Chapter 25

THIRD POV

They quietly arrived at the mansion, but Caridad remembered what Levy did at the meeting.

“Why did you agree? What if Ana finds out?”

Caridad asked Don Levy, who stopped and looked back at them.

“She won’t find out. The chief knows what he’s doing, so I can rely on him,” Levy replied seriously. Caridad stopped and furrowed her brow as she looked at her husband.

“Do you have a plan?”

Don Levy smirked and looked at his wife. “If Ana thinks she can deceive me, she’s wrong,” he said with a smirk. Caridad’s eyes widened in surprise.

“W-what?” Caridad was still confused because she thought her husband was really going to open Ana’s case.

Don Levy approached Caridad and caressed her cheek with a smile. “Honey, we’re at the top. Neither Ana nor Don Martin can ruin our family and my ambitions.” He lowered his touch to Caridad's neck, causing her to flinch. “I opened the case, so Ana wouldn’t suspect us. I know she has a reason for hiding for over six years… If she gets in the way of my plans, it’s better to finish her off for good, right?”

Caridad stopped and stared at her husband, slowly smiling as she admired Levy’s plan for Ana.

Her husband was right, if they didn't succeed with Ana before, why not try a second time?

No one, not even Ana Mystica, could bring them down.

“I have many people who can be witnesses for the case, and we can make it look like an accident. We can also ruin Don Martin’s reputation, leaving Ana with no chance against us,” Levy added. Caridad grinned even more and hugged Levy.

“Good idea. She’s the reason Mateo defied us before. That woman!”

Don Levy chuckled and tapped his wife on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do everything to remove all obstacles from my plan.”

They exchanged glances and grinned at each other…

“HELLO? San Alfonso police station.”

Levy cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee.

“Can I talk to Chief Delgado?” he asked, tapping his desk.

“Oh, Don Levy, it’s you. Sir Delgado is no longer the chief of San Alfonso, he was dismissed yesterday.”

Levy stopped in shock, looking at his wife, who furrowed her brow in reaction.

“W-what?!”

“Yes, there’s a new chief in San Alfonso.”

Levy abruptly ended the call and just held his head in his hands. Caridad couldn’t sit still because of her husband’s reactions.

“What happened, honey?” she asked. Levy looked up and shook his head in disbelief that Delgado was no longer the police chief.

He took a deep breath. “Delgado is no longer the chief of San Alfonso,” he said. Caridad’s eyes widened and she bit her finger.

“W-what now? Everyone can’t find out that Ana’s accident wasn’t an accident!” she cried, worried about what would happen.

Levy took a deep breath and looked at Caridad. “Don’t worry, I can talk to him like I did with Delgado. Someone else can’t handle the case!”

Levy angrily threw his phone and slammed his table in frustration because he didn’t know what to do next.

“APOLOGIZE TO ANA!” Mateo shouted, still upset about what Chloe did to Ana. He also didn’t get any answers about the accident.

Chloe vehemently shook her head and threw her bag on the bed. “No! Never! I will never apologize to that bitch!” she shouted as she sat down on the bed.

Mateo was even more furious, but he was holding back because he might end up hurting Chloe. He still hasn’t forgiven his wife for what she did, so his relationship with his ex-wife was ruined.

“What you did is not funny! Why did you slap her, huh?!” Mateo angrily asked. Chloe looked at Mateo with pleading eyes.

“Wait, did you see it?” Chloe covered her mouth in shock at his question, realizing she had no way out.

“Of course, I saw it! How dare you slap her?”

Chloe tearfully approached Mateo. “M-Mateo, I’m your wife,” she sobbed as she tried to hold his hand, but he just brushed her hand away.

Mateo angrily confronted her, his face darkening and his jaw tightened. “No, you are not my wife. It was Ana! She is my wife, not you! How many times do I have to say that?” Mateo shouted. Chloe’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth as she sobbed.

She stood up and slapped Mateo, making his jaw tighten even more. “No! She’s not your wife! She is not the same Ana you know anymore!”

Mateo’s expression darkened, and he grabbed Chloe, who was wide-eyed in shock at what her husband had done to her. She tried to hit Mateo’s arm to release her, but she became even more afraid of Mateo’s look, as if he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

“If I didn’t hurt you earlier because of mom, well! Now you’ll see how angry I can get!” Mateo said through gritted teeth. Chloe, on the other hand, was hitting her husband’s arm, but he only tightened his grip on her.

“M-M-Mateo—!” She still tried to break free from Mateo, but he only tightened his hold on her.

“Take back what you said! Ana is my wife!”

Chloe just sobbed and begged Mateo to let her go.

“M-M-Mateo… I-I can’t breathe—!”

Mateo ignored her crying because she could see the anger in her husband’s eyes.

“You are a hindrance in my life! If it weren’t for you, Ana wouldn’t have left me! It’s because of you that she had an accident! I will kill you! I will kill you!” Mateo shouted, choking Chloe and hitting her.

