A'ishah's POV

I sighed, staring at Clifford as he happily ate his strawberry ice cream at seven in the morning.

"Akala ko ba taho ang gusto mo?" I muttered, watching as he took another eager bite of his ice cream like it was the best thing in the world.

He grinned at me, completely unfazed. "Eh wala eh. Wala pang nagtitinda ng taho ng ganitong oras, so ice cream na lang."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Ice cream sa umaga, Clifford?"

"What's wrong with that? It's still dairy. And it has fruit." Clifford argued, motioning to his cone like he was proving a point.

"It's healthy. Protein and vitamins included."

I scoffed but couldn't stop the small chuckle that slipped out. "Good thing I didn't leave you in the woods last night. Otherwise, you'd be on the news right now. Newsflash: Man dies from lack of strawberry taho."

"At least, namatay akong masaya." He smirked, stuffing another spoonful into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes, but as I took a small bite of my own ice cream, I had to admit. It wasn't bad. The sweet, tangy taste of the strawberries mixed with the creamy texture was oddly comforting. After everything that happened last night, the fight, the chase, the lingering fear, I welcomed the simple pleasure of eating something light.

"Okay, fine." I muttered, pretending to be annoyed. "It's good."

Clifford nearly choked on his ice cream as he pointed at me triumphantly. "See? Trust me more, A'ishah. I have great taste."

I shook my head again but let the moment linger. For the first time in hours, the tension in my chest eased, just a little. But deep down, I knew it wouldn't last.

Because no matter how much I tried to enjoy this stupid strawberry ice cream at seven in the morning, my mind was already somewhere else.

Back to the package. Back to the man in the shadows. Back to the fact that someone wanted me to find that box.

And now that it was gone, I had a feeling they wouldn't stop until I knew exactly what was inside.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a dimly lit hotel room.

My body felt heavy, my mind groggy as I struggled to sit up. What time is it?

I searched for my phone, my heart sinking when I saw the screen. 12:07 AM.

Midnight. Again.

Panic shot through me. I had meant to rest for only a few hours, but I'd slept through the entire day. The exhaustion from the past two sleepless nights must have caught up with me.

I threw off the blanket and hurried to the door, stepping barefoot into the quiet hallway. My stomach twisted.

We were supposed to go back before anything else happened. What if we were already too late?

I knocked on Clifford's door, harder than necessary. After a few seconds, it creaked open, revealing Clifford, his hair a mess, his eyes half-lidded with sleep. He blinked at me sluggishly.

"A'ishah?" His voice was thick with exhaustion. "What-" He rubbed his face, sighing. "Disoras na ng gabi."

"I overslept." My breath was still uneven from rushing out of my room. "We have to go now. We wasted an entire day."

Clifford frowned. "We?" He leaned against the doorframe, still blinking sleep away. "You needed that sleep, A'ishah. You haven't properly rested in two days. You would've collapsed if you kept going."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he lifted a hand to stop me.

"And no, we're not going back now." His tone was firm but calm. "It's too dangerous. We're already at a disadvantage after what happened last night. We'll go in the morning. Not at midnight. Not when we can barely see and when whoever was there might still be waiting."

Frustration simmered in my chest. I hated waiting. I hated not knowing.

"But-"

"A'ishah." His voice softened, but the seriousness remained. "I know you want to find answers. But you're no good to anyone, especially yourself if you push your body past its limits."

I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening at my sides. He wasn't wrong. But the unease in my gut wouldn't leave me alone.

"... Fine." I muttered after a long pause. "Morning."

Clifford nodded, yawning as he ran a hand through his hair. "Good. Now, go back to sleep."

I scoffed. "I just woke up."

"Then at least rest." He smirked lazily. "Unless you want to sit here and watch me sleep. Which would be kinda weird."

I rolled my eyes, but a small huff of amusement left me. "Idiot."

His smirk widened as he stepped back inside. "Goodnight, A'ishah."

I didn't reply, only turning on my heel and heading back to my own room.

But even as I lay back down, staring at the ceiling, sleep didn't come easily.

Because no matter how much Clifford reassured me... I couldn't shake the feeling that time was already running out.

My hands were trembling as I grabbed my phone. I sat up in bed, my heart pounding against my ribs as I scrolled through my contacts and pressed Jana's name.

The dial tone barely lasted two rings before she picked up.

