Chapter 26

THIRD POV

Levi and Caridad went to the police station to meet the new chief of San Alfonso. They were greeted by other officers, who seemed surprised by their arrival.

“Good morning. Is the new chief here?” Levi asked. A female officer nodded in response.

The female police officer knocked on the chief’s office and announced, “The Mayor and his wife are here.”

“Come in!” the chief replied.

Levi and Caridad exchanged looks, feeling unsure about the new chief. His voice didn’t sound like that of a typical police officer.

The female officer bowed and opened the office door, inviting them inside. Levi nodded and entered.

The chief paused in his work, smiled, and then lifted his gaze to face the mayor of San Alfonso.

The chief stood up and greeted the mayor of San Alfonso with a smile. “You must be Don Levi?” he asked, extending his hand for a handshake. “I’m Tyron Chen, the new chief of police in San Alfonso. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mayor, and Lady Caridad.” He smiled at Levi, and he reached out his hand to shake hands, noticing their exchanged glances before shaking his hand.

As Levi looked around his office, he knew they would be coming to ask for a favor related to a case.

“I didn’t expect our meeting to be so early, Mayor,” Tyron said as he poured a drink for himself and the mayor. “I’m sorry to hear about the former police chief. I heard he was involved in cases here in San Alfonso. It would be detrimental to the town if he continues his duties as a police officer, wouldn’t it, Mayor?” He smiled and raised his glass before taking a sip.

“Surely you’re aware that you are the chief of San Alfonso and will do as the mayor of the town commands, right, Mr. Chen?” the mayor asked.

Tyron paused, then laughed and grinned. “Of course, Mayor. I’ll do everything you want. So, what can I do for you?” he asked with a smile, even though he was annoyed that they still hadn’t directly told him their true intentions.

He needs to be polite so that nobody will suspect him.

During his time in other countries, he had never met the Villalobos, aside from Ana’s stories about them. It seems he is now becoming interested in their plans.

“I’m sure you still have the case files from back then. My former daughter-in-law wants to reopen her case from 5 years ago,” Levi began as he walked around the chief’s office.

As expected, that’s the reason they are here.

Tyron grinned and sat back in his swivel chair, searching for Ana’s records from 5 years ago. “According to this case, foul play occurred. There’s something wrong in her records,” he said as he looked at Ana's records and discreetly glanced at the mayor. “The car that was found had no brakes, but according to her records, she was drunk while driving? That’s what caused the accident. So, how did the former chief say that the incident was an accident?” he asked, but he stopped when he noticed that the mayor and his wife’s mood had changed.

“It was an accident,” Levi said seriously. “I don’t know where they got the idea that there was foul play involved. I’m not sure why she's drunk, but I think there was a misunderstanding between her and my son at that time.” he frowned. “And she didn’t realize that she had reached the arch of San Alfonso. Maybe because she was driving too fast, her car lost its brakes, and she fell off the cliff.”

Tyron raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to laugh at Levi’s stories or be amazed at how he could turn them into a novel with his storytelling skills.

Tyron shook his head and sighed. “If that’s true, what do you want me to do, mayor? I will reopen the case if our client requests it,” he said, looking at the Mayor and Caridad. Levi vehemently shook his head.

“No! I don’t want the case to be reopened. I want you to manipulate it. My reputation will be ruined if it is reopened. I will pay whatever it takes as long as the case is not reopened.”

Tyron leaned back and put his hand on his lips, a smirk appearing on his face because that’s precisely what he was waiting for Levi to say.

Ana did not make a mistake in everything she said about Villalobos…

*** FLASHBACK

Tyron sat in front of Ana and asked, “What do you want?”

Ana looked at him seriously and replied,

“I’m sure they already know that their obedient employee has been fired, so they will do everything to prevent my case from being opened. They might offer money to pay you off. They are worse than animals, so they will do everything just to cover up their sins,”

Tyron was surprised and leaned back in his chair. “How did you know about that?”

