Chapter 12

• MATTHAN
• As soon as the call ended, I returned to studying the tragedy of Judas Carnation. I had managed to get a hold of my relations in the Carnation pack and while they knew the story, none of them could grasp why Judas did it. In their own words, Judas and his wife seemed to be very happy. The news had taken everyone by surprise especially the late Alpha of the Carnation. The man could barely bear it when he learned the heavy fate that had befallen his daughter and granddaughter. Word around the territory was that he collapsed on the spot. An integral piece of information everyone else had seemed oblivious to or either made sure not to touch on when I asked about Judas' story was his daughter. The news article said she most likely died in the fire. They could not be certain because the girl's body or bones were never found. Other junk articles had a lot of conspiracies to pick apart. A ton of them were also of the opinion that Judas did murder his daughter too and her body was buried somewhere secret in Marblefay. They branded Judas as a psychotic madman who had plenty of experience in serial murder. I continued doing my research deep into the night until I finally stumbled on something useful. A name. It was an article that contained the testimony of a neighbor and teacher. The woman had a name for the unnamed girl. Eloise. The name alone drew me in like a fly to a venus trap. I began reading.
• "I am a horrible person because I noticed it. The screams that would explode from their home in the middle of the night. The tired and frightened look little Eloise carried to class the next day. I tried... I tried to get her to tell me what was happening. If her papa was hurting her or her mother. Eloise was a sweet soul. She said nothing but I knew. I knew and I chose to feed myself the story that I needed additional information before I did something reckless. I was scared society would label me as a nosy Karen and because of that, Eloise and her mother are no more. I blame myself. I failed that young child with so many aspirations. Society failed Eloise Carnation."