Chapter Nine: Psalms for the Damned
The chapel was empty when she arrived.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR61LRpIGGZ
No choir. No candles.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnIxmNf7Hj
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSZOB8P7pt
She had asked for this meeting.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6K0n7M7Rz
She didn’t want a confessional.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtmOEhMopQ
She wanted to be seen.
Ely waited at the front pew, tired, thinner than before.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuzBRMNT9Q
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRZrg7rMVM
Not ashamed.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUXraC2o59
Ready.
“I found a journal,” she said quietly. “It belonged to May.”
Ely blinked. The name felt distant.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHpEFWJWg6
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCGCk60nZ2
The pages were cramped with writing—some clear, some frantic.
One entry had been underlined.
March 12, 202111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0zYg6Scay
I can’t say no anymore. He wears a collar but speaks like the devil.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3i0KdbHDSU
He says my pain purifies him.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XtqKKzqZc
He says the more I bleed, the holier he becomes.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUeAOJhWKn
But I’m not holy. I’m dirty. I’m scared.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrdQ2ILcNw
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfqVvC0MNp
Inside were digitized copies of the VHS recordings.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnk7alQxCP
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtfkiEvoNl
How many boys had flinched at the sound of Latin prayers twisted into control.
Enough to know May wasn’t the only one missing.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KEglLmxEm
Seven names.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSY8LkdsjY
All real.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDs5xoivgV
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBwpqa0KDp
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dfuz0rViJ
Evening Angelus.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB73jlSBNx
Another call to prayer.
But neither of them stood.
They were already praying in their own way.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKswroCQHnr
Not with folded hands—
But with truth sharpened like a blade.
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