"A'ishah?" Jana's voice was groggy but quickly turned alert. "It's midnight. What's wrong?"

I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing. "I found something. I need you to see it."

I switched to video call and flipped my camera, pointing it at the hotel desk where I had laid out the evidence. The empty box that was sent to me. The photographs Clifford and I had found. The stacks of old documents, some of them with official seals. And that one photo, the one with Maxine in it.

Jana's face, illuminated by her screen, hardened. "Where did you get these?"

"Clifford and I went back to the site last night." I murmured, tracing the edges of the photograph with my fingers. "We found these hidden in a locked compartment. Whoever sent me that box, whoever's been leaving these messages, they knew I'd be looking for this."

"And this." I pointed at the man in the picture. "We saw this man last night. He came to us asking for help, but he ran away."

Jana leaned closer to her camera. "That man in the picture... why would he run away?"

"I don't know." I whispered. My fingers hovered over the image. "But, Jana... look behind him."

Jana's sharp intake of breath told me she saw it too. Maxine, standing in the background, half-shadowed.

"What the hell." Jana muttered. "Are you sure that's her?"

"I know it's her." My voice was tight, my pulse racing. "Jana, Maxine never told me anything about this. About him. About-"

I hesitated, my eyes dropping to the documents. The folder with my last name. The words buried within. Espionage. Infiltration. Corporate sabotage. Elimination.

Jana's gaze darkened. "A'ishah... do you think Maxine knew?"

I didn't answer. Because I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I took a deep breath, pushing my emotions aside as I picked up my phone again. With steady hands, I began taking pictures of the documents and photographs, ensuring every detail was captured.

I snapped close-ups of the official seals, the redacted names, and the folder with my last name scrawled across it. When I reached the photograph, the one with him and her, I hesitated. My thumb hovered over the screen before I forced myself to take the picture.

Once I was done, I sent everything to Jana.

Pls, look into these. Especially the folder. Sent. 2:54am

I will. Get some rest, A'ishah. - Jana Received. 2:58am

But how could I rest when my mind refused to be quiet?

I sighed, letting the phone drop onto the bed as I lay back, staring at the ceiling. The dim glow of the city lights filtered through the curtains, casting long shadows across the room. My chest felt tight.

Nicole. Maxine.

I curled my fingers into the sheets. Before, it was always them investigating, uncovering the truth, fighting together. Nicole was relentless, always pushing forward even when we hit dead ends. Maxine, despite her attitude, was sharp, connecting details even the higher-ups often overlooked. They were a team.

But now...

Nicole was gone. And Maxine... Maxine was locked away.

I closed my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat. I thought of Maxine behind those bars, the look in her eyes when I last saw her.

Alone. Isolated.

I knew how much she loved Nicole. How much she loved me. And yet, everything pointed to her.

And now... now she has someone else.

My stomach twisted as the memory resurfaced. The image from her cell. That woman on top of her, their faces close, too close. My jaw clenched.

Has she already moved on? Had I been a fool to think she still- I shook my head. It doesn't matter.

What mattered was the truth. What mattered was giving them both justice.

Even if it meant confronting the past I tried so hard to forget.

Maxine's POV

Lovely was quiet the next day.

Too quiet.

At first, I thought maybe she was just tired. But even when Ate Carmen tried to joke around with her in the morning, she barely reacted. No sarcastic remarks, no teasing, not even a complaint about the terrible prison food, which was weird as hell, considering she always had something to say about it.

I decided to push a little. "What's up with you, Lovely? Are you sick? This is the first time I've seen you not running your mouth."

She barely reacted, just poking at her food with her spoon.

Ate Carmen tried next. "Iha, may iniisip ka ba? Huwag mong sarilihin. Nandito naman kami."

Lovely just gave a half-hearted shrug and mumbled, "Wala 'to."

Which was the biggest lie I'd ever heard.

Lovely never shut up. She thrived on chaos, gossip, and teasing me until I wanted to strangle her. Pero ngayon? She wasn't even meeting my eyes.

And I knew why.

Osorio.

Her words from last night still echoed in my head, sharp and full of anger. Asking me if I knew Osorio, if I knew what happened between them before.

Of course, I didn't know. But it didn't matter. Because to her, I had still sat at the same table as Osorio. I had still entertained the idea of working with them.

And now, she was looking at me like I was no different from the person who ruined her life.

