Sweet Downfall (12 page)

He didn’t say anything more. She deserved something else, alright. Angelina Yulo owed him bigtime and she hadn’t paid up yet.

Wayne stepped out of the door.

He slammed the panel shut and strode back to his house, kicking any debris lying in his way.

Damn Manolo Yulo! The old man had thrown enough shit at him to last him a lifetime. He’d stayed away from the Yulo orbit all these years. He’d moved on. But the old man wouldn’t let it rest. They just wouldn’t leave him the fuck alone. Manolo Yulo the evil king, his vicious jackass twins and his black-hearted princess.

Maybe it was time he threw back all the shit they’d dished him years ago.

Yeah, it was time.

The Yulo mansion was still as grand as he remembered,
a colossal work of fine architecture located within a billionaires row.

He’d been inside this house once, when he was still under Angie’s spell. To belong to her family was his fondest wish. What a sucker he was. He was still lucky it didn’t happen because this family was an evil bunch. Rotten to the core. They were prejudiced and greedy, no honor and definitely no respect for people below their social class.

He jumped out of his truck and approached the massive gate embellished with intricate wrought iron works. He punched the buzzer. A uniformed guard opened the small gate and came out carrying an automatic rifle. It was casually slung on his shoulder but Jaq knew this guy would not hesitate to smoke him where he stood if he started acting up.

“Good morning, sir. What can we do for you?”

“I’m Jaq Montero. I want to talk to Manolo Yulo.”

“Just a moment, sir.” The guard disappeared inside the little gate.

He patiently waited, his temper simmering with the humid weather. The guard came out again. “Just leave your truck here, sir. You can come in.”

He stepped inside the enemy territory, ready to draw blood.

The Yulo residence was magnificent like those European manors and villas. The driveway leading to the main entrance was long and winding, lined by hardwood and palm trees. It was a slice of paradise in the city only the very rich can afford. There was no doubt as to how wealthy this family was, even more so now. He’d read about them in the papers over the years, inaugurating a new hotel, buying properties all over Asia. A bunch of money-hungry vultures.

Some fifteen meters away, he saw three men come down the mansion’s portico.

The one at the center was definitely Manolo Yulo. He was flanked by his twin sons, Rad and Ram. Man, did he miss this trio?

He’d seen the twins sporadically over the years at his favorite hang-out, an exclusive gentleman’s club called Lothario owned by Alexis, a close friend of his from way back. Even Angie’s boyfriend was a member of that club. They never spoke to each other.

He stopped a few meters in front of them. How was it possible that all his mortal enemies were gathered in one clan? Six mean-looking sons of bitches immediately surrounded him. Hired attack dogs. They all looked ready to tear him apart.

“You have the balls to come in here, Montero,” Manolo greeted him with that imperious tone. “I don’t know what to call you, a hero or a fool.”

The man looked old now, older than he remembered. But Manolo still looked invincible that even if Jaq hated him so much, he had also feared the old man’s power. But that was then, when he was still next to nothing. Now was a different ball game altogether.

“I came here because you’re a coward, old man. You had to pay a fancy lawyer to deliver your bullshit to me? I don’t know what to call you, a yellow ass or a chicken full of shit.”

Rad stepped forward like a vicious hound ready to defend its master. “Watch your filthy mouth, Montero!”

But gone were the days when they could just bully him at whim. “You have the fucking gall to tell me to watch it after you trashed my house?”

Rad smirked. “Are you accusing us? You have no proof.”

There you go, the defensive words of the guilty.
He nearly blurted out that he could send Rad to prison if he wanted to because he had concrete evidence, but he decided to save that ace for later encounters. The Yulos, as he had learned over the years were a thick, hard wall to crack, much less go through. He didn’t even get past a female Yulo, he thought with irony.

“I will sue you,” Manolo declared.

“On what grounds?” he scoffed.

“Malicious intent to destroy my family’s reputation and profit from it.”

He smiled in derision. “Really? And how will that even pan out? You didn’t even find the video when you ransacked my house. That’s your only evidence and ill-acquired evidence don’t count in court. What’re you gonna do, old man?” he taunted.

Manolo clenched his jaw, his eyes burning with hate.
That’s right, old man, hate me. Hate me as I hate you.

“You will regret this.”

“I won’t regret anything, Yulo. My conscience doesn’t stoop that low. Unlike you.”

“You fuck! You’re lying!” Rad snarled.

He turned to Rad. “Why would I would waste my precious time lying for your stupid ass? I was minding my own business all these years and you came to my house, destroyed my property and you expect me to just stand back and watch?” He shook his head. “Not this time.”

Rad whipped up a gun and pointed it at him.

He stared at the barrel and didn’t even blink. He spread his arms, challenging Rad. “What, you gonna shoot me in broad daylight? Go ahead. I’m sure the public will welcome new shit from the Yulo clan. That will be prime time news for ages. You ready to spend life in jail?”

Rad bared his teeth in a feral smile. “We can say you trespassed. I can kill you right now, Montero.”

“Aah, come on, Rad, put it down if you don’t have the balls to fire it.”

“You fuck–!”

“Don’t be nervous. One bullet and we’re both going down.”

“Put the gun down, Rad,” Manolo said.

Gnashing his teeth, Rad lowered the gun to his side.

Jaq smirked at Manolo.

“Let’s cut the bullshit here, Montero. You’re the only one who would benefit from leaking that video,” Ram cut in.

He turned to Ram. This one had a cool head. “What benefit are you talking about?”

“Money. Publicity for your movie.”

