Chapter 3

• "Are you okay?"
• My heart started beating faster. I felt even weaker because of the person holding me. Rodrigo Navarro. How did he end up here? Does he want to make sure they killed James? I quickly stood up and gently pushed him.
• "Yes, thank you," I replied curtly. I was about to leave, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. I widened my eyes as I looked at him.
• "What is your name?" he asked.
• I furrowed my brow and tried to pull my hand away, but he held it tightly and just smiled at me. I have to admit, Rodrigo Navarro is good-looking. If I didn't know anything about James, I might have been one of those girls who would admire him. But it's not the smile of a handsome man that I see now. It's the smile of a demon.
• "Jane!"
• I glanced at Rodrigo's back. His grip on me loosened, so I quickly moved away from him.
• "Jane. So, that is your name," he grinned even wider.
• I wanted to ask him why he wanted to know my name. I didn't want to think that he saw me last night, so maybe he's interested in me now. But what if that's the reason? My eyes widened again. I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it because I didn't know what to say. I avoided his gaze and quickly walked towards Lana.
• "What were you doing there?" Lana immediately asked. She grabbed my arm. "Why do you look pale? What did that man do to you?"
• I shook my head quickly. "Nothing. I just bumped into him." I subtly glanced back at Rodrigo and saw that he was staring at us. At me. So, I quickly looked away.
• "Isn't that Governor?" Carlo asked.
• "Yes," Lawrence replied. "What's happening there?" Lawrence was about to walk towards the people, but I immediately held his hand.
• "What's wrong? There's a dead body," I said.
• "Huh?" he said in surprise.
• But because of what I said, he seemed more interested. I let out a sigh of relief when both he and Carlo went there to take a peek.
• "Are you really okay?" Lana asked again. "You've been like this since last night."
• "Yeah, I'm fine," I forced a smile at Lana. I could see the concern in her eyes. She also looked at Rodrigo, as if blaming him. I panicked, so I held her arm as well. "I'm really okay. It's better if we go ahead to the store."
• Fortunately, Lana agreed. We went to the store ahead. Away from that chaos. Away from Rodrigo Navarro. I don't know why even though I'm far away from him, I still feel his gaze. It's as if he's right there, nearby, watching me. There's something strange about his gaze.
• Since I saw James' dead body, it hasn't left my mind. I spent the whole night thinking about what I should do. Should I just let it go and ignore what I found out? But what about James? He died just like that. I'm sure everyone will think he's just a drug addict because of the poster on his body. Even his family won't know the truth about what happened to him.
• I pondered over it all night. I could hardly sleep because of it. So, the next day, before Lana even woke up, I beat her to it. She was still asleep when I left and went to the barangay where James mentioned in his note. It was already noon by the time I reached there because we had to pass through five barangays. It wasn't under Rodrigo's jurisdiction anymore. He made sure he was far away from here.
• I had no trouble finding the apartment he mentioned. It was a compound, and it was the only one in the area.
• "Does James Marasigan live here?" I asked the landlady of the compound.
• "James? No one named James lives here, dear."
• I furrowed my brow. I checked my cellphone again to confirm the location. I was in the right place.
• "What room number?" the woman asked again.
• "Room twenty."
• "Oh, with Pedro? Are you the one picking up his belongings?"
• I was taken aback. She mentioned a different name. I couldn't help but think that James knew what would happen. That he planned everything. I just nodded and asked for her help to retrieve the items.
• "Here. Pedro hasn't come back for months. He stayed in this room for just a day and then left immediately. He said someone would come here to pick up his things. He said to give them to anyone. Sometimes I even thought of renting it out. But he paid two years' worth of rent, so it would be embarrassing. We also have a contract," she explained while opening the door. "And he said, if no one came after two years, I could do whatever I wanted with the room. So, I just left it for now."
• I remained quiet as I listened to her. I felt even more sorry for James. Maybe while he was preparing everything, he already thought he would die. Unbelievable! Those people were heartless for doing this to him!
• Dust greeted me as I entered the room. The landlady handed me the key and left. I closed the door and turned on the lights. The room was almost empty. Just a small bed and a cabinet. That was it. James clearly didn't live here. I approached the cabinet and immediately opened it. I had nothing else to look at except for that. When I looked inside, I saw two bags and a laptop in one of the drawers. The charger was there too. I opened the bag underneath first.
• I hunched down to reach it. My eyes widened when I saw the stack of money. In the other bag, there were gold items. My hands trembled as I touched them.
• "It's true," I muttered.
• So, they killed James because of this. It must be a huge amount of money. I closed the bag and stood up. I wiped my face and paced around the room. What should I do with this money? Should I return it to the Navarro family? But James told me not to let it fall into their hands. But what should I do?
• I let out a sigh and sat on the bed. I stared at the floor for a moment while I thought about my next move. If I take the money, where would I hide it? I'm sure it would just become a motive for my own downfall.
• I'm not stupid enough not to realize that the Navarros are still looking for it.
• I glanced at the cabinet again. My attention immediately went to the laptop there. I stood up and took it. I needed to charge it because it was almost out of battery. There wasn't much on that laptop either. There was only one folder, so I opened it. And there, I became even more disgusted by what I saw and learned.
• There's only one thing I can say. The Navarro family is heartless!