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Chapter 151 - OLD ORPHANAGE

The moment I opened the door, Catherine Grace hurriedly entered the room. There was an unusual frown on her beautiful countenance as she sat on the bed and placed the laptop on her lap.

Seeing the urgency on her face, I quickly closed the door. With long, hurried strides I reached her side. "Cat, Is there a problem??" I asked. My eyes surveying her expression wondering what bothers her.

When there was no response, I slowly sat in the space beside her. My eyes surveyed the laptop she opened on her lap.

"Look at this, Phoenix." She pointed at the building in the picture. "Do you see what I see?" She asked, her tone suddenly filled with excitement.

My eyes squinted at the corner as I focused my undivided attention on her laptop screen.

The said picture was an old two storey building that looked as if it needed some heavy renovation. There are some cars parked in front of the building. There was nothing remarkable in the picture, I thought to myself, unable to fathom what Catherine Grace wanted me to see.

"I don\'t actually get what you mean." I replied, giving up after minutes of scrutiny. I just couldn\'t get what she\'s referring to.

"This is Angela\'s car. This is where she was last seen before her death."

Catherine\'s response stirred my interest. This time, I leaned closer and stared at the sky-blue ford parked in the parking area just in front of the two storey building.Then my curious gaze shifted to the building wondering what Angela was doing in that place.

St. James. It was the words written on the building. The words sound so familiar. I\'m sure that I heard it before but I forgot where.

I blinked my eyes several times without tearing my gaze off from the screen.

"St. James." I read the words aloud. This time I finally realized where I heard it before! It was written on the painting which Samantha destroyed!

My eyes widened, my brows shot to the ceiling as I looked at Catherine.

"Based on my investigation, St. James is an old orphanage situated outside of town." Catherine explained as she clicked on another image taken from the exterior of the rundown orphanage. "When I looked deeper into the records of the kid\'s orphanage I discovered that Angela was a major sponsor helping run the orphanage."

Catherine Grace took a deep breath before she continued. "After what I discovered, I arrived at the ultimate question, what was she doing in that place before her death?"

"I think I know the answer." I replied. After rising from my seat, I folded my arms beneath my breasts and paced back and forth. There is a single logical reason which I could think of why she was there.

Catherine looked at me, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Did she have relatives there?"

I shook my head as I finally stopped walking. "I can\'t answer that. However, I have an idea why she was there. I have a feeling that it concerns her child."

Catherine\'s eyes went wide, her eyebrows shot to the ceiling, and her lips parted open. For a moment, she was unable to speak.

When she recovered from shock her eyebrows scrunched in concentration while wrapped in her own thoughts.

Unexpectedly, after a long moment, Catherine Grace closed her laptop screen and rose from the bed. There was a mysterious glint in her eyes.

She hastily made her way towards the door. "We are leaving." She said as she reached for the door knob.

"Leaving? Where?" I asked, puzzled.

"To St. James of course." She replied and closed the door giving me no time to say no.

***

After two hours of long journey, Catherine\'s car finally skidded to a stop in front of the St. James orphanage.

A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips after I pulled the car door open and stretched my numb legs.

I heard the other side of the door open and?close. Afterwards, Catherine stood beside me and surveyed the building just like I do.

The St. James Orphanage was a two storey building situated in the middle of a farm. The strange location was understable since the orphanage was run by?nuns.

The place was old, and shabby looking, and it looked worse in broad daylight compared to the pictures. But despite its appearance, the old building stood proud and tall under the hot blazing sun.

The gates were rusty and it looked as if it would fall off from its hinges anytime soon. Obviously, the establishment doesn\'t have enough funds to maintain the place.

I walked across the pebbled ground and nearly tripped a couple of times in the process. I assume that the pathway wasn\'t paved and cemented due to lack of funds.

Catherine Grace followed behind me, muttering unintelligible curses for wearing her high-heeled shoes.

I was glad that I was wearing rubber shoes at the moment.

When I reached the gates,I pressed the buzzer twice and waited for someone to come. I didn\'t wait long before I heard footsteps coming from inside. It was followed by the squeak of metals as someone unlatched the lock.

The sound of the rusty gates creaking open pierced my ears. Then a woman wearing a black habit emerged.

"How may I help you?" She asked in a very angelic voice that nearly made me close my eyes.

I was taken aback when my eyes shifted to her face. Her exquisite amber cat eyes caught me off guard as it met mine.

Catherine Grace had fallen silent too as her gaze landed on the nun\'s face.

Even though her head was covered with the habit, it cannot be denied that she has a stunning face that deeply reminds me of a chiseled statue of Virgin Mary.

"I am Sister Bella Rose," The woman in front of me finally introduced herself with a slight bow of her head.

"I am Phoenix." I introduced myself then turned towards Catherine, signalling her to introduce herself.

"I am Catherine Grace, Phoenix friend." She finally introduced herself after she found her words.

"I am pleased to meet you both." Her shapely lips curled into a smile that lit up her whole face. What a stunning face, I thought to myself eyeing her deep-seated eyes, chiselled nose, and her enviable high cheekbones. "Please come inside for some refreshments. I know both of you are tired after hours of journey."

Sister Bella Rose pulled the gates wider making the hinges squeak once more. I was so afraid that the whole gate would collapse, that\'s why I hurriedly entered. Catherine Grace followed behind me.

"I apologize for the poor condition of the orphanage." Sister Bella said apologetically as we slowly entered the main entrance of the building. "We don\'t have enough donations to repair the whole building. The ample donations we receive are just enough for the children\'s food and clothing." She added with a heavy heart.

My eyes swept over the broken ceiling, to the walls peeling with paint, and to the floor. The sight made my heart ache. Those poor souls living in this place deserved a more comfortable life.

I wonder if I could encourage my father to become one of the orphanage\'s major sponsors. For sure, it would benefit all the children.

"It\'s okay Sister Bella. Don\'t mind us please." I told her and gave her a soft, reassuring smile in which she reciprocated with equal warmth.

"As you could see, it\'s quiet here since the children are inside their classrooms on the second floor. They wouldn\'t bother us for now and we could drink tea for a while."

Sister Bella stopped in front of a door and pulled it open. "This is the area where we receive our visitors."

We entered the small room that looked like a library except that it has more empty shelves than it has books. There is a single window inside but it was broken and a transparent tape was placed to the broken part of the window to prevent it from further damage.

"Please sit down for a while and I will fetch tea for you both." Sister Bella gestured towards the table near the window before turning towards the door to get tea.

When she was gone, I hesitantly sat on the wobbly chair made of wood. I was afraid that it wouldn\'t be able to carry my weight but luckily it didn\'t collapse after receiving my weight just what I expected.

Catherine Grace sat on the opposite chair across from me. Her face twisted with worry when the chair squeaked with the burden of her weight. She just calmed a bit when the old-looking chair did not fall apart.

We sat there in silence while observing the room.

A few minutes later, Sister Bella Rose returned inside the room with a tray in her hand. She carefully placed the contents of the tray on top of the table then filled the cups with scalding hot tea before she sat on the last vacant chair.