He exhaled a short laugh. “Are you kidding me? I work for DreamWorks.”

“You’re from showbiz. Of course you want publicity. Anything to sell your shit. You and your shit-loving kind get off on it,” Rad said with contempt.

For his profession to be insulted by this dumbfuck who probably hadn’t woken up even a single day in his life worrying about money, it really stung. “You know nothing, Rad. All you do is talk and threat and blow fucking smoke because you’re here in your territory surrounded by your bodyguards. Try going out of this mansion on your own. You think you’re the only one who knows how to pull the trigger?”

Rad’s face looked mottled now. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again.

He’d had it with these motherfuckers. They had all been the bane of his life since he had the misfortune to fall in love with a member of their family.

On second thought, whoever leaked that damn video did him a great favor he could give the bastard’s ass a big wet kiss. Looking at his Yulo nemeses all worked up and worried about their fucking reputation, he felt a kind of perverse joy. The scandal sure knocked these pompous asses right off their bloody high horses.

He addressed Manolo Yulo again. “As for the profits, I wish I was making some. But you gave me an idea. I own the original copy of that video and the director’s cut. That’s where all the juicy stuff is and if you’d bothered to watch the video, your daughter was quite a willing participant in it, old man. I didn’t rape her, you know,” he emphasized the last words with a sneer. “I could have used that as evidence eight years ago.”

Rad lunged at him.

Angie was roused by the non-stop knocking on the door.
She had locked herself in her bedroom the whole morning, even skipping lunch. The events that transpired earlier today had completely shook her life to its foundation.

She left the bed and opened the door. Her younger sister was outside looking frantic.

“Angie, come! Hurry!”

“Sher? Why?”

Sherry grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go!”

They ran to the hallway and descended the grand staircase. Loud voices wafted from the front entrance. She recognized her father’s voice and her brothers’ and someone else’s.

A familiar voice.

Her heart slammed hard in her chest. “Oh God…!”

“It’s Jaq! He’s here! They’re gonna kill him!”

She stopped walking and stood there, her limbs shaking. Her mind was shouting in mounting panic.

Jaq? Here?!

“Angie, come on, let’s go!”

Sherry shook her arm, pulling her back to reality and dragged her to the front door.

The commotion was coming from the driveway of their mansion.

They burst through the front door.

Angie was greeted by a scene straight out of a movie flashback. The movie about her life.

Jaq was being held on both arms by their bodyguards. Rad was aiming a gun in his face at close range, while Ram and their father looked on.

That fateful day some eight years ago was right in front of her again.

“
Kuya
Raaaad! Noooo!” she screamed in horror.

They all looked at her.

“Get back inside!” Manolo shouted.

But her fear for Jaq’s life was greater than her fear of her father. She ran down the steps and crossed the paved walk toward them. “Let him go, Dad! Please, let him go!”

Lord, this couldn’t happen all in one day!
But it was. Fate must really hate her today.

Ram clamped his hand around her arm, hard. “We’re just teaching him a lesson. Get back inside.”

She struggled to get away but Ram was so strong. “
Kuya
Ram, please!”

Sherry ran to their father, crying. “Dad, please, don’t hurt
him! Please!”

Manolo exhaled deeply and gestured to the bodyguards.

They let go. Jaq fell to his knees on the ground.

Angie stared at him. Their paths had never crossed again all these years.
Then all of a sudden, he burst into her life again like a meteor, exploding in all directions, turning her world upside down.

Jaq slowly stood up, wiping his bleeding nose with his hand.

Their eyes met.

His eyes were blazing with hate, but what she felt was freezing coldness, immobilizing her where she stood.

“Wow, finally, a reunion with the entire Yulo family. How lucky can I get?”

“Shut up!” Rad snapped at Jaq.

“Hey, Angie, cheer up! We’re famous! Resurrected from the dead! Ain’t that grand?”

She wished the ground would open up right that minute and swallow her whole. She felt like a woman of the lowest morals. She couldn’t face Jaq like this. She wasn’t prepared.

“Just let him go, Dad,” she said softly and turned around.

Her tears fell the moment she turned her back on them.

Jaq watched her retreating figure with ambivalent feelings.
Seeing her again after all these years was like getting hit by lightning.

The shock was staggering.

“Don’t ever come near any of our property again, Montero. You won’t like what we’d do to you next time,” Rad warned him.

As if they hadn’t done enough damage to him already. Rad was the funniest shit. “If you touch any of my property again, I’ll kill you.” He really meant it, too. Enough was enough.

“First you accuse us. Now you’re threatening us?”

“No, I’m telling you, Rad and you better take it seriously. You think you’re the only one who has connections? Who knows how to play dirty? You think your money can save your ass all the time? Lemme ask you, do you wear Kevlar twenty-four seven?”

Rad visibly paled, but it was gone in a flash.

“You’re not invincible. Nobody is. We all die. In the end, the only thing that will count is who pulled the trigger first and who hit the mark.”

Rad was speechless.

“So if you want to kill me, do it now, because if not, you’ve earned yourself a death wish. Any day could be your last, too. Remember that.”

Jaq clashed stares with them, making them feel the depth of his hate.

“Get out,” Manolo rasped.

Jaq smiled and gave Rad a full right swing to the jaw.

The fucker dropped to the ground like a fallen tree, his eyes losing focus.

Guns were drawn again, aimed at him.

“Don’t fire!” Manolo shouted, spreading his arms to stop his bodyguards. The old man rushed to his son’s side and took the gun from Rad’s hand, probably afraid that his trigger-happy son would totally lose it and start shooting indiscriminately.