The third and final volume of Project LOKI. Join Lorelei, Loki, Jamie, and Alistair as they bring down Moriarty's organization.
Looking for VOLUME1? Read it here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/55259614-project-loki-volume-1
Looking for VOLUME 2? Rea...
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!
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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."
