X. Showtime

It had been seven days of silence from my part. Both Nathan and Thomas kept on sending texts, and I did reply to some. As they say, make yourself scarce so that they'd keep coming back for more.

But it wasn't the sole reason why I decided to take a step back. Talking with Pamela really did put things into perspective. I realized that I'd been playing this game the wrong way. I just couldn't admit it at first that they're way better players than I was. I was playing in their turf; they control the rules.

If you can't beat the enemy, join them. And if you still can't join, play them.

"Are you playing darts?" David asked. My life had been crazy for the past few weeks, but having David in my life made me feel more normal. He's my anchor; he keeps me grounded.

"Yeah," I replied, then threw a shot straight at Blake's face. Ilang araw ko na siyang iniisip. There's just something about him that I couldn't quite pin-point at. Tahimik lang siya... but that only made him even more dangerous.

Less talk, less mistake.

A fatal flaw of Thomas Marius Aranza III.

"Is that a face?" naguguluhan na tanong ni David nung kinuha ko iyong board.

I nodded. "Yeah. This is Harvey," sabi ko habang inaalis iyong dart na naka-tusok sa gitna ng mukha ni Harvey. Pamela already sent me all the files I needed. It was... astonishing. It's really true that fruits don't fall far from trees.

"Just take care, okay, Mall?" David asked.

I nodded. Of course I'd take care. I needed to live until I finish this game they started. "By the way, David, how did you know Pamela?" I asked. I'd been itching to ask this question for so long. Hindi ko pa rin alam kung paano naging magkakilala si David at Pamela. As long was I was concerned, David's a banker in New York. And Pamela's... I still had no idea. She wouldn't tell me anything! Sinubukan ko na rin magsearch online pero wala akong makita. It's like the woman's a ghost!

"Family friend," David said like it was a rehearsed answer. Like he was already expecting that I'd ask questions. Of course! Sino ba ang hindi magtataka? With the length she's willing to go just to help me?

And we're messing with people no one should even dare try to mess with.

I arched my brow. "David?" I asked. He knew I didn't like it when people lie to me.

"Just do what you need to do, Mall. Then come home," he said before quickly dropping the call.

Sino ka ba, Pamela?

* * *

"Thought you decided to become a hermit or something," Thomas asked as he kissed me on the cheek, and ran his hand down my back. And as he was doing this, Nathan was just behind me.

"You're throwing parties every week. It's not like I'm missing out on a lot," I said, then he laughed. Mabilis kong nilibot ang mga mata ko. Agad kong nakita si Andres sa isang gilid. Si Harvey? Everything's going according to plan.

And Blake? I had no idea. That guy's fucking with my head, and he hadn't done anything yet.

Naupo ako sa couch. Thomas was talking to someone, while Nathan got us drinks. Nilibot ko iyong mata ko sa paligid. There were CCTV cameras, but there were still a few blind spots. Good thing I was kind of an expert when it comes to evading cameras. Been hiding for as long as I could remember.

"Thanks, babe," I said to Nathan when he came back with our drinks. Nakaupo lang siya sa tabi ko. His hand was resting on my lap.

"May problema ba kayo ni Thomas?" I asked, brushing my fingers against his hair.

"We're good," he replied.

"You sure? You looked tensed earlier," I stated. Nathan had been nothing short of a gentleman to me. Sometimes, it did cross my mind that... what if he's just caught in the middle of this? Na wala lang din siyang magawa laban sa mga kaibigan niya?

But then, those who turn a blind eye against oppression are just as guilty as the oppressors.

Apathy is worse than a guilty conscience.

"We're good, babe," he said, then caressed his thumb against the skin of my thigh. I just shrugged. Nasasanay na rin naman ako na pagdating sa mga kaibigan niya, wala talagang masabi si Nathan.

Later, as the party grew wilder, most people were already trashed. I already dealt with Nathan. There were few people making out in a corner. I saw Harvey's hand up in the girl's skirt.

Then there he was.

Finally, in position.

The weakest link.

"Where's the dog?" Thomas asked.

I handed him the drink. "He's my boyfriend," naiiling ko na sabi.

"Huh," he said, then sipped on the glass. "Thought I saw a leash on him."

I eyed him. "You're such an ass to Pierce," I said. It was true, though. Sometimes, it annoyed me how he pushed Nathan around. I mean, you already made him face the charges alone—the least he could do is to probably treat him nicely.

Thomas just shrugged, then finally finished his drink. I stayed for a few minutes, and humored him. Pero habang kausap ko siya, tumitingin pa rin ako sa paligid ko. I couldn't risk Blake watching me and screw this whole plan.

When time passed, I pulled Thomas to a side. I already mastered the way to get around the house without getting caught on cam.

Thomas was grinning. "You're a bad girl, Ary," he said. His eyes looked drunk.

Wrapping my hands around his neck, I grinned at him. "Think you can keep up with me?" I asked.

Oh, God.

Thomas smirked before leaning in, and kissing me. I forced myself to kiss him back because this was a part of the plan. I kept on telling myself that this would all be worth it in the end. I needed to make small sacrifices in order to win the war.

While Thomas was busy kissing me, I put my hand inside his pocket and grabbed his phone. Pamela wasn't with me, and I needed to do this quick. I just needed this plan to work. I couldn't waste another day in this forsaken country.

Fuck.

The things I was willing to do for Moll.

I reached for Thomas' finger, and sucked on it. "Fuck, Ary," he breathed as I sucked on his index finger. He was so caught up in the situation that he didn't notice that I got his phone from his pocket.

I breathed harder.

Thomas looked like he'd come any second from now.

