A/N: The end of Chapter 49 will either be tomorrow or the day after. Chapter 50, the final chapter, is waving from a distance!

LORELEI

"What if hindi niya alam ang sagot dahil hindi talaga siya ang sumulat ng kuwentong ito?"

MY RESPONSE was greeted with total silence. I could play a cricket sound to highlight the awkwardness and the confusion in the room. Kunot-noong tumitig sa akin ang tatlo kong kasama. Inaabangan yata nila kung nagdyo-joke ba ako o kung may nakaabang akong punchline.

Joke's on them because I wasn't joking at all. I came to this conclusion after seeing a line in the acknowledgment page. Well, I couldn't very well conclude at this moment. Theory pa lang ito na nangangailangan pa ng supporting evidence. I only have some pieces of the puzzle in my hand so the entire picture wasn't clear enough yet.

"Okay, I'll bite!" Loki spoke, shattering the awkward silence in the execom office. He crossed his arms across his chest and gave me an unconvinced look. "How can you say that the writer isn't the one who wrote that story?"

"Have you read the acknowledgment page?" I asked.

"No. I don't waste my time reading that part," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "That's just a boring list of insignificant names that the writer wants to give a shoutout to so he or she wouldn't be seen as ungrateful. It's pandering to the insatiable cravings of humans to be recognized."

"What?" Paano na naman niya naisingit ang baluktot niyang perspective? Couldn't the writer express gratitude to the people who—Oh, nevermind! I got a more important angle to cover. "If you had only spared fifteen seconds of your precious time to read the acknowledgments, you might have formed the same theory as I did."

"Ano ba 'yang nabasa mo?" nakapamaywang na tanong ni Jamie. Pakurap-kurap ang kanyang mga mata at halatang walang bilib sa akin ang tono ng kanyang boses. "Pinasalamatan ba mismo ng writer kung sino ang totoong sumulat ng kuwento? Kaya ba malakas ang hinala mo?"

I shook my head. Muli kong binuksan sa acknowledgment page ang manuscript at halos itutok na 'to sa mukha nina Loki at Jamie. Alistair had to take a pause from what he's doing and leaned closer to the document.

"The writer's name—or pen name—is Bellamy Bernardino," I began. Palipat-lipat ang aking tingin sa kanilang tatlo. "Ang totoong pangalan naman ng nagpakilalang sumulat nito ay Alexandra Alegre. At first, we'd think that she chose an alias that's not close to her real name. But look here."

Itinuro ko ang linyang 'to na nasa gitna ng acknowledgments:

To my beshies Mychaela, Beatrice, Laarny, and Elizabeth for the friendship that goes beyond its meaning. (I really miss you, girls!)

"You think one of them is the true writer?" tanong ni Jamie, iniangat ang tingin sa akin mula sa manuscript.

Marahan akong umiling. "If you take the first two letters of their names and put them together, you can form the so-called given name of the pseudonym."

Kumuha ako ng lapis at isinulat sa blangkong space sa kanan ang apat na pangalan. I wrote the two letters of each name in capital letters.

BE-atrice
EL-izabeth
LA-arny
MY-chaela

"Oo nga, 'no?" Jamie exclaimed, clapping her hand over her mouth. Tumango si Alistair na may kasamang "oh!" habang wala namang imik si Loki.

"This is just a theory, but what if these four beshies were the ones who really wrote the story?" I asked, still casting a glance at each of them and observing their reactions. "Loki mentioned kanina na nakasulat sa POV ng apat na characters ang kuwento. What if each of them took one character and wrote the chapters?"

"That makes sense." Alistair nodded, holding his chin. "If four writers with varying personalities and distinguishable prose penned the chapters from the point-of-view of each character, magiging distinct nga ang voice ng bawat isa."

"And?" Loki arched an eyebrow. He seemed not so convinced. I wouldn't be so surprised kung hindi siya basta-basta maniniwala sa theory ko. "You think that's enough to conclude that the person who claimed to have written that story isn't the real writer? Just because one or two letters from each of the four acknowledged names could form the pseudonym?"

