The truth!
Janice blinked as the word sank deeper.
She knew that Lucas offered that option on purpose. She decided to steal a glance at him to see his expression. But he seemed firm in his opinion.
She parted her lips as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't say a word.
Her father's diary has been something she never wished to revisit till her last breath.
"Don't you have an alternative option?" she asked with a soft voice.
Lucas widened his eyes and curled his lips in a smirk.
"Is anything wrong with my opinion?" he asked in return.
"Once you're willing to talk about that incident that you and your evil father thought would've been buried long ago, then we can discuss business further." He declared and attempted to stand up as if he wanted to leave.
"Alright. That's fine, Lucas." Janice responded with a sharp blink.
"Now, what truth do you want?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could retract them, her eyes blinking continuously to avoid his gaze.
"The truth about the murder case. The truth is that you willingly concealed and allowed me to be locked behind bars, and not only that, I almost got killed, if not..." He paused and took a deep breath, his deadly eyes swollen with anger as he pressed his lips together.
"You know what? I just need justice, Janice. And to get that, you must come out of your shell and speak the truth, not minding whoever might be affected. And if you don't do that, I'll be forced to address the issue in my own way."
He threatened, his voice firm and indifferent.
His voice was getting louder and beginning to draw attention to their table when Janice forced a faint smile to dismiss the assumption of the people who might be perceiving them as having a misunderstanding; yet, her body began to quiver in fear.
She clenched her fork tighter, feeling a mix of fear and regret.
"I know how hurt you are, Lucas, and I'm really sorry for that." She said, her tone calm and apologetic.
"Lucas, you need to know that I did my best to clear your name. I had all the evidence to prove to my father that you were never involved in the fraud case, let alone killing his assistant." She paused and lowered her head to force back the tears that were threatening to fall as past memories flooded her head.
"I don't need those tears of regret, Janice. Are you in or not?" Lucas snapped.
"I don't know how Frank overheard our conversation that night, Lucas. Before I knew it, he was quick to find ways to destroy every piece of evidence I ever had. He even went as far as fabricating more evidence against you to make it look real that you killed the assistant. And you know already that once my stepmother is involved in anything, my father would never want to doubt Frank.
"I know you deserve justice, Lucas. And if you still insist on me testifying against my family, then so be it. I'll make sure you get the justice you deserve." She assured, her voice breaking down in tears.
His expression that was once calm changed instantly with a deep breath as he frowned.
"Emotional blackmail won't work on me, Janice." He dismissed, his face tightened with disgust.
***
Six years ago, at Capuno's Oil and Gas enterprise, there was a crime report of huge embezzlement, which almost cost the company to shut down.
When the CEO's assistant started investigations and began to find evidence linking to Frank Capuno, the company's financial assistant as well as the CEO's only son, he planned to unfold the truth to the CEO, Mr. Williams Capuno, before he got attacked and killed by a group of hoodlums on his journey home after the day's work.
Somehow, Janice was driving behind him when she saw the attackers enter a familiar car and zoom off.
It was Frank's car.
As soon as she saw this, she picked up her phone, her hands trembling as she placed a call to Frank.
She claimed her car was damaged and needed his help to drive her home.
"I'm sorry, Janice. Maybe you'll need to get a cab to take you home for now. I'm out of town for an emergency meeting to discuss a business deal," Frank replied, his voice laced with confusion while he ended the call abruptly without giving her a chance to press further.
Janice frowned.
When did he leave town?
Wasn't he complaining of mild weakness and having to leave the office earlier than usual to see the doctor?
Different thoughts spiraled over her mind.
When the news of the assistant's death reached the company in the morning, all hands began pointing at Lucas Montenegro, the company's head of audit, who was involved in a little misunderstanding with the assistant shortly before the embezzlement discovery by the external audit bodies.
Somehow, Frank found means of fabricating some evidence to prove Lucas
guilty.
Knowing how merciless and deadly her father could be in dealing with anyone who was involved in crime, Janice, in her unsettled mind, decided to dig deep into the investigation and got CCTV footage from the nearby company, the Greenfield management, which was able to capture the crime scene from afar.
From all investigations, the car was proven to be Frank's. Aside from that, Janice and Lucas had parted ways not long before the murder scene took place.The moment Frank learned about her discovery, he immediately paid tech gurus to hack into her devices and deleted every piece of evidence linked to him, while he also made his way to Greenfield management to take down the footage after bribing them with some cash.
Lucas was innocent, yet he has no evidence to counter the charges against him.
He was locked behind bars for years and subjected to hard labor until one of the prison staff helped secure his escape when he saw how he almost got killed by other violent inmates in the prison.
However, reports showed that he might have possibly died during the fire outbreak that took place at the prison.
****
"It's been six whole years, Mr. Lucas. How did you still expect me to get back the evidence that has been destroyed?" Janice pursed her lips in a worried manner.
"That shouldn't be your problem. But will you be ready to stand for the truth when the evidence is provided?" Lucas snapped.
Before Janice could say a word, a great wave of nausea washed over her, causing her to rush to the bathroom before she'll puked in public.
She almost got herself messed up before she could turn the bathroom doorknob. She couldn't hold back the retch anymore and had to throw up on the floor.
'Maybe this is the perfect time,' she thought, and without hesitation, she pulled out the test strip from her purse to confirm her suspicions.
As she pulled it out of her thighs, the small white stick felt heavier than a stone in her trembling hands. She placed the test strip on the edge of the sink and immediately stepped back, squeezing her eyes shut as if it could change what her eyes had sighted earlier.
Then, she opened her eyes slowly, her throat tightened as her gaze fell on the two lines.
"Please...don't let this be real." The words slowly escaped her trembling lips as if she were gasping for air, but nothing changed.
It was the reality of life that has come to stay–her whole life is messed up.
Her breath ceased and her feet got rooted at the spot. Before she could process the whole thing, the bathroom door suddenly flung open.
She had forgot to lock it after she entered.
"Who the..." she wanted to scream but stopped midway when her eyes met the woman standing at the door.
The woman wore a smug smile, her eyes scanning Janice's confused expression and the messy floor.
"T...Tricia?" Janice stuttered, her eyes widened in shock as she quickly tried to hide the test strip.
