Chapter 2

Kons didn't want to talk to the woman either at bigo siyang bumalik sa upuan niya. Sa mga ganitong pagkakataon-- mas mabuting magkakampi sila and they can go on their separate ways after pero talagang galit ito sa kaniya. Sino nga namang babae ang matutuwa kung hindi sumipot sa altar ang groom niya? Kung natuloy ang kasal nila, may anak na kaya sila ngayon? There's no use thinking about it, pero may mga araw na sumasagi sa isip niya 'yon. Vanessa grew up in Russia at schoolmates sila. Likas na matalino ang babae kaya kahit mas matanda siya ng isang taon ay naging ka-eskwela niya ito. Hiwalay ang mga magulang ni Vanessa at ang ina nitong si Valya ay ninang ni Kons. 

Valya is friends with Alexander-- ang tiyuhin ni Kons at siyang nagpalaki sa kaniya, and Stan, who he later on found out is his real father. Matalik na magkakaibigan si Valya, Alex at Stan. Nasira lang ang pagkakaibigan ng tatlo nang may makilalang ibang babae si Stan habang engaged kay Katerina na kapatid ni Alex. Sa kabila ng lahat, pumagitna si Valya kay Alex at Stan. 

And now she's gone just like that. 

Kons felt really bad na hindi man lang siya nakahingi ng tawad sa ninang niya. Para na rin niya itong ina, at hindi nito deserve ang paraan ng pagkamatay. She was found on the tub naked. May marka ito ng pagkasakal sa leeg kaya na-rule out na hindi suicide ang dahilan. There were fingerprints everywhere and the worst part is finding out those prints were his father's. 

Walang motibo para patayin ng kaniyang ama si Valya. They were all equally rich. Alex was involved in military firearms, while Stan's business focused on gold and explosives. Valya is an inventor and she made a lot of money from it. Just recently, Stan was telling Kons that Valya invented a small device that could send a shockwave in a large scale. She called it GORD29. She made two of them-- one was kept in a safe, while the other one was stolen. Malakas ang pakiramdam ni Kons na ito ang dahilan kung bakit pinatay ang Ninang Valya niya. 

***

Butyrka Prison, Moscow

Konstantin was waiting for his father. At nang bumukas ang pinto ay iniluwa ang kaniyang ama. Pansin niya ang pangangalumata nito at pagkahulog ng katawan. Kahit paano ay nabawasan ang pag-aalala niya na wala siyang nakitang pasa o sugat sa mukha nito o mga braso. He doesn't know if there's any in covered areas. They both picked up the phone so they could talk.

"Oranzhevy - eto nay vas tsvet." (Orange is not your color.) 

"Ya znayu. Ya predpochitayu rozovyi." (I know. I prefer pink.) Naupo ang kaniyang ama. At least, Stan is still in good spirits. He can still joke with him despite the conditions he's in. 

Konstantin knew they don't have a lot of time. Ni hindi niya mayakap ang ama para maipadama ang pagdamay niya rito. The glass separating the visitors and prisoners is thick and it is meant to be that way for a reason. 

"Where were you when it happened?" tanong niya sa ama. There were fingerprints and it all belonged to Stan. 

"I was there." He answered him so casually that Kons started to worry. Ano'ng ginagawa nito sa bahay ng Ninang niya?

"What? Were you there the whole time or did she invite you? I don't understand." 

"Valya and I are supposed to have lunch, but she didn't show up. I waited for an hour and when she didn't turn up, I started to worry. Eto nay pochoze na to, chto ona beret dozhd." (It's not like her to take a raincheck.)

Alam ni Kons 'yon dahil kahit gaano ito ka-busy sa mga ginagawa, she will find the time to show up in school for her daughter, and even for him. When he had a swimming competition in high school, Valya was there to support him, and many more times after that. Hindi alam ng ninang niya ang salitang raincheck dahil palagi itong dumarating. 

"Then how did you get in to her place?" 

Napahilamos si Stan sa mukha. "She put my thumbprint on the system in case of emergencies. That's how I got in. But the prints they found everywhere were not mine. I didn't touch anything. I even used my phone to call the police to report that I found her dead on the tub. I wanted to take her out but Valya looked like she had been dead for quite awhile and I didn't want to interfere with the investigation."

Bihira niyang makita na umiyak ang ama. Actually, it was just once when he found out that Konstantin was his son. Stan rarely cry. But today, he did. He broke down and sobbed.

"I took the blanket from her couch and covered her in the tub. She's like my sister, Konstantin. I would never hurt her." 

"Don't worry, Papa. I believe you." Nakaramdam siya ng awa sa ama. "I'm going to do my best and we will get to the bottom of this." 

Bago matapos ang oras ng dalaw ay ibinilin ng kaniyang ama ang asawa nito-- ang Mama ni Cam. She is currently in the Philippines for a quick vacation when the tragedy happened. Ngayon ay nagpipilit itong bumiyahe papunta sa Russia pero ayaw payagan ni Cam para na rin sa security ng ina. 

Kons picked up the phone and called his brother. "Cam, Papa is being framed by someone."

"Who?" Alas diyes ng gabi sa Pilipinas at alas singko ng hapon sa Russia. 

"I don't know yet, but I will find out," sagot niya sa kapatid. "Everything else is okay? How's the family? Si Tita?" 

"Mama's worried, pero nililibang siya ni Bangs. How's Papa though? Hindi ba siya sinasaktan sa loob?" 

"Acting tough. Wala siyang sugat o pasa. He didn't tell me much either. Anyway, I tried to bail him out. But his case is... on nay podlezit zalogu." (It's non-bailable)

Napabuntong hininga si Cam. "How about Papa's friends? Isn't there someone in position that could help us out? Si Tatay?" 

"Uncle Alex tried to call several people but either they are away or not picking up their phones. I'm starting to think we are on our own."