The CEO's Painted Skin

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the St. Thomas Church in Pateros. They were ushered by the assistant inside the office of the priest.

The church assistant opened the door and closed it after the visitor entered the office. The people present inside the office were the priest, George, Ramon and the church assistant who found the baby in the bench abandoned by the woman they can no longer find.

Some of the churchgoers narrated that they saw a woman wearing a sunglass and a wide-brimmed hat, sitting on the bench, holding the pink bassinet in both hands. They did not pay attention to the woman and continue their prayers, since its Tuesday, only a few people visit the church.

After some time.

They were alerted to the sound of the baby crying where the woman used to sit. The woman completely disappeared but left a message in a piece of paper saying that the father will come in a few minutes to retrieve his baby daughter. The assistant brought the infant into the priest's office..

Then George arrived at the church claiming that his employer was the baby's father.

And the rest was history.

John walked a tentative step toward the priest's table where the pink bassinet where being placed.

The moment John saw the sleeping infant lying in the bassinet his tears began falling, in front of everybody he broke down and started bawling like a child. He gathered the infant in his arms and began caressing the baby's delicate hands. As soon as the infant's eyes opened and met John's, instant father and daughter bond has been established, he knew right there, that the baby was his daughter based on the tugging of his heart when the baby looked into his eyes.

George opened his hands. "I saw this crumpled piece of paper among the baby's belongings, it must be Catherine's letter for you."

George flattens the paper in his palm so that his Boss can read it.

~~~

'Dear husband, I finally give birth to our second baby, please take care of our child. I dunno if we will see each other again, but I want you to know that I love you so much! I miss you and baby James!'

~~~

John read the message over and over again and there was no mistaking that it was Catherine's handwritten. He cried more to free some heavy burden crushing his heart at that very moment.

The people who gathered around to witness the heartbreaking meeting between the father and daughter also got misty-eyed.

The heart-wrenching scene took everyone's breath away, it's a bittersweet and miracle driven event.

After a few minutes of sobbing, John decided to stop crying and composed himself. He talked to the priest for a few minutes and then gave a cash donation to the church and thanked them for taking good care of the baby on his behalf.

He instructed George to investigate the area, maybe there was a CCTV camera nearby that has video footage of the woman who left the infant inside the church.

John and Ramon left the church, they were heading back to Infinity Jade Tower.

On the way, John called his father on his phone informing him that he will bring his daughter home and he will explain things later when they arrived.

As John was holding baby Angel in his arms, he was thinking where is Catherine right now? How come the mother and daughter got separated from each other? Although he was feeling very happy that he finally got to see his daughter in flesh and blood, he can't also help but get worried that his wife might be facing grave danger as of this moment.

Catherine has been alive all this time. It's indeed a miracle!

What exactly happened to her?

Why she can't come home?

These tormenting thoughts will continue to haunt his waking hour in the days and weeks to come. If she was being held captive against her will then why the baby was separated from her? There are so many questions running in his head that need an answer.

The mystery surrounding Catherine's disappearance shook him to the core. No evidence and leads, but some strangers are bringing back her things and now their baby. Was this a big joke? A sick prank? He can't fully fathom what's going on? He would very much like to twist the neck of the person who masterminds all these psychological tortures if he ever got the chance to meet the said person.

On the other hand, he was more inspired and more motivated in finding his missing wife upon learning that she's still alive. It will refuel his drive and energy in finding Catherine one of these days. The sudden emergence of his baby daughter near the vicinity of Makati City gave him enormous hope that he doesn't have to look far anymore, maybe his missing wife was held captive near him. He decided not to go back to Cebu City, instead, he will devote his time to finding his wife in nearby places.

If only his baby daughter can talk, he will ask her where is her mother.

He concluded that the identity of the sender of the text message and the identity of the woman who left baby Angel inside the church are of the same person, he got a feeling that the woman knows about Catherine and her whereabouts.

Too bad, she can no longer be located. Nobody saw her when she left the church, as if she never existed at all, she appeared just like a figment of imagination created by the people who see her.

...

~Manila North Harbor~

Passengers waiting area.

Dana will board the passenger ship going to Mindanao in an hour. Regarding the baby...

At the last minute, she changed her mind. The more she thinks about it the more she realized that her friend Josie might be dragged into Catherine's case and her friend's condition was already bad as it is, she can't stomach adding to Josie's problem. Instead, she left the infant inside the church, which is fifteen minutes drive from the park. She gave another PHP 5k money to Josie as a gift and promise her that on her next visit they will go window shopping in the mall together.

That way her friend was safe.

She will be going to her hometown in the province to see her family and loved ones. She was eager to board the ship as soon as possible so that she can finally have a long sleep and good rest.

Before she left the church she made sure that the church assistant already saw the baby and alerted the priest to the infant's presence. It made her a little bit relieved that the baby was now in good hands.

Then she left the area and rode a taxi to buy her tickets going home.