Chapter Nine: Psalms for the Damned
The chapel was empty when she arrived.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGxjf0eaJa
No choir. No candles.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj7R2JcEfx
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzowX1qCM7
She had asked for this meeting.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5zTdDjDM0
She didn’t want a confessional.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJPkCOTayM
She wanted to be seen.
Ely waited at the front pew, tired, thinner than before.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU0kmnP5Vr
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IaVtwwWOA
Not ashamed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytNDywKoSv
Ready.
“I found a journal,” she said quietly. “It belonged to May.”
Ely blinked. The name felt distant.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzivJws7Vd
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDtdSoavgy
The pages were cramped with writing—some clear, some frantic.
One entry had been underlined.
March 12, 202110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPG2jHLnZa
I can’t say no anymore. He wears a collar but speaks like the devil.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMUEhscSgU
He says my pain purifies him.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ74QTyRAw
He says the more I bleed, the holier he becomes.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOorPnSLJy
But I’m not holy. I’m dirty. I’m scared.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChIt9vhrF7
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN9Tj6uwC9
Inside were digitized copies of the VHS recordings.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQ7tRUhYAg
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByQ8U3aqDo
How many boys had flinched at the sound of Latin prayers twisted into control.
Enough to know May wasn’t the only one missing.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILIR6P7bRl
Seven names.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x2Nv3OdYL
All real.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEQl47xOsQ
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7T84KtsC2a
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClSlcD32Fh
Evening Angelus.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSHi72l5L6
Another call to prayer.
But neither of them stood.
They were already praying in their own way.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6jzzNQpXX
Not with folded hands—
But with truth sharpened like a blade.
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