As Mia and Enzo drove down the dark road to Tagaytay, a black car followed them like a predator in the shadows. Inside that car, Leo gripped the steering wheel tight. His face was covered in scars—reminders of the "accident" five years ago when Enzo tried to have him killed.
Everyone thought Leo had moved abroad. In reality, Enzo had thrown him off a cliff after Leo confronted him about the death of Mia's father.
But like a bad dream, the truth doesn't die easily. Leo survived. For five years, he waited for his moment.
Memories of college flashed through Leo's mind. He was the first to notice Enzo's obsession.
"Leo, why are you looking at Mia?" Enzo had asked back then during a basketball game. His voice was calm, but he gripped the ball so hard it looked like it would pop.
"We're friends, Enzo. Is it a crime to look at a friend?" Leo replied.
That was the beginning. Leo knew Enzo wasn't "protecting" Mia—he was isolating her. One by one, Enzo drove away every man who got close to her until he was the only one left.
As Mia stared at the cracked windshield of the SUV, she suddenly remembered the smell of paint and turpentine. She remembered the old university art studio. There, among the statues and canvases, a silent competition had started—one she hadn't noticed at the time.
Leo was a Fine Arts scholar. Every afternoon, Mia would watch him paint.
"Why do you always paint the backs of women, Leo?" she asked once.
Leo smiled, his eyes fixed on the canvas. "Because the back is the hardest part to hide, Mia. People can fake a smile, but the back shows how heavy a person's burden really is."
Mia didn't know the woman in his paintings was her. And she didn't know that Enzo was always standing in the shadows of the doorway, watching them laugh, counting every second that he wasn't the reason for her smile.
One night, Enzo found Leo's sketchbook. It was full of charcoal drawings of Mia—Mia laughing, Mia sleeping, Mia crying. To Enzo, every drawing felt like Leo was stealing what belonged to him.
"Beautiful work, Cousin," Enzo said as he slowly tore the pages out one by one. "But remember: everyone can admire art, but the muse? She is mine alone."
That night, Enzo burned Leo's entire thesis exhibit. Everything Leo worked for turned to ash. When Leo tried to tell Mia, Enzo flipped the story. He made her believe Leo started the fire himself for insurance money. Mia believed Enzo. Who would think a "perfect" boyfriend could be so destructive?
THE PRESENT
Enzo noticed the black car speeding up behind them. A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Look, Mia. Your knight in shining armor is in a hurry," Enzo said, placing a gun on the center console. "Leo thinks I don't see him. He thinks he's the hunter. He doesn't know he's just the bait."
"Mmmmph! Mmmmph!" Mia cried behind the duct tape. She was terrified. She didn't know whether to be happy Leo was there or scared he would die because of Enzo's madness.
Enzo suddenly swerved into a rough shortcut—an unpaved road surrounded by tall grass. The SUV shook violently, but Leo stayed right behind them.
Enzo picked up an old walkie-talkie. "Leo, I know you can hear me," he said. "Why come back? I gave you a chance to live a quiet life away from us. Why do you want to die for real this time?"
Leo's voice came through the radio—hoarse and full of rage. "I won't stop, Enzo. Not until Mia is free. I know what you did to her father. I know what you did to Sarah. Your games are over."
"Over?" Enzo laughed. "Leo, look around. You're in my territory. I own every tree and every hole in the ground here. You think you'll survive a second time?"
"Mia, do you remember my last painting for you?" Leo shouted from his car. "It was called The Gilded Cage. A woman in a gold gown, but the gown was actually the bars of a cage."
"Shut up, Leo!" Enzo screamed. "Your art is trash! You gave her nothing but fake dreams!"
"Fake?" Leo laughed. "You're the one who killed her dreams! You killed her father so you could be her whole world. You're a coward!"
Enzo's hand trembled on his gun. Mia could feel his boiling rage. Finally, everything became clear to her: Enzo was the painter of her life, but he used the blood of those who loved her as his ink.
"Love," Enzo whispered to Mia. "Don't listen to him. He's just an artist. I... I give you reality."
Suddenly, Leo floored the gas and rammed the back of the SUV. BOOGSH!
They ended up in a dusty quarry. The only light came from their headlights mixing with the thick Tagaytay fog.
"One more step, Enzo, and I'll blow the SUV up!" Leo warned, his finger on a red detonator.
Enzo laughed coldly. "I know you, Leo. You're soft. You'd never hurt Mia. That detonator is fake. Just like your art—all show, no substance."
While they argued, Mia struggled inside the SUV. She managed to unlock the door with her foot.
Leo did something unexpected. Instead of attacking, he dropped the detonator and pulled out a can of industrial spray paint. He sprayed it directly into Enzo's eyes.
"AGHHH!" Enzo screamed, dropping his gun as thick silver paint blinded him.
"MIA! NOW!" Leo yelled.
Mia threw the door open and ran, her hands still handcuffed. Leo grabbed her and rushed her to his car.
"Leo, his gun!" Mia cried.
"Forget it! We have to go!"
As they sped away, Mia looked in the mirror. Enzo was on his knees, his face covered in silver paint like a demonic statue, screaming and clawing at the grass for his gun.
Thirty minutes later, they arrived at an abandoned art studio in Cavite. It was old and full of cobwebs, but safe. Leo used a bolt cutter to free Mia's hands.
"Are you okay?" Leo asked softly, cleaning her bruised wrists.
Mia sobbed. For the first time in twelve years, she felt free—but she was broken. "Leo... why? Why did he do it? My dad... Sarah... everyone..."
"Shhh. You're safe now," Leo whispered.
Mia looked at the wall and saw a massive, unfinished painting. It was The Gilded Cage, but in this version, the woman was holding a knife, and the bars were melting.
"We'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow, we go to the police. I have the evidence," Leo said, handing her tea.
But as Mia sipped the tea, she saw a sketch on Leo's desk. It was a drawing of Enzo's face with a red "X" over it. Underneath, it read:
"The Masterpiece is not finished until the Creator is dead."
Mia froze. She looked at Leo. His eyes weren't the eyes of the shy artist she once knew. There was a darkness there—a darkness born from twelve years of pain.
Mia realized she had escaped one monster, but the man who saved her had been turned into one by revenge.