His Identity

Rita left the Brabra’s house with tears in her eyes. After Edmundo’s conversation, she dashed downstairs, needing to be very far away from him. Now, she had a lot of evidence against him and she couldn’t wait to put it in good use.

First, she was going to break off her relationship with him before taking any other action against him. Now that she knew Rodrigo was alive, she was a bit confident to carry out her plans.

She got downstairs, practically running towards the SUV. Ramirez could tell that something was definitely wrong with her especially with the agitated look on her face.

“Home, fast”, Rita ordered.

She wanted to catch her parents at home before they went for the charity dinner taking place downtown. Ramirez drove with all of his dexterity, sensing that whatever was going on was much ore serious than he thought.

They soon got home under ten minutes as Rita climbed out of the car, running into the house. She met her parents in the living room as they prepared to go out.

“Just stop”, Rita panted.

She made her way to the large couch, slumping on it as all the breath left her. Her parents took the seat opposite her. There was a confused expression on their faces as they watched their daughter trying to catch her breath.

“Edmundo is responsible for Rodrigo’s disappearance”, she said, finally.

“What!”, her father screamed, rising up abruptly.

Her mother’s face once again took up of a sickly shade of white as she tried to understand what her daughter was saying.

“Are you sure?”, she croaked.

“Yes, I am. I think this is a good reason why I won’t marry Edmundo. It’s over between us and please, do not try to intervene”, Rita said.

She pulled the cursed ring Edmundo gave her, placing it on the center table. Her mother sighed, all the fight leaving her.

“I won’t even argue with you on this. This is too much, Edmundo had gone over the bar on this”, her father said.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Thank you Dad”, Rita said.

She gave her mother a pointed look, daring her to argue about it but thankfully, she remained quiet.

“I agree, he went over board with this”, she said, finally.

“Good, now that we’re on the same page, I don’t want to see him anywhere near me”, Rita said, rising to her feet.

She snatched the ring from the table as she made her way towards her room. When she got there, she placed the ring on her bedside table, dropping her bag on the bed. She brought out her recorder, playing the content of the message again

Rita smiled because she knew she had got him in a place where he couldn’t escape from. There was no telling what this evidence would do to him if it gets into the hands of the police. She picked up her phone, deciding to call Theresa who would be happy to hear this news.

“Hey babe, how are you?”, she said.

“Hi, I’m okay. How have you been”, Theresa smiled.

“Just there. Please, could you come over, there’s something major going on”, Rita said.

Theresa known to never pass over a gist squealed and assured her she would be there soon. Rita chuckled, cutting the call.

Despite everything that had happened within an hour, she had a burning feeling that Rodrigo was nearby. She could feel it, it was a deep yearning within her heart.

Theresa arrived in less than twenty minutes as she barged into Rita’s room. Theresa was the only person who never bothered to knock as she claimed once that Rita’s room was her’s and vice versa.

“Did you fly here”, Rita chuckled.

She made room for her friend to sit, taking out the recorder filled with Edmundo’s atrocities.

“Mateo was sleeping and I had to make a quick getaway. I left him with Marco who protested that I spend too much time outside”, she chuckled.

“Thanks for coming”, Rita smiled.

“Just tell me what’s going on”, Theresa said.

Rita played the recorder and soon, Edmundo’s voice filled the room. Rita could see the horrified look that filled her friends face and she wondered what she’ll do if she hears the rest of his crimes.

“That bastard, I knew he was behind this”, she seethed.

When the recorder stopped playing, Rita put it away. She knew that she would be using it very soon as she had a feeling that Edmundo’s end was near.

“Tell me one thing girl, I hope you broke off your engagement with him?”, Theresa asked.

“You bet I did, that was the first thing I did”, Rita said.

“Good. So, let’s report this to the police”, Theresa said.

“Wait, not yet. I want to see how everything turns out before I bring out this evidence. As it is, I know Edmundo’s passport has been seized so he can’t escape”, Rita said.

“My dear, there are so many way you can travel without a passport”.

“I know but there’s one other thing”, Rita said.

“Which is?”, Theresa asked with a confused expression on her face.

Rita narrated everything she witnessed between his parents to her. The more she spoke, the more she was convinced that Edmundo wouldn’t escape.

“I’ll be damned. I actually thought his father was supporting him on this”, Theresa said.

“I thought so too but it turns out that they’re two different characters who just share the same blood”, Rita said.

“That’s true. So is there anything I can do to help?”.

Rita thought about this for a while. She knew she was a potential target for Edmundo and if he found out that she knew all about his crimes, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

“As a matter of fact, yes. I need your help”, Rita said.

“Okay, shoot”.

“I’m going to make a duplicate copy of this evidence and send it to your mail. If Edmundo somehow gets wind of me knowing his crimes, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. In case that happens, I need someone who can submit these evidences incase I’m not able to”, Rita sighed.

“No, I’m very sure that won’t happen”, Theresa croaked.

Rita could tell that her words gave her a fright but that’s just the way things work especially in their world.

“Promise me you’ll do it”, Rita said, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.

“It’s going to be hard but I promise”, Theresa sighed.

“I knew I could trust you. Thank you”, Rita smiled.

“But that doesn’t mean you’re going to die, I won’t let that happen. If it means ordering some of Marco’s bodyguards to protect you, I will”, Theresa vowed.

“No… No, you don’t have to do that. The security i have is enough to even protect a small city”, Rita chuckled.

“But seriously though, I won’t allow it”, Theresa sighed.

“Listen to me babe. Those who are barers of the truth are usually in danger from those who has made it their life mission to snuff that truth out of them. It’s left for us to make sure they don’t win. Even in death babe, I’ll still be your friend”, Rita said.

“Please, let’s stop talking about death. No one is going to die”, Theresa said.

“I hope so but I can’t vouch for Edmundo”, Rita chuckled.

“Everyone except him. I really don’t care what happens to him”, Theresa laughed.

“I want to see Camille, to tell her that her son is alive”, Rita sighed.

“To be honest babe, I don’t think you should tell her just yet”, Theresa said.

“Why?”.

“Because it would only spike her agitation up. I mean, the old lady has been expecting her son for months and if you give her this news, it would only make her feel more agitated and you said she has a recurring ailment. Anything that you tell her might trigger it up”, Theresa said.

Rita knew she was right. Informing her might worsen her ailment which could increase her blood pressure.

“Okay, what do you suggest I do?”, Rita asked.

“Just remain quiet until we figure out the next thing to do but I’m sure that it won’t be long before everything makes sense”, she said.

“Thank you. That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask. How was Mateo’s birthday party?”, She smiled.

“It was beautiful. He got a lot of gifts, some I had to hide away because he really doesn’t need then now until he’s of age”, Theresa chuckled.

“I’m glad. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it”, Rita sighed.

“It’s okay babe. I’m not angry, I’ll be stupid if I’m angry especially knowing what you’re passing through”, she smiled.

Rita was grateful for the gift of a friend and she vowed to cherish it as long as she lived.