Sorcha Byrne and her twin used to love mythology when they were little. Their parents will tell them stories about the different gods and goddesses, and naturally, her twin brother's favorite is the King of the Gods, Zeus. But she was more drawn to...
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
CHAPTER 34: VULNERABLE
SORCHA'S POV
"Can we make that a bit clearer?"
Sinunod ni Rye ang sinabi ko na kasalukuyang tutok na tutok sa laptop niya. We're in the conference room, but we're not alone. It's currently jam-packed here since aside from us, there's Daze, the seven bosses, and some of SP, BPs, and even bolsters, all gathered in this usually huge room but now feels small because of everyone.
When a case is about to end or nearing its conclusion, it's natural for the whole Dagger to buzz with energy. Hindi nga lang ganito na parang lahat ay willing makisali sa case. Siguro dahil na rin ang mga nakaraang case namin ay karamihan umiikot sa mga asawa ng mga boss namin kaya gustuhin man namin ay hindi kami garapalan kung makiusyoso dahil madalas ay sobrang higpit ng mga impormasyon sa mga iyon. Overprotective din kasi talaga ang mga Dawson. Unless they need our expertise, we tend to keep our distance.
However, Daze has been with us these past couple of weeks, not just as a client but more like he's one of us. He's like an intern slash an office pet. Kaya siguro ganitong ka-invested ang lahat. Meron pa ngang mga nasa labas ng salamin na haligi ng conference room at nakikitingin sa mga kaganapan dito sa loob.
"You're sure this is a St. Ignatius tree?" Thorn asked me.
"Yes. It's not common in Australia, though, and some of the places there could be unfavorable for it. But places like Queensland could be suitable for growing the tree." Nilingon ko si Daze. "And this photo was taken in Queensland, right? You lived there before your family moved to Melbourne?"
"That's right," he affirmed.
Ibinalik ko ang atensyon ko sa mga boss ko. "This alone can't be enough to say that it was used to poison Santana."
"So it's a coincidence?" the eldest Dawson asked again.
"No. It's just that the St. Ignatius tree is more common here in the Philippines. While we can't say that the tree in the picture was the same tree Ballard used to create strychnine poison, it's most likely that it was her inspiration. It's not uncommon for people like Ballard to have the manifestation of narcissistic traits. The way she uses it as her codename feels like she's proud of it. Like she finds satisfaction knowing that she's the one who thought of it." Itinuro ko ang larawan. It feels a bit eerie. It's been years since the photo was taken, and yet it's like we're being transported back to the time that it was captured. "It's too big of a coincidence. Everything that is happening to Daze revolves around that tree. The gift, the poison, and now that picture."
"What about the woman in the photo? Grace Abadiño?" Axel Dawson asked. "You said that she looked familiar."
Tinanguhan ko si Rye na may pinindot sa laptop niya. Lumabas sa screen na nasa unahan ng conference room ang dalawang larawan. The first one is the original picture of the woman, and the second is the edited one.
