Chapter Four: The Plan That Bit Back
Catalina Montemayor had never felt this kind of burn in her chest before.
It wasn't the kind of sadness she felt when a toy broke. It wasn't even the kind of jealousy she felt when her cousin got a bigger birthday cake.
This was deeper.
Mira had done nothing—nothing loud, nothing showy—but still, everyone noticed her.
Even her father, who barely looked up from his briefcase most days, had paused to ask, "That girl. Mira. She's still working hard?"
To which Doña Isabella had smiled and said, "She hasn't stopped once."
It was too much.
So Catalina made a plan.
A perfect plan.
The next morning, she waited until Mira was alone in the hallway, dusting the baseboards. Catalina tiptoed into the drawing room, holding something small and shiny in her hand—her mother's pearl hairpin. A gift from her wedding day. Priceless. Sentimental.
Catalina had snuck it from her mother's vanity drawer.
She placed it behind the flower vase near the hallway—right where Mira was working.
Then she hurried away, hiding her smug smile.
An hour later, chaos erupted.
"MARTA!" Doña Isabella's voice rang out like thunder.
Everyone rushed in.
"My pearl pin! It's gone!"
Mira froze mid-sweep.
Catalina stepped forward, eyes wide with mock concern.
"Maybe someone saw it? Mira was cleaning there…"
All heads turned to the girl in the faded helper's uniform.
Mira blinked. Her hands trembled around the broomstick.
"I—I didn't see anything, po."
Tiya Marta stepped forward. "Mira's never stolen a thing. Never even takes extra bread."
But Don Ricardo had joined them now, arms crossed.
"She was alone," Catalina said softly. "No one else passed there…"
Mira lowered her head, cheeks burning.
Then—just as Doña Isabella was about to speak—Manong Lito the butler stepped in, holding up the pearl pin.
"Found it," he said, voice steady. "Behind the vase. And look…"
He held up a handkerchief too—embroidered with a gold "C" on the corner. Catalina's.
Silence.
Dona Isabella turned sharply.
"Catalina…?"
The girl froze. "I… I must've dropped it. Maybe when I was walking…"
"No one saw you walk there," Don Ricardo said, his tone hardening. "And Mira wouldn't hide it behind a vase. That's not theft—that's a child's trap."
Catalina's eyes welled up. "I didn't mean to—!"
"Enough," Isabella said quietly.
She turned to Mira and placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.
"You don't need to be afraid, anak."
Catalina's throat tightened at the word.
Anak.
That was hers.
Later that day, Catalina sat in her room, hugging her knees on her giant pink beanbag, silent and sulking.
Downstairs, Mira was in the kitchen, helping Tiya Marta sort fruits for the dining table. She didn't know what Catalina had tried to do. She only knew someone had believed in her.
Doña Isabella passed by the kitchen, pausing a moment.
"Mira," she said gently.
"Yes po?"
Isabella looked at her with a softness that felt like a hug.
"Would you like to learn how to read? I can teach you."
Mira's eyes widened.
"Y-Yes po! I want to learn."
From the staircase above, Catalina heard it all.
Her face flushed red.
This wasn't over.
End of Chapter Four