I admit that it's not enough to conclude. But it's the thought off the top of my head. Wala namang masama sa paggawa ng theories, 'di ba?

"What if Alessandra chose 'Bellamy' as her pen name in honor of her four friends?" sunod na tanong ni Loki. Based on his aggresive tone, para akong magde-defend ng research paper sa harap ng isang mapanuring teacher. "Have you considered that possibility?"

My lips parted slightly, but I shut them closed immediately. He had a point. Napaisip tuloy ako. Gano'n ba ka-close ang limang magkakaibigan upang maisip ni Alex na pagsama-samahin ang dalawang letra mula sa mga pangalan ng apat? Well, she mentioned the "friendship that goes beyond its meaning" so they must be really tight.

"May punto si Loki dear!" Jamie seconded as expected. "Kunwari ako ang nasa posisyon niya bilang writer. Tapos gusto kong i-immortalize ang friendship nating apat. Kapag ba ginamit ko ang pen name na Lomie Lorestair, nangangahulugan ba 'yon na hindi ako ang sumulat ng nobela? Hindi naman, 'di ba? I'm just paying homage to our closeness."

Muli na namang sumagi sa akin ang mga sinabi ni Luthor kagabi. Oh, God. I was starting to hate his voice playing repeatedly in my head!

Kung aalisin si Jamie sa buhay namin, wala nang magse-second the motion sa mga theory o random rants ni Loki. Wala na siyang reinforcement tuwing magde-debate kami. Wala na siyang cheerleader. He'd be automatically outnumbered by the combined sense of righteousness of Alistair and me.

"Don't you find it strange?" Speaking of Alistair, siya na ang sunod na nagsalita sa amin. May in-underline na part ang daliri niya sa acknowledgment page. "She wrote 'I really miss you, girls' in parentheses. Hindi ko alam kung ako lang ba ang nakapansin, pero parang hindi lang normal na pagka-miss ang dating sa akin ng part na 'yan."

Binasa ko ulit ang itinuro niya. When I first read that line, it appeared and sounded normal to me. The writer misses her beshies. That happens to everyone. But now that Alistair highlighted it, I found the use of the adverb "really" odd. Did they go to faraway place kaya gano'n niya ka-miss ang kanyang beshies? O baka nahiwalay siya sa kanila?

Well, there's one way to find out.

Inilabas ko ang aking phone at binuksan ang aking Facebook app. Pagdating sa modern human connections, walang hihigit sa mga social media app bilang reference. My fingers quickly typed the name "Alexandra Alegre" in the search box.

"Wala ka bang masagot sa point namin kaya magbo-browse ka na lang sa feed mo?" may pang-aasar na tanong ni Jamie.

I shook my head, my eyes transfixed at the screen. "I want to check the virtual friendship status of our writer and her beshies. Al raised a good point. May kakaiba sa way niya ng pagka-miss sa kanyang friends."

Ngumiti sa akin si Alistair at nagpatuloy na sa pagguhit ng mga cutout letter. Saglit na nagawi ang tingin ko sa letter H na tinatrabaho niya. What a coincidence. Letters din ang naging hint ko para makabuo ng theory tungkol sa writer na kinukuwestiyon ko ngayon.

My eyes returned their gaze on my phone screen. Dahil napaka-common ang given name na Alexandra at ang surname na Alegre, maraming search result na bumungad sa akin. May ilang matanda na, may ilang bata pa, may ilang mukhang estudyante pa lang, may ilang nagtatrabaho na yata.

I cleared the search box and typed "Bellamy Bernardino" next. Unang-una sa search result ang isang Facebook page na may category na "author." I visited the page and browsed its photo gallery. Kung tama ang pagkakatanda ko, Sir Johannes of BEYOND mentioned na bata pa ang writer na 'to. Mas matanda lang siguro ng ilang taon sa akin.

"Tulungan na nga kita!" bulalas ni Jamie matapos sumilip sa mga litratong isa-isa kong tinitingnan. I was trying to familiarize myself with the face. Inilabas din niya ang kanyang phone at nag-type din sa search bar ng kanyang Facebook app.

