I removed any expressions on my face as I returned to Ranky. My mind swirled with suspicions like leaves caught in a gust. Who was who in this intricate web of relationships and secrets?

 

“𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘆,” I said, breaking the heavy silence that hung between us like a fog. “𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.”

 

Ranky turned to me, his gaze steady and knowing. “𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗹,” he replied, his voice carrying the weight of experience. “𝗜 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽.”

 

His words echoed in my mind as he turned away, leaving me standing there, pondering the mysteries that surrounded us both. While carrying my case files and walking, I found myself lost in thought about Ranky even as I got into the car and drove back to the hotel. 

 

He remains a significant enigma to me. I continue to be amazed by how he always greets me with a smile, even after solving such gruesome cases. It makes me question myself… like this one. He is an hour away from Pampanga. It’s very late now but it doesn’t seem to affect him.

 

Upon returning to my hotel room, I took a shower. The arctic drops of water kept my mind alive. 

 

“𝗔𝗿𝗴𝗵! 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴! This is 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲!” I exclaimed while running my hands through my hair.

 

I stepped outside and grabbed the pile of case folders on my desk. Then, I sat properly on the edge of my hotel bed gathered up the files, and ran through everything from the start.

 

The killings in Marwood had the mark of a three-way Venn diagram entangled with a faint heart. The same symbol was embossed on Leo Vihollinen’s case folders. Filip Dushman said that Leo had a private group of detectives, the Triad.

 

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘵𝘴, 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴- 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘝𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘥.

 

The fathomless phantom and the welcoming yet dark Marwood village that follows me around.

 

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘰 𝘝𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦?

 

The bewitching Emily who helped me when I was swarmed by residents.

 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵’𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦… 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳.

 

Mr. Anderson reveals why Luis Farrado is considered a demon. I realized that he answered my question not because he wanted to help me clear out my thoughts. He answered me because he wanted to reveal Luis’s crimes to me. I’m sure he thought it would hurt for a child to know the sins of his parent. But I’m not Luis’s child. I am Vihollinen’s.

 

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 — 𝘓𝘶𝘪𝘴’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯’𝘴? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

 

Realizing that Grace, especially Jena Farrado, hid the truth from me… or not. Mr. Anderson’s words opened the possibility that Luis Farrado might have just brainwashed them. But Jena threatened everyone who would dare to spread Luis’s crime. I don’t know anymore. I just know that I regret spending my last moment with Grace Farrado with a doubtful heart.

 

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺? 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘵𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵. 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦?

 

Learning that the old man I met at the second elevator was a pawn, Levi, of my grandfather Filip. I am Miguel Vihollinen. I’m also Miguel Dushman. But I can never be Miguel Farrado.