SATURDAY It's been a week since the accident; Sharlene is praying for some improvement in her child. She is praying that Ashley stays away from danger.
Ashley. Her thoughts echoed in her mind, full of worry.
The world has been cruel to Sharlene; her child almost got lost because of an accident, Martin filed for divorce, and on top of that, she was kicked out of their home. She is also facing a lawsuit for publicly humiliating Sheila, and one misfortune after another has befallen her.
She doesn't know who to prioritize first. Where will she turn now for her child's daily expenses in the hospital? The longer Ashley stays in the hospital, the higher the bills get.
Stay strong, Sharlene. She pondered and exhaled deeply.
Another problem she is facing now is the soul of her imprisoned child. She needs to know the truth; she will go crazy if she thinks about it one by one.
Sharlene returned to her childhood home after her wonderful husband kicked her out.
"Sister, have some coffee first." Vivianne offers her a coffee.
She accepted it. "Thank you, Vivianne." All she could say was.
"What time will the doc come here to assess Ashley?" Vivianne inquired as she sat next to Sharlene.
"It's still afternoon, I think." She wondered. "Do you have something to do?" Sharlene asked Vivianne.
"Why did you ask? Do you want me to buy something for you?" Vivianne responded to her question while maintaining her gaze on Sharlene.
Sharlene just shook her head and thought.
"Tashia told me about the incident, you see." Vivianne said it softly so that only those involved could hear what was being discussed.
She stared at Vivianne's face, taken aback. She didn't speak then, and when she remembers that, she doesn't know where to search for information because she only knows her name.
"I traveled last night," Vivianne began to tell her.
Vivianne's voice was serious, so she just listened.
"They took me to a house I wasn't familiar with. The client with Grandma now may be your age; she knew the person in the cell with her." Vivianne just sighed while retelling what she remembered in her dream.
"Another thing is that they are involved in Leah's death." Vivianne stared at her intently.
She is just staring at Vivianne while her mind keeps the information in her head.
"Leah?" Sharlene asked her companion.
"Yes, that woman we always saw at Grandma's wake, I know you saw her too." Vivianne says to her.
She only nodded at what Vivianne said to her.
"How did Grandma get involved in this?" That was her only question.
Vivianne just sighed before speaking. "Leah was one of Grandma's clients, but because she was killed, she asked Grandma Felicia for help in exchange for Leah's wealth just to be at peace." Vivianne shook her head.
"There's only one possible outcome—Grandma betrayed Leah and sided with her two clients." Vivianne seems very confident in her statement.
"What are the names of the two?" Sharlene asked her.
Sharlene will start gathering information; she needs to take action for her child.
"Fredrick Manuel Santiago, and the woman is Angely." Vivianne says to her.
Angely, Fredrick Manuel? She wondered in her mind.
"Are their names familiar to you, sis?" Vivianne asked her.
Sharlene's brow furrowed; her intuition was telling her something different now.
"Whatever you are thinking, you might be right or you might be wrong. Especially with the surname Santiago, you know that name very well." Vivianne interrupted her flow of thoughts.
"If I'm not mistaken, there was an accident a decade ago, and that couple passed away, right?" Sharlene asked her companion.
Vivianne only nodded at her.
"Don't you remember? You met Sheila Atienza because they always visited that house when we were kids." Vivianne tries to remember the details.
She only stared at Vivianne. She knows where to look for information.
When she was at her grandmother's house, she searched for something to look at that could be connected to the current event. She took something from her bag; she just found it in her grandmother's old cabinet.
"What is that?" Vivianne asked her when she saw an old notebook.
"Ah, I just discovered this in Grandma's cabinet while sifting through items that still had potential." Sharlene explained it to Vivianne.
"Let me see." Vivianne offers it to her.
Sharlene gave it to Vivianne; she suddenly went blank. She gasped and just shook her head.
Vivianne opened the old notebook.
"Sis, there are names here of who Grandma's clients were back then; one of her clients was Leah Martinez." Vivianne said, her eyes wide open because of the shock.
"Maybe her address is there." She just said it to Vivianne.
"Why? Do you really know what happened back then?" Vivianne asked her curiously.
"I need to know, Vivianne; my child's future is at stake here. Long ago, I dreamed of Leah." That's all she said about it.
Vivianne only sighed.
"Wait, the two people who were with Grandma were also brought here to the hospital; I remember Grandma used to visit when she was still strong." Vivianne glanced at another name in the old notebook, her mind racing with memories of past visits.
Sharlene was staring at Vivianne.
"Thank you." That's all she said. "Even though everything is not yet clear, I hope to piece together the events. I hope to piece it together soon." Sharlene is determined in her decision now.
This is for my child. For Ashley. She could only say it in her mind.
"Sis, do you need help? D—don't worry, there's a discount, and besides, Ashley's life is at stake here, right? Vivianne asked her.
Sharlene only chuckled softly at what her companion said, and it felt lighter, not knowing why her heart was happy talking to Vivianne and Tashia.
"Thank you, I might not be able to pay you back right now," was all she could say.
Vivianne didn't answer her, and Vivianne stared at her.
"Are you actually going to let your husband be?" Vivianne suddenly asked her.
"I need to choose Ashley first now. Besides, he was the first to let go, Vivianne." That's all she could say. "I can endure all his deceit toward me; I can endure all his insults, but when it comes to my child, I will no longer allow it." She shook her head.
"I won't think about that for now; if Ashley wakes up, I'll just explain it to her." She just said it to her companion.
"I have made many mistakes that I regret, but the mistake of getting pregnant and giving birth was a beautiful thing that happened to me." She just laughed.
Vivianne is just listening to her.
"Unlike me, who married for status and was pregnant with the wrong person, I can only advise you to choose the man you want to fight for." Sharlene advised her sister Vivianne, who was listening to her.
"I know you have no regrets about giving birth to Ashley." That's all she heard from Vivianne.
"I'm sorry," she apologized to her sister, who was patiently listening to her now.
"I'm praying that Ashley's assessment results will be good later." She just sighed.