I never imagined that the woman my wife trusted the most before she died…
would be the very same woman who nearly killed our children.
I returned home earlier than expected and found my 8-year-old daughter, barefoot, walking through a typhoon storm in northern Philippines, carrying her dying baby brother…
running from the monster who lived inside my own mansion.
This is my story.
CHAPTER 1: BLOOD IN THE RAIN – BENGUET
It never snows in the Philippines.
Here, when tragedy comes…
it comes with rain, wind, and darkness.
That night, a typhoon was tearing through the mountains of Benguet, along the road connecting Baguio and La Trinidad.
I was driving my Toyota Land Cruiser, still connected to a business video call with Singapore.
—“Mr. Villanueva, we need your approval tonight…”
I stopped listening.
My headlights illuminated a small figure standing in the rain.
I slammed the brakes.
The vehicle skidded.
My heart nearly stopped.
It was a little girl.
Barefoot.
Soaked.
Her feet bleeding from the rocks.
In her arms…
was a baby.
CHAPTER 2: WHEN I REALIZED SHE WAS MY DAUGHTER
I stepped out of the car.
The rain and wind lashed my face.
—“Hey… little one…”
She slowly turned around.
Her eyes showed no relief.
Only pure terror.
—“Please… don’t take us back…”
My legs almost gave out.
I stepped closer…
and when the light fell on her face, my world shattered.
—“Isabella…?”
Her eyes widened.
—“Daddy…? Are you real… or am I dreaming?”
I ran to her and pulled her into my arms.
Both of my children were there.
The baby, Lucas, was burning with fever.
His breathing was shallow and weak.
Isabella was shaking uncontrollably.
—“I’m sorry, Daddy… I couldn’t save him…”
Eight years old.
Apologizing for failing to protect her little brother.
CHAPTER 3: THE WHISPERS THAT DESTROYED ME
I wrapped them in my jacket and carried them to the car.
—“Daddy’s here. You’re safe now.”
Isabella shook her head.
—“Aunt Mariana will be angry…
she said if we talked… you wouldn’t love us anymore.”
I felt sick.
—“She said we’re a burden.
That Mommy died because of Lucas…”
Each word was a knife.
—“She locked the kitchen.
Said bad children don’t eat.
Lucas cried a lot…
she turned off the light and closed the door.”
—“Today he had a very high fever…
I thought he was going to die…
so I ran.”
My daughter ran away from her own home to save her brother.
CHAPTER 4: THE MANSION THAT WAS NO LONGER A HOME – BAGUIO
The mansion doors slowly opened.
Mariana stood there.
Perfectly dressed.
Elegant clothes.
A carefully rehearsed look of concern.
—“Gabriel! Oh my God, what happened?
I’m sure Isabella went out alone—”
—“SHUT UP.”
—“Where are my daughter’s shoes?”
Silence.
Isabella’s room:
• No heating
• Thin blankets
• Windows shattered by the storm
Lucas’s room:
• No mattress
• Dirty diapers
• No milk
• No medicine
I stared straight into her eyes.
—“You have ten minutes to get out of my house.
If you don’t… you’ll leave in handcuffs.”
CHAPTER 5: BAGUIO GENERAL HOSPITAL
The doctor wouldn’t even look at me.
—“If he had arrived one hour later… the baby wouldn’t have survived.”
Lucas:
severe pneumonia, malnutrition, dehydration.
Isabella:
hypothermia, old fractured ribs, necrosis on her fingers.
A nurse whispered:
—“This isn’t an accident.”
The police arrived.
The staff spoke.
One by one.
• Physical punishment
• Hunger used as “discipline”
• Cameras turned off during video calls
• Housemaids fired for speaking up
CHAPTER 6: THE PLAN BEHIND EVERYTHING
Isabella held my hand tightly.
—“Daddy… there was a man behind the camera…”
His name was Antonio Reyes.
The lawyers uncovered everything:
• A forged will
• Altered custody documents
• Millions siphoned away
• Antonio was Mariana’s secret husband
• A professional international scam operation
👉 The children were the obstacle.
CHAPTER 7: THE CONFRONTATION
Mariana returned to the hospital.
With a syringe.
And a gun.
—“Sign… and I disappear.”
Isabella screamed.
Mariana stepped closer.
Isabella bit her with all her strength.
Security intervened.
Philippine police rushed in.
The gun hit the floor.
CHAPTER 8: JUSTICE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Isabella testified in court.
—“I ran… because my brother was dying.”
Absolute silence filled the courtroom.
• Mariana: 40 years in prison
• Antonio Reyes: 35 years in prison
CHAPTER 9: FIVE YEARS LATER – MANILA
Rizal Park.
Melting ice cream.
Laughter.
—“Daddy… are you leaving again?”
I knelt in front of them.
—“Never again.”
We’re not the family we used to be.
We are a family
that survived.