After a few minutes of scrolling, ang tanging nakita ko sa gallery ay promotions ng booksigning event at photos habang pumipirma siya ng libro at habang nagpo-pose sa tabi ng kanyang readers para sa picture. I couldn't find anything that would lead to something revealing.

"Heto yata ang personal profile niya?" Iniharap sa akin ni Jamie ang kanyang phone. Naka-flash doon ang pangalang Alex Alegre. Ikinumpara ko ang profile photo niya at ang mukha na nasa page ni Bellamy Bernardino. They matched!

"Can you check sa kanyang friend list kung may friend siya na Elizabeth ang pangalan?" I asked.

Walang reklamong sumunod sa akin si Jamie habang nanonood sa amin si Loki na parang naglalaro kami ng isang mobile game. Alistair kept himself busy with the lettering task. Sorry, nagmukha tuloy na sa kanya namin inasa ang trabaho na para sa aming apat.

Pinuntahan ko agad ang "Alex Alegre" profile na ipinakita ni Jamie at sinearch ang pangalang "Beatrice" sa friend list nito. Thankfully I found only one result: Beatrice Bermudez. I clicked on her profile and scrolled down on her timeline.

What I found was strange. Mahigit two years na noong huli siyang nag-update dito. Ang mga nakita kong post sa kanyang wall ay puro "Happy birthday!" every year na may kasamang "We miss you!" lagi. Nagpatuloy ako sa pag-i-scroll hanggang sa makarating ako sa sunod-sunod na post ng ibang tao na sandaling nagpatigil sa akin.

My eyes blinked as I read every post in silence.

"Parang kailan lang noong huli tayong nagkasama. Rest in peace, Bea!"

"RIP, Bea! Sana'y nasa mabuti kang kalagayan ngayon."

"We'll always pray for your soul, Bea. May you find solace in the afterlife."

"RIP in peace, 'Te Bea! Mami-miss ka namin."

Binaha ng sad reactions at condolences ang mga gano'ng post sa kanyang timeline. That meant only thing: Beatrice has been dead for more than two years. Kaya ba miss na siya ni Alex?

"Mukhang gets ko na kung bakit 'I really miss you, girls' ang inilagay ni Alex sa acknowledgment page niya," komento ni Jamie. Medyo tumamlay ang kanyang boses at nawala ang kislap sa kanyang mga mata. Pagkaangat ng aking tingin sa kanya, ipinakita niya sa akin ang naka-flash sa kanyang phone screen. She's on the timeline of Elizabeth Narciso.

"It is with heavy heart that we inform the friends, classmates and schoolmates of our beloved daughter Beth about her untimely demise. We ask for your prayers and respect not only for her, but also for her friends Beatrice Bernardino, Laarny Diaz, and Mychaela Nograles."
—Narciso Family

Kumurap ang mga mata ko matapos mabasa ang post. Wala akong masabi. They passed away more than two years ago, but I still felt sad upon reading it.

"Base sa replies sa comment section, bumangga 'yong sinasakyan nilang apat on the way sa isang meeting." Even Jamie couldn't hide her sadness over the post. "Dead on arrival sa ospital ang apat na magkakaibigan."

My eyes looked down at the screen of my phone and offered a moment of silence for them. Kahit hindi kami magkakilala, nalungkot pa rin ako sa kanilang sinapit. They probably had a nice future ahead of them, but it was snatched away by an accident.

Maybe that's the reason why Jamie also felt sad about the post. Her late brother, no matter how twisted he may be, was taken away from her at a young age.

"Anyway!" Jamie stretched her lips into smile. "Mukhang tama nga ang theory ni Lorelei na galing sa names nilang apat ang pseudonym ni Alex. Hindi lang ang given name, kung 'di maging ang surname. Look at the first two to three letters ng kanilang apelyido."

I gave the post one last look and wrote the surnames on the blank space of the acknowledgment page. My eyes slightly widened as I came to the same realization. Ibinaba ni Alistair ang kanyang lapis upang mabasa ang isinulat ko. It went like this:

BE-atrice BER-mudez
EL-izabeth NAR-ciso
LA-arny DI-az
MY-chaela NO-grales

"The pen name itself is like the signature of the four," Jamie said, drawing a circle on the syllables that I wrote in capital letters.