I distracted him while I reached for his finger, and placed it on the scanner of his phone. I was disgusting myself with what I was doing, but this needed to be done.

"Got a room?" I asked.

"Upstairs," he replied, the intensity in his eyes was scaring the shit out of me, but this needed to be done.

"I'll see you in five," I said.

He tugged on my hand. "Let's just go together."

I licked my lower lip. Ten seconds. "I still need to get rid of Nathan," I said, cocking my head, then tapping his cheek. "I'll find you," I said, then gently pushed him away.

"Turn off the lights, and be quiet," pahabol ko kay Thomas. "It's a surprise," I mouthed, and I swear, his breathing got even more ragged.

Nang makaalis na siya, mabilis kong hinanap si Harvey. I was right; kasama niya iyong si Sabrina. Nilabas ko iyong clone ng phone ni Nathan, at saka nagsend ng text. And it worked like magic. Mukhang may sinabi muna si Harvey kay Sabrina—more like warned her based on the expression on her face.

Nang makaalis na si Harvey, huminga ako nang malalim.

"Hi," I introduced myself. Sabrina looked at me like a scared puppy. I didn't want to involve her in this mess, but she's already in the middle of it.

As Pamela said, no one would get out of this without bloodied hand.

"You're Harvey's girl, right? I'm Pierce's girlfriend," I continued even though I was getting no response from her. "Here, I got you a drink," sabi ko sabay abot sa kanya nung baso. She looked like she didn't want to get the drink, so I had to press on. "I'm Ary, by the way," I said with a smile.

Good thing I sent Harvey to a pretty far away place. But I needed to work fast. Hindi naman 'yun tanga para hindi mapansin na wala talaga si Nathan... because Nathan's sound asleep already. I tucked him in some safe place. He didn't need to get involved tonight.

I had to talk to Sabrina, and make her feel safe around me before I finally got her to drink. Just a little sip would set things in motion.

"I'm just... gonna find Harvey," she said, her eyes dazed. She kept on fanning herself like she's in heat.

Tumayo ako at tinulungan siya. "I think he's upstairs," I said, pushing her in the right direction. Habang naglalakad siya, sinundan ko si Sabrina para maging sigurado na sa kwarto siya na pinuntahan ni Thomas papasok.

As I watched things in motion, my heart was beating erratically inside my chest. It was exciting me as much as it scared the shit out of me.

But I fucking love the thrill of it.

And when Sabrina went inside the room...

'Bingo,' I thought to myself.

"So... you'll just send the file from the phone of Thomas?" Pamela asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Bakit?"

"Do you never learn, Mallary?" Pamela asked with her annoying sigh—the sigh that made me feel stupid. Like I kept on doing the wrong things.

"Bakit naman gagawin ni Thomas 'yun kay Harvey? Out of the blue lang?" sunud-sunod na tanong ni Pamela. "There's no motive."

Fuck.

"Those guys... you already know how far they'd go to protect each other. Do you seriously think that they won't find it weird that suddenly, Thomas just decided to go rogue? That he just magically sent incriminating documents to the press?"

Hindi ako nakapagsalita.

"Sabrina Corpuz," Pamela said, handing over a picture. The girl looked familiar. "She's the on and off girlfriend of Harvey."

Oh. Iyong babae na palagi kong nakikita na kasama ni Harvey! The reason why I never had the chance to talk to Harvey—because he's always around the girl.

"Ano'ng meron sa kanya?" I asked.

"When you had me investigate Harvey's family, I kinda stumbled upon medical records. Apparently, Harvey has very bad anger management issues among others. His family went great lengths para lang pagtakpan si Harvey because you know, they're involved in a charity."

"Ano'ng kinalaman nito sa gagawin ko?"

Pamela shook her head. "To make the perfect crime, you have to focus on the details, Mallary. The details."

God, who are you, Pamela?

"We'll stick to your original plan... with some modifications," she continued. "You'll lure Thomas to a room. Then you need to bring Sabrina there, too."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "And how will I even do that? I'd seen them a few times—palaging kadikit ni Harvey 'yung babae."

"What will you even do without me?" naiiling na sabi niya. "You have a clone of Nathan's phone, right?" she asked, and I nodded. "Text Harvey from there. Tell him to meet Nathan outside."

"They'll just find out that Nathan didn't send the text," I replied.

"Harvey will soon forget that after the second part of your plan commences," Pamela said with a smile so devious that I felt shivers running down my spine. "Now, let's give them a motive."

Habang hinihintay ko si Harvey na makabalik, I opened Thomas' email then downloaded the file that Pamela sent from an untraceable source. Then I created a scheduled email.

Three days from now.

Maybe that would suffice. I really needed to finish this game. I couldn't risk staying longer. I needed to disappear once again.

After I was done, a few minutes passed, and I saw Harvey walking. Naka-kunot ang noo niya dahil wala si Sabrina sa pinag-iwanan niya.

"Ary," he said when he saw me. "Have you seen—"

But he didn't finish his sentence because I accidentally bumped into him. I even poured the content of my drink on his shirt.

"I'm sorry," I said as I began to wipe the stain. I acted like I was smashed in front of him, in front of the cameras. I didn't need them all looking at my direction. As far as they were concerned, I was Pierce's drunk, innocent girlfriend.

"It's fine," he said.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I just... had too much to drink," I slurred.

"It's fine," he repeated.

"But if you're looking for that girl... I think I saw her going up... or I don't know..." I said, then giggled.

"Thanks," he said, then went upstairs.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Showtime," I thought to myself, as I sent Harvey a series of pictures that would make him lose his mind.