floor.
"Chris, what’s that? What are you listening to over there?" Mark asked his brother in quick succession.
But Christian ignored Mark’s questions and kept listening to the men’s gossip.
"I heard... Mathew’s parents are forcing him to get married, can you believe it?" the second man said.
The first man burst out laughing at his friend’s words.
"What??! Mathew?? Is getting married?! That’s impossible!" he laughed. "And if it is true... poor girl.. whoever she is."
The second man shook his head at this, as if mocking whoever would become Mathew’s wife.
"I hope he finds someone who can match him," the second man said.
"Match him? What kind of woman would that be? A tiger-like woman? Or a lion girl?" the first man joked.
The second man slung an arm around his friend’s shoulder.
"Come on, let’s go," he said.
And so the two gossiping men walked away. Mark tapped his brother on the shoulder as Christian stared at the men until they were out of sight.
"They’re gone," Mark said.
Christian stood up from where he was sitting, furrowing his brow.
"Mathew? That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard or seen it before..?" Christian asked himself.
As Christian tried to remember where he had heard or seen the name, he looked over at Mark, whose eyes seemed to be asking a question.
"What? Ahmm.. maybe on TV news? A magazine?" Mark suggested.
Christian’s eyes suddenly widened as he remembered.
"Right! I read about him in a magazine and heard a few people talking about him. Mathew Madrigal — he’s known in the business sector. A billionaire, and his family is well-known. I don’t know why it was in the magazine, but their family is feared because the Madrigals are also a mafia clan," Christian explained at length.
Mark smirked, unable to believe what he’d heard.
"Maybe you read a fake magazine, and who in their right mind would openly say they’re mafia?" Mark said, skeptical.
Christian just shook his head at his brother’s disbelief — Mark even looked a bit pale from what he’d been told.
"No, the magazine store is legit and real," he replied to Mark.
"What if we marry the baby off to this Mathew guy?" Mark said suddenly.
Christian immediately opposed this, raising his hand and hitting his older brother Mark on the head. He couldn’t believe the suggestion of marrying their beloved sister off.
"Are you serious? Get a grip — this isn’t a game or a joke, kuya," Christian insisted.
Mark scratched his head, fell silent for a moment, then reminded his brother why they might need to do it. They were doing it to get their sister out of their father’s organization. And both of them knew they needed someone who could stand up to their father — someone who could protect their sister. And Mathew was that person.
- Writer