Muling napahawak si Alistair sa kanyang chin habang bahagyang nanliit ang mga mata niya. "Let's say that Alexandra really wrote the story and used the syllables of her friends' names for her pseudonym as an homage. Why didn't she include a part of her name? Won't it be more symbolic of their friendship kung may syllables ng pangalan nilang lima—hindi lang mula sa apat—ang pen name niya?"

"Kung tama ang theory ko na combined effort ng apat ang Everyone is Sus at hindi talaga si Alex ang writer..." bulong ko. Muli akong napa-scroll sa timeline ni Beatrice hanggang sa marating ang point na nakakapag-post pa siya. I saw the links to her blog where she tagged the other three. "...posible kayang ninakaw niya ang manuscript at ipinasa 'to bilang kanya? This might sound evil on her part, but the possibility exists, right?"

"If she stole the manuscripts and submitted it as her own work, why did she still choose the 'Bellamy Bernardino' pen name?" Loki asked. "Why didn't she use her own name or another alias that cannot be traced back to her late friends? Quite dumb of her, if you ask me."

"Assuming na ninakaw niya, baka may naramdaman siya na kahit katiting na konsensya sa kanyang ginawa?" tugon ni Alistair, dahilan upang mapatingin kami sa kanya. "Out of respect for them and their combined efforts, she chose to use the pen name that contained syllables of her friends' names. Posibleng inangkin na nga niya, pero ayaw niyang burahin nang tuluyan kung kanino talaga galing ang kuwento."

"Baka wala siyang choice kundi i-assume ang role bilang Bellamy Bernardino?" hirit ni Jamie, sa kanya kami sunod na napatingin. Medyo confused ako sa kanyang ipinupunto. "Mag-rewind muna tayo bago naaksidente ang mga beshie ni Alex. Paano kung may agreement na ang apat collectively as 'Bellamy' at ang BEYOND Publishing? Nakapag-sign na ng contract, nai-layout na ang kuwento, naka-set na ang book launch. Kaso biglang namatay 'yong apat sa aksidente."

I don't know if it's in the way she's narrating her theory or it's in the theory itself, but she's making me feel slightly uncomfortable. Her story was ringing a bell in me.

"Itong si Alex, in one way or another, nagkaroon siya ng access sa files ng apat. Maybe sa kanilang email? Maybe sa unedited manuscripts para sa planong trilogy? Basta 'yong mga kailangan niya para akuin ang role," Jamie went on. "Bilang isang mabuting friend, naisipan niyang ituloy ang writing career ni 'Bellamy' at doon na niya sinimulan ang pag-assume sa identity nito."

My eyes looked away. I couldn't help but notice the parallels between her theory and another story—a true story—that I was familiar with. Ano nga kasing kuwento 'yon?

Ah! Stein Alberts assuming the identity of Moriarty after Jaime Santiago died in an accident!

"Good friend?" Loki scoffed. "The editor-in-chief mentioned to us that Bellamy's books are certified bestsellers. Assuming that she has assumed the identity of Bellamy, Alessandra probably got lost along the way when she noticed how much money she could milk from the fruit of her late friends' creativity. If she's truly a good friend, she should have let the families of the four negotiate with BEYOND. She shouldn't be the one making money. If that's not greed, I don't know what is."

"Isn't it too early to conclude that she's a money-grubber? We don't know if she struck some deal with the parents of the four," Alistair countered. "Also may mga loophole sa assume-the-identity scenario na ipinresent ni Jamie. Did the editor meet with the collective 'Bellamy' in person when the latter signed the contract? If there's already an agreement before the accident, wouldn't the editor know or suspect that he's dealing with an entirely different person?"

Look at where the discussion went. Kanina'y pinag-uusapan namin kung paano pinatay ang biktima sa Everyone is Sus. Ngayo'y pinagdedebatehan namin kung si Alexandra Alegre nga ba talaga ang writer ng mystery novel o kung ano ang role na ginampanan ng apat niyang kaibigan. Well, I was the one who diverted the topic from a fictional case to a real one.

