Erudition of Doyle: Volume One

CHAPTER 15: CASE IV - MONEY OR LIFE?

Case 4: Money or Life?
(The Boom from Lilith
Chapter, Part Five)

ROSALINDA

My heart sank when he said that. I couldn’t help but picture the heart of the person before me. “At that moment, she started wondering even more,” Doyle continued. “While they were eating, she lost her appetite. A theory began to form in her mind. Around eleven that night, she went back to the basement to check the box holding the human meat. She noticed one heart was missing, and the others had decreased too.”

I couldn’t shake the chill from his story. No wonder Celine’s friends said she only ate vegetables, even though she loved meat and hated veggies. It was terrifying, horrific, disgusting, and unimaginable to eat that.

“March 31, she tried to call the police, but no one came,” my eyes narrowed as he continued. “They just listened and promised to come, but never showed. That day, she kept asking herself: why didn’t her parents know? Or did they? Were they really aware and still eating it like a delicious meal? She felt completely creeped out.”

From Celine’s point of view, she clearly suspected her parents. If I were in her shoes, I would think the same.

“April 10, her debut. Many people were eating while she couldn’t. When she smelled the meat, she knew what it was. The watery red liquid in the steak wasn’t myoglobin; it was fresh human blood. What disturbed her most was how no one else seemed to notice. They kept eating, enjoying it. And those guests? She didn’t know any of them, but her parents said they were all their friends.”

I remained quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"On April 11, she called three detectives she knew, but no one answered" He flipped through the pages, paused, then continued quietly. "On April 27, he overheard his father talking to a woman named Lilith. Hearing the name made his brow furrow. They were discussing a school shooting, and his father mentioned the school he was attending. Lilith insisted that Celine must be absent on June 10, the day they planned the attack at San Lorenzo University."

Doyle skipped many pages again when he read that there was no information he wanted.

"On May 21, she was terrified. Her father discovered she was digging into their family’s dark secrets. Oddly, he didn’t kill her. Instead, he begged her not to spread the truth. At the end of the page, she revealed that her father belongs to an organization called Herald Mortiferum, working under someone named Mammon."

Hindi na ako nagulat pa; I already predicted that. Everything that is happening right now is connected.

"On May 29, she was hiding in a private detective’s office. She finally felt safe because someone was investigating her case. He didn’t finish that part and turned the pages. By June 6, she thought she was safe, but a dark presence followed her. Even with the detective, she felt uneasy. Someone watched from afar, but she couldn’t find them. Sometimes, she wondered if it was all just a hallucination."

He skipped several pages, then closed the book, clearly signaling the diary had ended.

“Mabuti na lang hindi mo sinasauli,” he said with a smile. I don’t understand how he could smile after what he just read.

“Balak ko talagang isauli ito sa may-ari. I know it’s hard since there’s no name to identify the owner. But I always forget to put it in my bag, so I never return it.”

"Why didn’t you read this?"

"Because it’s not mine."

He sighed. "Aren’t you curious? If I were you, I would read every word in this diary."