Chloe grabbed Mateo’s hand and held his wrist, then forcefully removed his grip from her neck, causing her to cough and gasp for air.

“You almost killed me!” Chloe sobbed, still holding her neck.

Mateo grinned and caressed Chloe’s cheek before gripping her jaw tightly. Chloe looked up in fear at Mateo.

“You’ll Never, ever touch Ana again, or I will kill you. Is that clear?”

Chloe closed her mouth, feeling nervous that one mistake could lead Mateo to kill her. She never imagined that Mateo could hurt her.

“M-Mateo…”

“Is that clear?!”

Chloe closed her eyes and just nodded at her husband, but she was startled when she saw him removing his belt and unzipping his pants.

’S*ck it!”

Chloe took a deep breath, holding back her tears as she knelt in front of Mateo. He grabbed her hair, causing her to close her eyes to do what he wanted.

“Ohh… Ana…”

Chloe stopped, struggling to hold back her emotions when Mateo mentioned that name.

“F*ck. Are you a child?”

She didn’t speak and continued what she was doing, even though she was in pain, because she would do anything for love…

“THANK YOU, UNCLE,” Martin thanked his Uncle Martini.

The old man, who Martin had brought home from Spain, nodded.

“I don’t know what your plans are, but I’ll help you. I can’t refuse you because you’re the only son of my brother, Martinez,” he said.

Martin smiled and gave his uncle a drink.

“You know, I would rather not get into politics when I was adopted by my brother, Martinez… He wanted me to take over for him, but I didn’t want to because politics isn’t my field,” Uncle Martini smiled and raised his glass before taking a drink. “He couldn’t do anything but support me in what I do, so now I’m a successful businessman thanks to his help,” he said. Martin smirked because he really admired his father.

“That’s my father; he still worries about his subordinates until he dies,” Martin said as he and his uncle nodded in agreement.

“That’s what we admire about him, right, son?”

They smiled at each other because it was true.

“I also decided to help you because I want to further develop of San Alfonso and I don’t want to disappoint my brother.”

Martini patted Martin on the shoulder.

“Can I join?”

They turned to see Martin’s cousin arriving and just grinned.

“Cousin!”

Tyron just patted Martin, Martini's son.

“Ana is terrifying!” Tyron exclaimed as he rubbed his arm, surprised by Ana’s true nature.

Martin just smirked and shook his head, realizing that Ana had indeed changed. She was no longer the weak person she used to be.

“Thank you for your help, and your son’s. I can’t trust the Villalobos with what my father left behind. They still need to pay for their sins, especially to the former vice mayor of San Alfonso,” Martin said seriously as he took a sip from his glass. His uncle and cousin also became serious.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Their whole family was killed, the only person my brother trusted his whole life,” Martini said seriously, shaking his head because he was in another country when the tragedy in San Alfonso happened.

“Are they the ones responsible?” Tyron asked. Martin shook his head and sighed because the case had been closed for a long time.

“I’m not sure, but Levy allegedly took the title of vice mayor before. He reportedly won it using money, and my father just found out that the entire family of his close friend had been killed,” Martin answered seriously. His uncle and cousin nodded in understanding.

“Their child, any news about her?”

Martin just shrugged at them because that’s what he wanted to find out about the murder that happened to the Montes.

“The case was closed before the truth was known. I only saw it in history, 29 years ago at the station,” Tyron said seriously, sitting in front of Martin.

“But what’s strange, the only child of the Montes disappeared, and she wasn’t involved in the murder,” Tyron added with a frown. Martin paused and looked away because not everyone could know about the only child of the Montes yet.

“That’s what I want to know. My father entrusted me to handle the murder case back then, but I was too young to understand the significance. I didn’t grasp my father’s intentions for the Montes family,” Martin said seriously, tapping the table. He sighed.

“My brother was friends with Don Ignacio Montes, they both supported the town and provided many businesses for the people, and the town was beautiful back then,” he said, looking at Martin. “No crimes happened in here, but when Levy returned to San Alfonso from Spain, the town seemed to change, especially when he ran for vice mayor.”

Martini frowned as he remembered his brother Martinez telling him about it.

“From what I know about the Montes, they were loyal in their service, but because of an unexpected event… Everyone who trusted them disappeared like bubbles. Don Ignacio was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, and their hacienda and land were burned down…”

“What’s happening? Why did they do this to us?!” a woman asked her husband when she saw a crowd outside their mansion.

Her husband shook his head, also worried about the situation.

“I don’t know, Stella… I don’t know!”

They looked outside their mansion as a crowd of people rushed towards them because of false news.

“We didn’t steal from the people, did we? We need to ask for help from Don Martinez!” Stella cried, as they couldn’t remember being corrupt to their people.

Her husband provided excellent service to the government.

“Martinez is not here, he is in another country taking care of something. He left this to me because he trusted me with the town,” Ignacio said as he approached his wife

to calm her down, especially since she was pregnant with their first child.

“I also heard that some people in our town have died. And they are blaming us for the crime?” Stella asked. Don Ignacio shook his head.