"May punto siya." Nagsalita na ako bago pa tuluyang makatugon si Loki. I had to put an end to this bago pa mapunta kung saan ang discussion. "It's too early too conclude that Alex is a money-grubber. Well, it's too early to conclude anything at this point. Para maliwanagan tayo, we need to know the timeline and the circumstances of how the publishing agreement between BEYOND and the so-called Bellamy Bernadino started. Ite-text ko mamaya si Sir Johannes. Saka na natin pag-usapan ulit 'to, okay?"

Tumango ang apat kong kasama at nagpatuloy na kami sa pinapagawang cutout letters ni Rye. Gusto rin naming makauwi nang maaga mamaya kaya kailangan na naming tapusin ang task na 'to.

Later that afternoon, we decided to chill in our apartment. Sir Johannes hasn't replied to me so we had nothing to discuss about the 'Bellamy Bernardino' case. Parang ginaya nga namin ang ginawa ng mga character sa Everyone is Sus. We bought food and drinks from a convenience store. We watched a movie on Netflix. And we played UNO card game.

What's supposed to be a relaxing and fun-filled bonding session took a sudden serious turn. Nagsimulang magkanda-letse ang lahat nang ipakita ko ang litrato na ibinigay sa akin ni Sir Jim Morayta kung saan magkasama sina Stein Alberts at Jaime Santiago.

"What are you trying to say, Lori? Are you implying that I don't know my brother that well? Paano naging connected 'to kay M?"

"What if he had a secret that you didn't know about him? What if your brother is the original M? Hindi na kataka-taka kung pipiliin ng iyong kuya na gawing successor si Stein."

"You know that's impossible, Lori. Stein had my brother killed."

"Your brother died in a car accident. The police found no evidence or hint that the car brakes were tampered with. There was no foul play."

"You're accusing my brother—my dearly beloved brother—of being the bad guy! He's no longer here to defend himself so I'm gonna do it for him."

"What's more unacceptable is your brother's legacy, not as the good and great student council president that almost everyone was duped into believing, but as the original M whose twisted view of justice took the lives of a number of students in Clark High."

"HOW DARE YOU! How dare you speak ill of my brother! Take back what you said, and I will forget we ever had this conversation!"

"I will not. Your brother is the reason why Rhea died."

"My brother's already dead when your precious Rhea died! Why are you blaming him for something he didn't do—"

"RHEA HAD TO BE KILLED TO PROTECT YOUR BROTHER'S GODDAMN LEGACY!"

"I can't believe that I'm hearing this from you. I don't want to hear anymore of this."

"Surely this could have waited until tomorrow. Or another day. Why did it have to be today?"

"Jamie has to swallow the bitter truth. If she cannot, she doesn't deserve to be one of us."

"You could have talked to her in a way that she'd feel less offended! You could have handled this situation better, but you chose not to."

"Sorry if I cannot be as gentle as you. Sorry for having a sharp tongue. Sorry for not sugarcoating my words."

"Can you two please shut up?"

"You better tell Loki that. He should know when to shut up and when to open his mouth."

If I had known that it would come to this, I would have ignored Loki's subtle nudge to make me show the Jaime and Stein picture. Hindi sana hahantong sa ganito ang sitwasyon namin kung 'di dahil sa desisyon ko.

You know what's the feeling right now? It felt like a violent storm came in, brutally tore us apart, and left us emotionally devastated.

Paglabas ni Alistair ng aming unit, nanlambot ang aking mga binti kaya napaupo ako sa couch. Sumandal ako sa malambot nitong backrest at tumingala sa kisame. I stared at the light above me. Wala akong nagawa kundi matulala.

How about Loki? Well, he remained standing and leaned his back against the wall with his arms folded. He seemed to have calmed down, but he hasn't said anything since our two friends left. Kinalauna'y umupo na rin siya sa couch, nanatili pa ring walang kibo.

