Chapter Nine: Psalms for the Damned
The chapel was empty when she arrived.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp3T0KiosL
No choir. No candles.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2elqVdcDU9
Only dust motes and the faint sound of organ keys echoing from the seminary practice hall.
Ella walked slowly, her school shoes clicking against marble.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlEoymlxou
She had asked for this meeting.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWWxAm0nBa
She didn’t want a confessional.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKdHFXlxKv
She wanted to be seen.
Ely waited at the front pew, tired, thinner than before.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRDAtcs88o
The tape Levi gave him hadn’t left his satchel since that night—but it hadn’t left his mind either.
When Ella sat beside him, her eyes looked different.
Not afraid.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0dvHbqo2H
Not ashamed.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcmKf3PRPx
Ready.
“I found a journal,” she said quietly. “It belonged to May.”
Ely blinked. The name felt distant.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENP4xJxzmZ
But Ella saw the flicker of recognition.
“May de Vera,” she said. “She was supposed to join the Sisters of Mercy. Second year theology. She disappeared during our Lenten retreat. Everyone said she dropped out. But I never believed that.”
She handed over a faded notebook. The corners were chewed by time.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWWfjQzJxc
The pages were cramped with writing—some clear, some frantic.
One entry had been underlined.
March 12, 20218Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sQosF55vO
I can’t say no anymore. He wears a collar but speaks like the devil.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfj8bRy7RG
He says my pain purifies him.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsDLjFOWzN
He says the more I bleed, the holier he becomes.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd25oTYVXOk
But I’m not holy. I’m dirty. I’m scared.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSeC5lRzFv
I want out. I don’t think I’ll ever get it.
“Did she name him?” Ely asked.
Ella shook her head. “No. But she mentioned the chapel undercroft. And the tapes. And… one more thing.”
From her bag, she pulled out a USB.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs6GdWKIwe
Inside were digitized copies of the VHS recordings.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PVWWCuKR4
She had stolen them—from Levi.
“He gave me access,” she explained. “Said if I really wanted justice, I’d have to get my hands dirty too.”
“You watched them?” Ely asked, voice tight.
“Some,” she said, voice flat. “Just enough.”
Enough to know how many girls had cried in silence.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqXJBBuPPC
How many boys had flinched at the sound of Latin prayers twisted into control.
Enough to know May wasn’t the only one missing.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA5ukkCjpu
Seven names.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBIYbSDXpX
All real.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhGgGyOz0g
All gone without closure.
Ely opened the file. One folder was named “Psalms for the Damned.”
Inside:
Maria C. – Novice.
Danilo V. – Altar boy.
Riza T. – Scholar.
May D. – Candidate nun.
Joel P. – Assistant cantor.
Leah B. – Retreatant.
Benedict R. – Former seminarian.
All filmed. All branded under service to God.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUwpESm5sI
But none of them served anything holy.
“I want to expose them,” Ella said. “Not just Fr. Emiliano. The whole chain. The ones who watched. Who covered it up. Who let it happen so they could keep their jobs.”
Ely stared at her, eyes burning.
“You’re not a child anymore.”
“No,” she said. “I’m not.”
The bells rang overhead.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKo53KBWThE
Evening Angelus.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIuYftltlp
Another call to prayer.
But neither of them stood.
They were already praying in their own way.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8ALIpHj9R
Not with folded hands—
But with truth sharpened like a blade.
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