Ate Carmen sighed, finally giving up on trying to make her talk. She patted Lovely's arm gently before turning to me. "Ikaw na bahala diyan, Maxine."

When Ate Carmen walked away, I nudged Lovely's leg under the table.

"Stop sulking." I muttered. "What is this, a silent treatment? I'm not going to cry over it, Lovely."

She didn't even glance at me.

I rolled my eyes and leaned in. "Fine. Just curse me out already. Or better yet, punch me. Maybe you'll feel better."

That got a reaction. Lovely slammed her spoon down and finally glared at me. "Fuck off, Maxine. This isn't funny."

I smirked, satisfied. "There it is. I was wondering if you still had a voice."

Her jaw clenched. "You don't get it."

I tilted my head. "Then make me."

Lovely exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "I don't owe you anything."

"You don't." I agreed, shrugging. "But it's obvious you need to let it out."

For a moment, I thought she'd just shut down again. But I could see it in her eyes. She wanted to talk. She just didn't know how to do it without breaking.

So I waited.

And finally, in a voice quieter than I'd ever heard from her, she muttered, "She used me, Max."

I said nothing.

"She made me believe we were a team. That I mattered." Lovely let out a bitter laugh. "But in the end, the promotion was more important. Her name was more important. So she pinned the entire fucking case on me and walked away clean."

Lovely looked at me then, her eyes dark with something I couldn't quite name. But her voice was steady when she said, "You better be damn sure about helping them, Maxine. Because that woman? She doesn't give a shit about anyone but herself."

I held her gaze, letting her words sink in.

I had been planning to use this situation to my advantage, to strike a deal. But now, a new question formed in my mind.

Just how much was I willing to trust the Special Unit?

And more importantly, how much were they willing to sacrifice to get what they wanted?

The night had settled into a strange sense of normalcy, or at least as normal as prison could be. Lovely was in a better mood, finally laughing at one of Ate Carmen's bad jokes, even throwing in a few sarcastic remarks like she usually did. It was a relief, seeing her like that after how tense things had been earlier.

I was just about to lie down when a guard stopped in front of our cell.

"De Luna." He called, his voice low and indifferent. "You have a visitor."

A visitor?

A'ishah?

For half a second, a ridiculous spark of hope lit in my chest before I crushed it. No, that wasn't happening. She wasn't coming back here. Not for me.

With a sigh, I stood up. Lovely and Ate Carmen watched me go, but they didn't say anything.

The walk to the visitor's area felt longer than usual. And when I got there, confusion hit me like a brick.

A man was sitting on the other side of the glass. Someone I didn't recognize.

He was dressed simply. Black jacket, cap pulled low over his face. But something about him felt... off. Like he wasn't just some random visitor.

I sat down slowly, my body tense, ready for whatever this was. "Who the hell are you?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope.

Sliding it across the table, he finally spoke, his voice rough and unreadable. "Thought you'd want to see this."

My fingers twitched as I grabbed it. Something about this felt wrong.

I opened the envelope carefully, pulling out the photographs inside.

And then...

My world tilted.

It's A'ishah with Clifford. And it seems like they are in Baguio.

The first picture, A'ishah laughing, a genuine, beautiful laugh, holding a strawberry ice cream cone. Clifford was beside her, smiling like he belonged there.

The second, her hand resting on his arm as they walked through the streets, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The third, both of them standing in front of a hotel, going inside together.

I couldn't breathe.

My chest felt hollow, like something vital had just been ripped out of me.

The images blurred in my vision, but I refused to blink. I forced myself to look at them, to absorb every detail.

A'ishah looked happy. Not just happy, content. Like she had moved on. Like she had finally found someone worth staying for.

And it wasn't me.

I swallowed hard, shoving down the burning sensation clawing at my throat. This wasn't new. This wasn't a surprise. I knew she had left me. I knew she had chosen a different life.

But seeing it? Seeing her like this, with someone else, looking like she had never once loved me... It was unbearable.

The man on the other side of the glass watched me carefully, his face unreadable.

I forced my voice to stay steady. "Who sent you?"

He didn't answer.

I clenched my jaw, shoving the pictures back into the envelope. My hands were trembling. I curled them into fists, forcing myself to stop feeling, to stop hurting.

This was what I deserved, wasn't it?

I had been stupid to hope. Stupid to think I still meant something to her.

A'ishah was gone. And this? This was proof that she wasn't coming back.

