Chapter 2

"Mhm-mm. This iced coffee is really the best!" Leana Secre, Yeonica's co-lawyer, exclaimed happily as she sipped her coffee. "Right, Yeonica?" She turned to Yeonica, who is currently spacing out on her desk.

Leana playfully walked behind Yeonica and eventually startled her. "AHH!"

Yeonica almost jumped in her seat in surprise. Her hands automatically reached a folder on her desk and hit Leana with it. "Bitch!" Yeonica shouted. Leana laughed out loud.

Leana leaned on Yeonica's table. "Thinking about Yamar's case again? Won't you give yourself a break? Mr. Felmor will give you a nag again if he finds out."

Yeonica sighed, staring at her untouched iced coffee. "I hate that old man. It's not like I am always requesting a reinvestigation of the cases I am handling. But this one's really got me for real."

Yeonica faced Leana. "Leana, I'm telling you. There's something more. Aren't you suspicious? You were present during the trial."

Leana stopped for a second while sipping her coffee. "It was really suspicious that Yamar suddenly confessed. But, who knows? Maybe his conscience is just stronger than he is. Nothing more, nothing less. Some culprits just behave like that. Maybe he's afraid of more charges if he'll be caught lying in court."

Silence devoured their place for some minutes, until Yeonica brushed her hair in frustration. "This won't do. I gotta get going," she said, packing her things.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"At the prison."

"You're doomed if the old man finds out!"

Yeonica cuffed. "You can do it. Cover me for now."

Leana squinted her eyes. "And what can I get from that?"

Yeonica crossed her arms. "Let's go outside sometimes. My treat."

"Deal!" Leana immediately agreed, which made Yeonica laugh.

Yeonica immediately walked away, trying not to be seen by Mr. Felmor on the walkway. "Yeonica! I'm drinking your coffee!" Leana shouted. "Suit yourself!" she answered.

—

"Inmate No. 1368, you have a visitor!" the prison guard called as he was waiting for Mr. Yamar to come out. 

"Just be careful of what you say, Miss. He's not in his right mind and often screams and asks for a fight out of nowhere."

"What? How long has he been like that?" Yeonica curiously asked. "Ever since he came in here. His first night, if I remember it right," he answered.

A man whose shirt is ripped off, smells obviously stinky, and has small scratches and wounds all over his body came out with the guard and sat down across the window glass. 

"Mr. Yamar?" Yeonica called her. His physical state is much different than it was at their last meeting. Obviously, his situation seems to be not alright and appropriate inside the prison.

Mr. Yamar remained silent as he zoned out. It's like he's not hearing anything aside from whatever thoughts his mind is making.

"Mr. Yamar, I am Yeonica Harmie, your former lawyer. Do you still remember me?" Yeonica introduced herself again to him, but he still remained quiet.

"If you don't mind, I will be asking some questions just to clarify something about your case," she said and waited for him to give his permission, but he never responded.

Hopeless, Yeonica sighed and decided to ask.

"Mr. Yamar, what do you mean when you say you didn't mean to kill Mr. Protacio that night?"

Mr. Yamar seems to have experienced a ringing bell in his head. "K-kill?" he murmured.

As she thought she'd finally get an answer, Yeonica continued asking. "You also said it's not him who you planned on killing. Does it mean you're actually aiming for somebody else? Who is it, then? Why did you—"

"N-NO! NO! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!" 

Yeonica got surprised as Mr. Yamar suddenly screamed and went wild. He repeatedly bumped his head on the window glass and messed with his hair. Startled, Yeonica couldn't do anything but watch.

"I'll kill him. I'll kill him. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Marga. I'll kill him. I'll kill him." Those are the words he continuously murmured as the prison guards held him tightly and locked him again inside his cell

Yeonica, indisposed, got out of the prison after thanking the guards. She walked away but stopped midway as she recalled what happened earlier. "Ah! Yeonica! What are you doing? He's not on his right mind. What do I do?" she frustratingly told herself.

"Wait, who is Marga anyway?"

She got her phone and dialed Leana's number. "Answer the phone, bitch," she whispered.

"Oh, what's up?" Leana said on the other line.

"Leana, we're friends, right?"

Leana laughed. "Why? What do you need? Doing another favor again?"

"I really, really need your help. I'll buy you whatever you want when we go outside. Please? Don't you pity me?" Yeonica said while blinking her eyes, as if Leana could see. 

"You bitch. You know I am a materialistic person. Fine. What is it?"

"Could you check something for me? I just got out of the prison where Mr. Alvirgo Yamar is. He completely lost it."

"I knew it. This case again! Anyway, go on."

"He was murmuring something earlier. It was a name, Marga. Could you look at his background? Tell me if he was connected to anyone named Marga," Yeonica requested. 

"'Kay, fine. I'll do it after what I am doing. You owe me two. Mr. Felmor almost caught me covering up for you earlier," Leana jokingly complained.

Yeonica laughed. "Okay. Sorry. I'll pay you; don't worry."

"As you should! I gotta go, bitch. Take care!" Leana said and cut the call. 

Yeonica looked at the sky as she played with her hair. "The sky is clear, but my direction in life is not," she said, laughing herself off.

"Forget it. The school is my last straw. If I don't get any crucial information, I'm giving up... or will I really?" she told herself and rolled her eyes.

—

Going inside the school, she roamed her eyes. She noticed that someone had replaced Mr. Protacio, the deceased school guard who was killed by Mr. Yamar.

Olkizia High School is quite a big school. Seeing the high school students running on the field made her remember the times when she was their age. At the corner of the tree beside the field, she saw two male students who were obviously bullying their classmates. She was relieved when a teacher saw those and quickly took action.

"Of course, scumbags never go away, even in school," she mumbled.

"Have you heard what happened recently?"

Female high school students caught Yeonica's attention as they were having a conversation while holding their food. She listened attentively.

"Goodness. What an unlucky life they had. Her daughter just took suicide weeks ago, and now he's in prison."

"Hey. Killing someone is wrong, right? What about the school guard's family then?"

"Ah, I don't know. What did the school guard do anyway? It feels so random."

"Let's not talk about this. I get shivers all over my body just by discovering that a student from Class 3 took suicide. And now, that student's father killed someone in this school."

Mr. Yamar's daughter?

"Ah, let's stop this! This school is so scary. I can't wait to graduate and get out of here."

She watched the girls' backs as they were on their way back to their building. "Marga. Marga is Yamar's daughter? Marga... Marga..."

Yeonica tried to recall his former client's information. Not too long later, finally, she remembered. As soon as that happened, her phone rang. Leana's calling.

"Hey. I got what you need. Marga, right? She's his daughter—deceased daughter. Margareth Yamar. She studied at Olkizia High School. And..."

"And?" Yeonica waited.

"She took her own life just weeks ago," Leana stated.

Yeonica has digested all the pieces of information she has collected.

"I need to know," Yeonica said in her mind, entirely sure that she won't stop until she uncovers the things that are bothering her.