"Yesterday, you told your brother that Jamie is an asset." I chose to break the deafening silence. Parang mas masu-suffocate ako kapag nagpatuloy ang katahimikan dito. Bumalikwas ako ng pagkakaupo upang tumingin sa kanya. "Now you treated her like she's a liability. Did Luthor's words get into your head?"

Ngunit hindi siya sumagot sa akin. Nakatitig ang kanyang mga mata sa sahig, nakatulala at parang walang naririnig. If he's reflecting whether what he did was okay or not, then good. Kailangan talaga niyang mag-self-reflect. Wala ako sa posisyon niya kaya hindi ko alam kung ano ang kanyang naramdaman kanina. His outburst was understandable, but it kinda went out of hand.

"Is this your way of granting your brother's request?" I asked next. Hindi ko siya nilubayan ng tingin. Gusto kong tingnan niya ako nang mata sa mata habang sinasagot ang tanong ko. "He asked us to cut our ties with Jamie for the sake of his plan. Last night, you resisted the idea. But today, you looked like you gave in."

"I want to know if she's really on our side," Loki finally spoke with a calm tone. "I may have overstepped a bit—"

"A bit?" I repeated, furrowing my eyebrows. "Aminin mo, napasobra ka talaga. Hindi lang si Jamie ang naapektuhan. Even Alistair got pissed by what you said and did. Stein tried to plant some doubts in our minds to break us apart yesterday, but you seem to have done a good job on doing it for him."

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'm the one at fault here!" Loki raised not only his hands in surrender, but also his voice. "I got carried away by my emotions. I remembered Rhea. I remembered Maggie. I remembered all the people who didn't deserve it but got dragged unnecessarily into this huge mess because of one person's twisted ambition. We are putting our lives at risk just to close this case. Even my brother has become willing to put himself at risk just to close this case."

Pinagmasdan ko lang siya at hinayaan na magsalita. Mas mabuting ilabas na niya lahat ang kanyang kinikimkim. Baka kapag patuloy niyang itinago, bigla siyang sumabog.

"I've always tried to suppress the thought that Jamie might still be one of them, that my conversion plan has failed," Loki went on, looking away from me. "But the more information we learn about her brother and Stein, the more inconsistencies we observe, the more I find it difficult to not entertain the thought."

I had the same dilemma, but I still try to see the good in the person.

"You're gravely mistaken if you believe that I gave in to my brother's absurd request," he said, turning to me again. "By confronting Jamie with the facts, I wasn't trying to cut our ties with her. I was only trying to confirm if she's truly on our side. If she's truly one of us, there's no need to push her away. My brother will have nothing to worry about her, should that be the case."

"I'm sorry if I took it the wrong way," I said apologetically, my eyes looking down.

Sandaling nagkaroon ng katahimikan sa sala. For a moment, the light above us flickered. Lalo pang dumilim sa labas. We averted each other's gazes as we maintained the uneasy silence.

"I don't want us to get hurt in the end," Loki spoke again, his eyes blinking. "If she's not who we believe she is, what would we feel? If she knew all along her brother's crimes and she's complicit in them, what would we feel? What should we feel?"

Nagawi sa sahig ang aking tingin. Maging ako'y hindi alam kung ano ang sagot doon. Ano nga ba ang mararamdaman ko? Ano nga ba ang dapat kong maramdaman? I have always evaded that what if question whenever it crosses my mind. Maybe I was too scared to confront the possibility. That's why I tend to look on the good and bright side.

Tita Martha knocked on our door, interrupting our conversation. Pinagdala niya kami ng pagkain na mas marami kaysa sa nakagawian. She thought that Jamie and Alistair would be staying for a while kaya dinamihan niya ang kanyang inihanda.

Loki and I ate our dinner quietly. We spoke no more of the confrontation that happened tonight. Maaga akong pumasok sa aking kuwarto habang siya'y nag-stay pa sa couch at binasa ang manuscript ng Everyone is Sus.

I thought that today's already intense, but the next day proved to be much worse.

It's the unfortunate consequence of what happened tonight.

q.e.d.

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