Chapter 5: The Secrets of the Orphanage

The next morning, the sunlight shone through the clouds onto the ground, yet it couldn't dispel the chill in the town. Irene arrived at the orphanage. The orphanage was already in a state of great disrepair. The paint on the walls had peeled off, revealing the mottled bricks, like an old person on the verge of death. The gate was half - open, creaking as if telling the story of the passage of time.

She entered the orphanage. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and there was no one in sight.

Only an old pagoda tree in the corner swayed gently in the breeze, as if telling her the stories of the past. Irene walked straight to the orphanage's archives room. There was a smell of old paper in the room. The light was dim, and dust was swirling in the air, making people want to cough.

Among the mountains of files, Irene found some files about herself and other children. She flipped through them carefully and suddenly noticed some strange records. They showed that several children were declared "suicides" after they disappeared, but these records were full of doubts. The death certificates of the missing children were filled out very sloppily, and there was no detailed investigation process, as if they had been hastily covered up.

Just as she was about to leave the archives room, she heard a faint sound of footsteps. She grasped the gun in her hand tightly and slowly walked towards the source of the sound. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing became rapid. Every step was taken with great caution.

In a corner of a room, she found a dilapidated diary. The handwriting on it was already a bit blurred, but she could still barely make out some of the contents. The diary recorded some dark events that had occurred in the orphanage, including the sexual assault of some children, and these events seemed to be related to some of the town's powerful figures. Her heart was filled with anger and shock. She never expected that this place that had once given her warmth actually hid such terrifying secrets.