Ana grinned and tapped the table. “I know how corrupt their family is, and I also know that they can easily pay people to maintain their reputation. That’s how greedy they are,” she said with a smirk, clenching her fist. “That’s how the Villalobos live—they buy justice to protect their position and maintain the people’s trust.”

Tyron frowned as he listened to Ana, sensing the anger and emphasis in her words. He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously, asking, “What do you want me to do?”

Ana’s smile widened as she gestured towards the large White Board filled with pictures of the Villalobos.

“Accept their offer,” she said. “You need to do everything to gain their trust.”

Tyron kept his silence.

“I’m sorry if you get involved in this,

but I need your help, so do what I say. And please, don’t be a coward.”

Tyro swallowed and scratched his head, she was even scarier than Martin.

Indeed, revenge can drive people to do strange things.

***

“Chief Chen?” Tyron blinked and shook his head, still feeling chills from his conversation with Ana and her smirk.

“Sorry, what was that again?” Tyron apologized, returning into his swivel chair.

“I said we can’t reopen the case, but we’ll tell Ana we did so she won’t suspect anything,” Levi said. “I’ll pay you a large sum. Just follow my orders. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, right?” Levi grinned, but Tyron wouldn’t back down, like what Ana said, not to be a coward.

If they can manipulate people, then they can also manipulate situations.

The Villalobos dynasty will also come to an end.

“It’s a deal! I’m easy to talk to, mayor. It’s also the right decision not to reopen the case because it will only damage the town,” Tyron said, smiling even more.

Levi nodded and placed the envelope on the table, which Tyron took. “You can count on me, Don Levi,” Tyron said and shook hands with Levi. “You have my support,” he added.

Levi smirked and patted Tyron on the shoulder before leaving his office.

Tyron bowed in respect until Levi had left, then sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Wow, that person is something else. He’ll do anything to protect his reputation. Pathetic,” Tyron whispered as he faced the glass wall of his office and peeked at Don Levi leaving with his wife.

He took his phone from his pocket and called his boss.

(“How did it go?”)

He winced at the first thing his boss said to him. He leaned back in his chair and loosened his necktie.

“I’m finished here. I’ve already said what you asked me to say,” Tyron said.

The person on the other end of the line chuckled.

(“See? Now you know how they act.”)

Tyron smirked as he watched Levi and Caridad get into the car. Levi looked up and nodded, so Tyron saluted him and smiled back before Levi finally left.

“I know. They also gave the money,” Tyron said as he handed over the envelope containing a large sum. “So, what do you want me to do with this money?”

Ana smirked and said,

(“Burn it or keep it, it’s up to you. I’ll take care of my next plan. Call me when you have an update on the case. Remember, you need to gain their trust.”)

Tyron laughed and replied,

“You’re scarier than—Hello? Damn!” He looked at his phone and shook his head, laughing at the rude interruption. “Great!” he muttered as he put his phone back in his pocket. He then grinned before throwing the envelope containing the money into the fire and went back to work.

“ARE YOU SURE we can trust Chief Chen? I think he’s the same age as Mateo,” Caridad said seriously to her husband. Levi raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“I don’t trust him yet, but he’s just like Delgado who can be bought with money, so there’s no problem if we make him follow us. Lowly beings are meant to be stepped on,” he replied. Caridad raised an eyebrow and held on to her husband’s arm.

“We need Ana for the campaign, and we can use her money,” Caridad said.

Levi laughed, and was too pleased with his wife’s suggestion.

“Of course, with the amount of money she spent on me, why shouldn’t we take full advantage?” he scoffed. “We can also use Don Martin so that those loyal to their family will side with us. I can’t wait to finally take over San Alfonso completely, and we will also remove Don Martin’s rights here. So that no one will stand in our way.”

Caridad smirked at her husband’s statement, thinking that the obstacles in their way would be gone for a long time, but they were mistaken, because they didn’t expect that Ana was still alive.

Their secrets would be buried in the ground forever.