Broken Promises (COMPLETED)

Chapter 23 - Truth Revealed

Photo Credit : Screen Grab from Aldub Pa More Youtube Post - God Gave Me You Lenten Special

Another update readers, hopefully another twist you were not expecting. I'm so happy with the response to my story, which is why I try my best to give you updates everyday. Hopefully I will be able to sustain this even while I do the AMACon3 entries for our prompts. I promise to give my best effort so that we can sustain momentum for my story.

Read on my loves, hope you like this update. Cannot thank you all enough for the support, hope we journey together till the end of this fic (which is not anytime soon). Enjoy  and comment please :) 

Richard quickly went online to check the two corporate accounts they set up for Design Asia. His heart plummeted, his body went cold all over. The savings account that contained eight million now had only three million left. He saw a series of transactions that transferred funds to a different account number that was unfamiliar to him. The transactions were done only two days ago, after his meeting with Tony.

He checked their current account, the one used for processing check payments to suppliers. It used to contain seven million, but was now down to two million left, also transferred through online transaction. Tony got a total of ten million from them, from right under his nose without any difficulty.

"Babe, anong problema?" Dei approached him slowly, looking apprehensive.

Oh, God, how was he going to tell Dei? How would he explain being betrayed by someone he trusted, someone who worked for his dad for so long? It just didn't make sense, he thought he knew Tony well. He buried his face in his hands, feeling himself shake all over.

"Dei..........we need to talk. I....I can't carry this on my own anymore."

She walked over to him, gathering him in her arms while he sits dejectedly. His hands wrap around her middle, his face leaning on her middle. She feels him shaking, wondering what could affect him so much. Rubbing his back, she tries to pacify him and ease whatever emotion he is feeling. She pulls him up and leads him to the bed to lie down. Wrapped in each other's arms, they talk.

He tells her about the company's problems, his suspicions and the incidents that followed. He told her about Sam's phone call, and how Sam found out about Tony. Sam was dining out with a client one evening a few days ago and saw Tony also having dinner with several men. He heard snatches of their conversation.

The men were loan sharks who loaned money to Tony that night. Sam got curious about the amount Tony borrowed and why he would need such a big sum of money, enough to go to a loan shark. He finished dinner with his client when he saw Tony was done, and followed him. He saw Tony proceed to the casino, where he met with two men and headed to the gaming table to play.

Sam confronted Tony two days ago, which probably scared Tony into leaving. Sam tried to call him this afternoon but Tony was not picking up. He then decided to visit Tony's house in the south, and was told that Tony left for an overseas trip with a return date still indefinite. Upon checking with the airlines, they found that he left for Davao, most likely to take his overseas flight from there. There might be a chance for them to issue a hold departure order if he was still in Davao.

"Dei, majority of that money were downpayments for projects we three were able to close. The biggest project is mine, five million for bathroom fixtures of my resort project in Coron."

"Do you want to talk to papa? Maybe he can help us get enough to pay for the lost amount."

"I don't want your parents to know about this Dei. This is a major failure on my part, I will solve this on my own. I just needed to tell you because I don't like keeping secrets from you."

"Do you want to use the land title as collateral?"

"No. Even if it's considered conjugal property, I would never use it because your parents gave it as a gift. I will figure something out, Dei."

"How come you won't let me help? This is a time when we need to help each other RJ."

"Dei, telling you was help enough for me. I feel better now. Don't worry about this, I will be meeting with Sam and Daniel about this."

"Be careful in dealing with them, babe. It's so difficult now to trust anyone. I hope you get this sorted out, I'll pray for you."

They left the house and went to church, praying together for a solution to this nightmare. Dei felt scared, not because of the money lost. She felt a storm in their lives was coming, and prayed they were both strong enough to weather the storm.

-----

Richard, Daniel and Sam met the following day to discuss Tony's betrayal and their plans. When Richard discussed the evidence of Daniel's kickbacks for his projects, Daniel was livid. He denied them, saying Tony fabricated the evidence but there were vouchers to prove he actually received the checks himself. Both Richard and Sam agreed that he should leave the company gracefully, even if it meant taking his contacts and ongoing projects with him.

"I can't believe this. You're the taking the word of a family friend who betrayed you over mine. Fine. I shouldn't waste my time on losers like you anyway. Good riddance," He said, slamming down the lid of his laptop and walking out of the room. Both heaved a sigh of relief that Daniel did not put up much resistance anymore.

"RJ, still no trace of Tony. I guess he was able to leave the country after all."

"How much of the money was for your projects, Sam?"

"Three million, bro. I will try to negotiate with my supplier to stagger deliveries so that I can have more time to pay for the amount. Kilala ni papa yun, baka sakaling matawaran naming yung price, so that I won't have to pay the whole three million."

"I need five million for my Coron project. I don't know how I will settle it, I have my own savings but it won't even come to half of what I need."

"Let's look at the receivables, RJ. Sige, kung anuman ang dumating na checks, prioritize muna natin yung sayo, mas Malaki requirement mo eh."

In the parking lot of their building, Daniel called an unidentified number inside the confines of his car. His call was pick up after three rings.

"Hello....."

"Checked the account already. Madali ka naman pala kausap eh. Kasi naman, what made you think I wouldn't find out about your investigation? Such confidence, did you think I'd let you get away with it?

"I did what you asked me to do. The money was credited to the account already. You changed the PIN of that account so you know I won't have access to the money anymore. What more do you want?"

"Nothing. Just reminding you to be careful in crossing swords with me. I'll have your daughter released, pero don't make a mistake of coming out in the open to expose this little plan I made. Papapatay ko talaga anak mo pag ginawa mo yun."

"I destroyed 20 years of friendship with people I care about, just so you can have your way. Pati anak ko nadamay. You got the money already, just let me and my family leave the country in peace, Daniel."

"As soon as the fake passports are done, you can leave. Give me a week. Till then, enjoy the four walls of that house you're in. Mabait naman ako eh, kita mo pati exit niyo sa Pilipinas pinaayos ko. I'll share some of the money with you, pabaon for when you reach Brazil. You can stay there for three months max, we'll transfer you to the US from there. After that, you're on your own."

"I hope you realize that they will find out you were behind all of this soon. The Lord has ways, Daniel."

He cut the connection of the call, unnerved by Tony's last statement. His plan was watertight, he assured himself. It was lucky that someone from his suppliers told him about Tony's investigation, and shared with him Tony's addiction to gambling. His addiction became the perfect reason to logically assume Tony stole the money for his addiction.

"Malas mo lang Tony."

He drove off, looking forward to his trip to Maldives with Trina.