After a couple of days, the yacht finally arrived in the Philippines. This time Ashley and everyone on board had no problems going through customs, and they quickly fixed their landing permit.
The crew bid their farewell as they went home to their respective families since they weren't needed yet. To compensate all of them they received a bonus, while their salaries will continue uninterrupted while they were on vacation.
All the crew was glad about that, as it meant that they would enjoy more time with their families without having to worry financially.
Every crew member had left, except the bodyguards of Ashley, Chief Eng. and Chief Mate. Ashely and Tiny also readied themselves to go to the hotel, where they were to meet with the whole family and talk about everything.
A few moments later, two cars arrived which were going to transport Ashley and her bodyguards to the hotel.
===
Meanwhile, in the Gusman household, Ashley's family was distressed after finding out that she was here in the Philippines and currently waiting at a hotel owned by the THJ group.
Arman received a call from Tiny saying that he was assigned to fetch the whole family and bring them to the hotel so that they could temporarily be with Ashley.
They couldn't understand what was happening, but nobody questioned what Arman had said – all they had to do was wrap things up and temporarily accompany Ashley.
After a few hours, the preparation of the whole family had been finished. Father Jessie put up a sign in front of his clinic before locking the door.
Meanwhile, Mother Fely let a relative, who often helped them in the store, watch over his store. "I'll leave it up to you. You know what to do and where to buy the goods. Think of this shop as your own, so do your best not to let us fall in bankruptcy, ha!" Mother Fely instructed her niece.
"Yes! Auntie, don't worry! Your sales will be double... no – triple!" her niece boasted. She was the daughter of Mother Fely's sister, who she had raised and sent to school.
After the plentiful instructions, all the work needed to do by the Gusman family was finished. A little later, they were all riding their FX towards Makati, where Ashley was waiting.
===
In the meantime, Ashley and her bodyguards had arrived at the hotel. The car with four of the bodyguards came first, and one by one, they swiftly left their car to go to Ashley's car and stand around it.
The doorman of the hotel was about to approach Ashley's car when he suddenly retreated, upon seeing the towering bodyguards surrounding the vehicle.
Tiny was first to come out so that he could personally open the door for Ashley. "Ma'am, we are already here!" Tiny said while giving a hand to Ashley, helping her out of the car.
Ashley, who took a nap during the journey, was feeling slightly dizzy. She slowly prepared to go out. When Tiny noticed her dizziness, he quickly helped her.
As if scripted, Ashley's family was about to arrive, and Father Jessie witnessed the whole scene. He was in admiration and couldn't believe the number of guards protecting his daughter. Yet he suddenly had begun to worry and became nervous for her.
He quickly left the car right after Arman stopped it. It was a huge surprise when they saw what the Father did, but when they saw where he was going to go, no one uttered a complaint.
That's why when Ashley got out of the car, the first thing she saw was the face of her Father.
"Papa!" Ashley embraced her Father while tears started to fall from her eyes. Tiny motioned to the other bodyguards to surround the father-daughter duo and defend them from prying eyes.
"Ssshhh! Stop crying, everyone's here. You won't be alone again. We are all together – no matter what happened and happens. Let's go inside here so we can talk better." Her Father invited her inside.
"How about mama? My elder brothers? Are you with them?" Ashley asked while shaking her head vigorously to search for their car.
"Everyone's here at the back. You see six cars, right?" Father Jessie replied while his arm was around her shoulder.
Ashley followed the direction where Mr. Gusman was pointing to and saw their FX. It was only then she felt a wave of relief.
Tiny decided that the father-daughter duo should head first. "Madam Ashley, Mr. Gusman, let's go in first since the outside is slightly dangerous. We are exposed to too much, and we don't know if they have contacts here." Then he guided Ashley while entering the hotel.
Instead of Father Jessie accompanying Ashley and Tiny, he decided to return to the car to fetch Mother Fely and the others so that they could all go together. Ashley understood that, and that is why she permitted her Father to do so.
===
Tiny and Ashley went straight to the private elevator, which would bring them to the penthouse. While they were walking towards the elevator, they encountered many guests who were curious about who she was because of the number of guards she was surrounded by.
But no matter what kind of peeking they did, they could not see her face, as she was wearing a cap and sunglasses. Ashley released her breath when they were in front of the elevator, waiting for it to open.
While they were waiting for the elevator to open, Ashley held her breath out of anxiety, especially after Tiny warned her that there was a chance that the Yakuza sent someone to the Philippines to search for her and kill her.
A few moments and the *Ding!* signaled that the door was about to open. It was then that Ashley breathed again. She was ready to enter when suddenly she heard some male voice calling her name.
"Ashley! Hey, Ashley! Wait a minute!" the man shouted while approaching them.
Ashley's bodyguard immediately blocked her. When the door opened, she was quickly pulled by Tiny into the elevator and pressed the button to the penthouse.
She didn't see the man who was calling her name...