Point of view: Ressell Vargas Monteverde
The rain hasn’t stopped since last night; perhaps Manila is washing itself clean, or maybe it’s weeping for all those who died.
William Miller made a partial confession—enough to warrant an arrest but not enough to close the case.
According to his statement, he had argued with Sophia Wilson a few days before she died and admitted to threatening her, yet he denied killing her.
“He’s protecting someone,” Jeremiah said during the investigative meeting.
“Or he’s afraid of someone,” Christian Reyes added.
I know who that person is; we’re all starting to suspect him.
Mark Aquino.
His name keeps appearing in old files—disappearances, threats, the case of Ji-segun Taylor Choi Parker.
And now, in Sophia’s death as well.
But we still lack sufficient evidence.
Meanwhile, something even worse is happening.
Witnesses connected to the case are starting to vanish, just like in the Lisbon case in South Korea.
Someone is erasing every clue before we can find it.
That afternoon, Sara Medina arrived at the student council office; she had gone pale, as if she had seen something horrifying.
“I remembered something,” she said.
We all fell silent; Jessica stood up immediately.
“What did you remember?”
Sara took a deep breath.
“The night of the dance. Before the shooting. Before Loki died…”
Her voice began to tremble.
“I heard Line Vargas arguing with someone.”
Luis looked up.
—My mother?
Sara nodded.
—She was scared.
She said she had discovered something.
Something related to money— involving important names.
And dangerous people.
Silence filled the room.
Because Line Vargas died forty days after Loki’s murder—a death the police officially ruled a suicide, though none of us believed it—I couldn’t sleep; I was plagued by questions.
I finally drifted off around three in the morning, and then I had a dream.
I was back in Lisbon.
The Masquerade Ballroom was empty—dark and silent—and there, in the center of the dance floor, stood Loki, my cousin, smiling just as he always did.
—Gotcha,— he said.
I felt a lump form in my throat.
—Loki…—
—You’re still investigating.—
—Because I need answers.—
Loki looked up.
—Then protect Bella.—
My heart skipped a beat.
—What?— —She’s closer to the truth than she realizes.— The wind began to blow around us.
—And you’re falling in love with her.— I felt embarrassed.
Confused.
—You don’t know what you’re talking about.— Loki laughed.
—You really are good at lying.— I tried to reply, but the room began to fade away.
And before he left, Loki said one last thing.
Ji-segun wasn’t the first victim.— I woke up with a start.
Sara’s Revelation
The next day, I found Jessica and Sara talking in the library; Sara seemed nervous.
“There’s something else I remembered,” she said.
Jessica studied her closely.
“What is it?” Sara lowered her voice.
“The organization had been active long before Ji-segun.” I found it hard to breathe.
“What do you mean?” Sara closed her eyes.
The memory seemed to cause her pain.
“I saw documents that night. Old names. Past victims.” Jessica furrowed her brows.
“So, Ji-segun wasn’t the first.”
“No.” Sara slowly looked up.
“He was just the first one who tried to expose them.” Silence filled the room.
Because it changed everything—seventeen years, multiple countries, murders, and the same secret organization—after the meeting ended, Sara remained alone in the library, gazing out the window.
Then, she spotted something inside one of the old files: a document hidden between the pages.
She slowly opened it and turned pale, for it contained a list of names.
Loki Vargas.
Sophia Wilson.
Ji-segun Taylor Choi Parker.
Line Vargas.
And beneath them all…
A new name.
“Bella Isabel Chávez Reyes.”
Sara felt her heart skip a beat as a terrifying realization dawned on her: Bella wasn’t just an investigator—she was the next target.