"Julie, you did great during rehearsal. You're more than ready for tomorrow," Joel said, tapping her shoulder.
"Thanks," Julie replied softly. "I thought I'd mess up again today. Hopefully I won't get a mental block tomorrow." She sighed, fiddling with her fingers.
"I know you'll be fine," Nicole said, giving her a reassuring pat.
Julie nodded at her girlfriend's words.
"Julie," Raymond suddenly asked, "are you ready to face your ex tomorrow?"
Joel immediately elbowed him.
Everyone noticed Julie's hand clench. The seriousness on her face said it all—she wasn't fully ready. The fear of standing under countless eyes still lingered.
"I don't care about him," Julie said firmly. "I forgot him a long time ago. If there's anything left, it's just anger."
Gabriel glanced at her."So how will you greet your ex-boyfriend?"
"Why would I greet him?" Julie raised an eyebrow.
"Julie," Gabriel said, tapping her arm lightly, "we don't know what they're planning tomorrow. And we can't avoid them forever."
Julie thought for a moment. "I won't greet him."
"So," Gabriel grinned, "how will you introduce me as your con-boyfriend?"
"Gab, that jerk doesn't even know you. Do whatever you want," Julie said, tapping him back.
"Where's Cielo?" Gabriel asked.
"He's fixing something. He'll be here later—he's with Dennis," Raymond replied. "Officer duties."
"You're an officer too. Why aren't you there?" Julie asked.
"Only the president and vice president attend. I'm just the secretary," Joel sighed.
"I thought you were just lazy," Julie teased.
"What?" Joel shot back.
"Oh—Cielo's here," Gabriel said.
Dennis walked in behind Cielo, both looking tired.
"So," Cielo sighed, looking around. The room fell quiet."The event is tomorrow. There'll be a lot of visitors."
"Yeah… and?" Raymond asked.
"We should also expect things we can't control," Cielo continued.
He sat beside Julie and gently ruffled her hair.
"Will you be okay?" he asked.
Julie smiled. "Don't worry about me."
He ruffled her hair again. "Okay. If you say so."
Joel noticed the tension and tapped Cielo's shoulder."So? Anything else?"
Cielo clenched his hands.
"Auntie Carmen contacted me today."
Everyone stiffened.
"What did she say?" Julie asked quietly.
"She went to the bank," Cielo said. "She confirmed the passbook is still active. But there's more."He took a breath. "They withdrew 100,000 last week."
Shock rippled through the room.
"So the account still has funds," Kenneth said. "Did she ask who was withdrawing it?"
"Banks don't reveal identities," Cielo replied. "But she asked what identification was used."
"And?" Gabriel pressed.
"A man in his twenties," Cielo said. "He claimed to be her nephew. He used photocopied IDs and an authorization letter—with Auntie Carmen's forged signature. Since he kept coming back, the bank stopped asking for verification."
Julie felt her chest tighten.
"What did Auntie do?" she asked.
"She was shocked," Cielo replied. "She pretended nothing was wrong so the cashier wouldn't suspect anything."
"Did she want to take it further?" Kenneth asked.
"I didn't force her," Cielo said. "What matters is—we confirmed the passbook is still being used."
"Ciel," Kenneth said slowly, "do you remember when your uncle mentioned their company almost went bankrupt? That's when the arranged marriage came up, right?"
"Yeah," Cielo nodded. "Dawn's father was desperate. He asked my dad and Raymond's dad for help."
"They were barely holding on," Dennis added.
"But your dad refused the marriage and chose to help financially instead," Kenneth continued.
"Yes," Cielo said. "That's why I'm wondering—are we reaching too far by connecting this?"
"There's no harm in tracing backward," Kenneth replied. "We're not accusing anyone. And Dawn was seen receiving the passbook."
"And Auntie Carmen confirmed Dawn visited Crisha before the drowning," Jason added.
Cielo sighed. "It's still unfair to accuse Dawn's father without proof."
"We know," Raymond said, patting his shoulder. "We're just being careful."
"For now, focus on tomorrow," Kenneth said. "Auntie Carmen will keep in touch."
"Yeah," Cielo nodded. "I guess so."
"Did you tell your brother?" Jason asked.
"He'll find out eventually," Cielo replied.
Later that night, Joel stood on the balcony, the cool air brushing his face.
"Still thinking?" his cousin asked.
"Yeah. I get why Cielo's careful. He doesn't want to accuse anyone without proof."
"But isn't it obvious?" Raymond asked.
He didn't answer. He just watched the clouds drift.
"Get some sleep," he finally said.
"Yeah. You too—don't overthink," Raymond replied before heading inside.
He followed shortly after.
Tomorrow will come fast, he thought.And everything might change after that.