“I don’t know, my dear, because I am also wondering why people are blaming me for what is happening in San Alfonso. I did everything to develop the town, as Martinez told me,” Ignacio said sadly. “I lost as vice mayor, I have no power to oversee what is happening.”

Stella held on to her round belly as their men came running, causing them to stop in their tracks.

“D-Don Ignacio! Some lands are on fire!”

Ignacio’s eyes widened, and they were even more shocked to see their hacienda also burning.

“DON IGNACIO! COME OUT! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO STAY HERE!”

“GET OUT, MONTES FAMILY!”

The townspeople started to riot to drive the Montes family out of San Alfonso.

“I-Ignacio…”

Ignacio embraced his wife, but they were interrupted again when the police arrived.

“Don Ignacio, you are arrested for theft and the recent murders in San Alfonso.”

Ignacio’s eyes widened in disbelief as he couldn't believe he was the suspect.

“I-I am innocent!”

Ignacio was forcibly restrained and taken out of their hacienda, but he bowed his head when he saw the people he had fought for before, who were now furious at his family.

“We trusted you! You’re a murderer!”

“You are not worthy to lead here in San Alfonso!”

“Don’t use Don Martinez!”

Stella sobbed as her husband was put into a car. Ignacio looked back at his wife and smiled at her.

Stella’s eyes widened, and she chased after the car…

“IGNACIO!”

“When my brother returned to San Alfonso, he was surprised that his friend did not welcome him. He wondered why the town was quieter after his two-year abroad,” Martini said, wiping away his tears. He had just learned that the Montes family had died, and their hacienda had disappeared from the map, burying the history of Don Ignacio Montes in San Alfonso.

“Welcome back, Don Martinez and sir Martin.”

Martinez smiled and looked at the mansion, seemingly unchanged.

“Thank you, Teresita. Please take Martin to his room, and I would like to check on the Montes,” Martinez said with a smile. Everyone in the mansion stopped, and Teresita covered her mouth, unable to hold back her sobs in front of their master.

Martinez was taken aback by his helper’s emotional response.

“Teresita, why are you crying?” Martinez asked softly, glancing at their staff and companions in the mansion, who were also in tears.

“What’s going on?” Martinez was puzzled by the situation with the people in their mansion.

Teresita took a deep breath and lowered her head. “Don Martinez…”

Furrowing his brow, he looked at their longest-serving staff member, Teresita. “Teresita, what’s going on?” he asked with concern.

Teresita shook her head and couldn't help but cry again at the tragedy that had befallen the Montes family. “The Montes family is no longer here in the town of San Alfonso,” she said.

Martinez furrowed his brow even more, finding it impossible to believe what Teresita was saying. Despite Levy winning the vice mayor position, he had entrusted the town to his close friend, so he couldn’t understand what Teresita meant.

“Impossible! I entrusted the town to Ignacio because I don’t trust Levy’s leadership in the town! So it’s impossible for them to go to Spain!” Martinez angrily retorted. But Teresita shook her head at him.

“They are already dead, Don Martinez… Many things have changed since you went to another country,” Teresita said, tears streaming down her face. Their other helpers looked away, still mourning the loss of the Montes family.

Martinez’s eyes widened at what he heard. “W-what…! It can’t be! Don’t joke like that!” Martinez shouted and held his chest, feeling tightness at the news he heard.

They all screamed at their mayor, but Martinez just raised his hand and sat on the sofa to calm himself.

“Papa!” Martin shouted and ran to his father. Martinez just hugged his son and started crying loudly.

The employees of San Alfonso were shocked to see their usually cheerful mayor crying after hearing the devastating news.

MARTIN, holding his glass tightly, remembered how his father had mourned for a long time after the loss of his close friend.

“I still remember how my father would mourn every night. He used to visit the Montes’ graves in the mountains, and not a day went by without him crying as he remembered the happy memories with Don Ignacio, and how they both ventured into the world of politics together,” he said, staring at his glass. “They both worked together to develop the town of San Alfonso.”

Martin's fist tightened even more as he spoke. “That’s why I won’t let him down. I will give the Montes family, and what happened to Ana, and everything that happened here in San Alfonso, the justice they deserve. I will put an end to the evil intentions of the demons around us, and I will take a risk. We cannot afford to be cowards,” Martin declared. Martini and Tyron smiled and placed their hands on his shoulder.

“Perhaps it is fate that I returned here to help you with everything you will do. We will fulfill Don Martinez’s aspirations for this town. We will help you, Don Martin,” Martini said with a smile. His son Tyron nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of reopening the case for Lady Ana and the Montes family. I won’t allow anyone to hinder our goals. You can count on us, Don Martin,” Tyron said with a smirk.

Martin smirked and raised his glass.

“Here’s to the Montes family, to Ana, and to the town of San Alfonso.”

As he took a sip, Martin continued to smirk.

“MONTES?”

The person who had been listening to them gasped and clutched her chest.

She stared blankly, touching her cheek as tears fell from her eyes. “Why am I crying?”