Chapter Nine: Psalms for the Damned
The chapel was empty when she arrived.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDgWJMh926
No choir. No candles.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhY8CA7oC26
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmYII7SIXd
She had asked for this meeting.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwwBjekDdU
She didn’t want a confessional.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Sq3pVczo7
She wanted to be seen.
Ely waited at the front pew, tired, thinner than before.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMdGOZfUCB
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZW9aI41aqp
Not ashamed.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxdTdV0icW
Ready.
“I found a journal,” she said quietly. “It belonged to May.”
Ely blinked. The name felt distant.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2q37hhury
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzfMfK3Sdx
The pages were cramped with writing—some clear, some frantic.
One entry had been underlined.
March 12, 202113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76VP5TRwS9
I can’t say no anymore. He wears a collar but speaks like the devil.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yzaSDpdAZ
He says my pain purifies him.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibSqZhNl9l
He says the more I bleed, the holier he becomes.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtQgiN8EVg
But I’m not holy. I’m dirty. I’m scared.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnurvrcpG8m
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4aM8FKHWB
Inside were digitized copies of the VHS recordings.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3J7t8VSdz
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrJWBg5Hrj
How many boys had flinched at the sound of Latin prayers twisted into control.
Enough to know May wasn’t the only one missing.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKwdf5y2Wq
Seven names.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5miSja9qP8
All real.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEpZ27Mbhp
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsdjtIKO2x
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.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwF88kyT1nC
Evening Angelus.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡln9lZyZf0u
Another call to prayer.
But neither of them stood.
They were already praying in their own way.13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWV6zKMoW1x
Not with folded hands—
But with truth sharpened like a blade.
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