Pay the Price

Cristine’s POV

I was tying Candice’s shoelaces. This kid, I always taught her how to tie her shoelace, but she always forgot how. She was my sister, five years old, and probably the most impatient kid that I know.

“Stay here, okay? I’m going to buy you some ice cream,” I told her as I stood up from kneeling on the ground.

She smiled, and that made her tooth gap visible to my naked eyes. I giggled when she nodded five times. Her smile was really priceless, and even if she was too hardheaded sometimes, I loved her.

I could risk everything just to see those sweet smiles every day.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we are currently at the park. We just got here from the mall nearby, and she used her small puppy eyes to make me say yes to taking her here. But I know that she only wants ice cream.

“Mister, can I have two? Chocolate flavor in a cone.” I smiled at the vendor of ice cream, and he obliged.

He was preparing the ice cream, so I glanced at my sister. She was patiently waiting at the bench where I left her. I removed my gaze from her when the vendor handed me the two ice creams, and I immediately paid for it.

“Thank you.”

My smile suddenly vanished when I realized that Candice was no longer sitting at the bench where I told her to wait for me. I roamed my eyes over the surroundings, and I panicked when I couldn’t see her figure anywhere.

“Candice?!” I started to call her name.

People are looking at me, but I don’t care. Where did she go? That hardheaded kid always disobeyed me. She knows how to reach my peak!

“Candice! Where are you?”

My sweat started to fall as I searched for her. One college student told me that she saw a little girl wearing a floral dress who was chasing a butterfly. I thanked her and immediately went in the direction that she told me.

There I saw my sister running and chasing a little butterfly. My heart beat rapidly when I knew that she was running towards the street.

“Candice! Don’t go to the street!” I was shouting to the point that my veins almost broke as I ran faster.

She stopped running when she heard my voice and looked at me. She smiled when she saw the ice cream that I was holding. She even waved her hands at me.

But something happened.

I saw a black SUV van driving to the position where Candice was standing. It happened so fast that I don’t remember when the two ice creams in my hand fell to the ground.

“Candice!” My voice broke.

I run as fast as I can to reach her. The black SUV immediately drove away, leaving my poor sister lying unconscious on the ground. I saw the logo on the SUV’s door, and I know who owned it. I’ve seen it several times in this province.

I knelt on the ground as I held my sister in my arms. My tears began to fall like rain that was constantly pouring. I shake her shoulders, praying that she will wake up.

“Candice, wake up, please.”

My hands were trembling when I felt something wet on her head, and when I looked at my hands, that’s when I knew that she was bleeding.

“Candice!” I whispered as I touched the picture frame of my little sister.

I miss her.

I didn’t know that I was crying upon remembering that day. It’s been three years since that incident, and still the one who should pay for her death is living his life to the fullest.

Law? 

The law is useless. The case of my sister was being closed and put into the trash because the people involved were the Quizon family, the most powerful family known in the Philippines.

The SUV was owned by Aron Quizon, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Quizon. I know that he was riding it that day; I saw him at the mall before that accident. I tried to explain to the authorities what happened and who the suspect was, but they remained deaf and unspoken, telling me that they would investigate the case.

I wiped my tears away when I felt the vibration of my phone inside my pocket. I get it and answer the phone call.

“Lea, what’s up?”

It was my friend, Lea Gomez. We are working as secret agents. We’ve been friends since college, and aside from my parents, she is the most trusted person that I know.

“The boss was looking for you,” she said.

I nodded, even if she couldn’t see me. I wonder if I have a new mission again. I just hope that it will not be boring like my last one.

“Copy. I’m on my way.” I end the call and carefully put the picture frame back above my side table.

I went to my garage and hopped on my black dual-sport bike. I put my helmet on and started my engine. I left my apartment and drove to the road leading to our main headquarters.

***

“Wang Jim, a Chinese citizen. He was a notorious dr*g lord, and we still have no clue where he would be now.” Sir Wendell handed me the pictures and information about Wang Jim.

This Chinese is a fifty-nine-year-old bald man. Why do criminals lose their hair as the years go by? I just wonder why most of them almost have no hair.

My forehead wrinkled when I noticed Quizon’s name on the last pages of the papers. I looked up at him in confusion.

“Quizon’s Company?”

“Yeah.” Sir Wendell sat down in his swivel chair and formed his hands into a triangle before looking at me. “Last year, we received a report that Mr. Wang had a transaction here in the Philippines. The report says that the people involved are powerful and rich. We conclude that maybe Quizon was one of them.”

I winced. 

Unbelievable.

Quizon’s family was not only a murderer; they were also dr*g d**lers. What a match.

“Then, what do you want me to do?” I asked and put down the folder.

“I want you to investigate and gather some clues. Find the files containing all the company’s transactions from December. Maybe the Quizon will lead us to where Wang Jim was hiding.”

“How am I going to do that?”

He smirked and showed me something on his phone. I read what it says, and it was a job-hiring poster. Before I even reacted, he spoke.

“Quizons are looking for maids. I think you’re qualified for that job.”

Hmm, that sounds interesting. So I’m going to work at his house? That thought made me smile a little.

Hitting two birds with one stone.

***

The moment I stepped inside Quizon’s mansion, I felt an unexplained feeling of discomfort. Why does the atmosphere out here seem to welcome me to hell?

I was wearing old clothes and holding my luggage. One of the maids guided me inside, and I roamed my eyes over every detail of their mansion. It’s too big, but too silent.

I heard footsteps behind me. Even if I didn’t turn to look at him, I knew that it was the devil.

His voice lingers in my ears. When he opened his mouth and said those words, I literally wanted to get my gun inside my bag and plant the bullet in his skull. But I remembered my mission. It’s too early for that.

“Cristine Mendoza?”