We'll talk in the morning my ass.

The walk back to my cell felt heavier, each step dragging like lead. My grip on the envelope was tight, too tight. But I didn't care. My mind was still stuck on those damn pictures, burned into the back of my eyelids no matter how hard I tried to shake them off.

A'ishah. With him. Smiling. Touching. Walking into a hotel together like it was nothing.

Like I was nothing.

The second I stepped inside our shared cell, Lovely and Ate Carmen stiffened. They knew. They could feel it.

"Max?" Lovely asked, her usual teasing tone replaced with concern. "What happened?"

Ate Carmen frowned, stepping closer. "Ayos ka lang ba?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. The storm inside me was too loud. Instead, before I could stop myself, my fist slammed into the wall.

Pain exploded through my knuckles, but it barely registered past the suffocating rage curling inside my chest. The impact sent a dull vibration up my arm, but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough.

"Holy shit-" Lovely shot up from her bed. "Max, what the fuck?!"

Ate Carmen grabbed my wrist, her grip firm but cautious. "Anong ginagawa mo?! Mawawalan ka ng kamay sa ginagawa mo eh!"

I barely heard them. My breathing was ragged, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. My head was pounding, my body trembling with the sheer force of what I was trying to hold back.

A'ishah.

With him.

Inside a hotel.

I yanked my arm away from Ate Carmen's grasp, my voice sharp and unforgiving. "Get me my lawyer."

Lovely and Ate Carmen exchanged looks.

"Max." Ate Carmen said carefully, her eyes scanning me like I was about to completely lose it. Maybe I already had. "Ano bang nangyari?"

"I said-" My voice dropped, low and edged with something dangerous. "Get me Denise. Now."

Lovely hesitated for a split second before nodding toward the cell bars. "Guard!" She called out. "She needs to see her lawyer. Now."

The guard, who had been half-distracted before, glanced over with a lazy frown. "Bakit? Importante ba?"

I turned to face him, my eyes sharp as a blade. "You either get me Denise now, or I make sure the next person who comes through those doors has a fucking warrant for your entire department."

The guard stiffened, muttered something under his breath, and walked off.

I exhaled sharply, my fists still clenched, my knuckles already bruising.

The waiting was agonizing. Every second felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest. I could still see the pictures every time I blinked.

A'ishah smiling, Clifford's hand resting on her lower back, the two of them stepping into that hotel together.

By the time Denise arrived, the rage inside me had settled into something colder. Sharper.

She rushed in, her expression tight with worry. Her blazer was slightly wrinkled, like she had thrown it on in a hurry. The moment she saw me, her eyes swept over my bruised knuckles, and her face hardened.

"Max." Her voice was firm but laced with concern. "What happened?"

I leaned back against the chair, keeping my expression blank. "I need you to get me the divorce proposal from A'ishah."

Denise froze. "What?"

I met her gaze, unflinching. "I'll sign it."

For a moment, she just stared at me, as if she was trying to figure out if I was serious. Then she exhaled sharply, pulling out the chair across from me and sitting down.

"Why now?" She asked, her voice softer.

I clenched my jaw. "Because it's time."

"Bullshit." Her eyes flashed. "Something happened."

I didn't answer.

Denise sighed, rubbing her temples. "Max, you've ignored that proposal for months. And now, in the middle of the night, you suddenly want it?" She leaned forward, her voice dropping. "Tell me what happened."

I swallowed, my throat tight. "I just-I don't want to do this anymore." My voice came out colder than I intended. "A'ishah's moved on. It's time I do the same."

Denise narrowed her eyes, studying me. "Who told you that?"

I hesitated. Just for a second. But it was enough.

Denise's expression darkened. "Someone showed you something, didn't they?"

I stayed silent.

Denise scoffed, shaking her head. "You think I don't know you by now? You're reacting, Max. And I don't think you actually want to sign that paper."

My jaw clenched. "I don't care what you think, Denise. Just get me the damn papers."

Silence stretched between us. Then, finally, Denise leaned back, crossing her arms. "Fine. I'll get them."

I let out a slow breath, ignoring the ache in my chest. "Good."

But Denise wasn't done. She tilted her head, her voice dropping into something almost unreadable. "And when you sign them, Max? What then?"

I looked at her, my expression unreadable. Then I gave her a tight, empty smile.

"Then it's over."

~~~

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