Page 95 of The Diávolos: Part Two
At this point, Iris’s pregnant belly is showing and can no longer be hidden. Luckily, sisters wear long cloaks, so she was able to mask her growing stomach up until now.
Leading up to the wedding, Peter was amazing. He tended to her every need, made sure she was well fed, and had her attend routine check-ups with the in-house doctor, whom Iris has grown very fond of.
Iris knows he will be a wonderful father.
And as Peter’s fiancée, she becomes privy to more of the Sisterhood’s doings.
Given that she is no longer going to be a nun—something that she had to hide from her fellow sisters—Iris spends a lot of time in Peter’s office while he holds meetings with various stakeholders. Most of the gatherings are about the establishment, but some are about outside activities that Iris doesn’t quite understand. Being sheltered from the outside world leaves you clueless about the simplest things.
Iris always wondered where the new girls came from.
When she first arrived at the Sisterhood, she was told she had been ‘saved.’ As soon as she arrived, she was separated from the other girls. They were all scared and didn’t know what to expect.
In Iris’s case, she was placed with the sisters. But the other young girls that were in the van with her were taken to another section, but Iris doesn’t know what happened to them. They were taught never to question any of that. Why some of them were bound to be nuns and others not. What the Sisterhood says goes.
For the first couple of years, Iris worried about those girls and wondered if they were safe, but the institution assured them that they were well taken care of, and that when Iris and the other sisters reached of age and were sworn in as nuns, they’d be the ones to take care of the new girls who arrived. This gave them a purpose.
But as Iris overhears more conversations and learns more details, she realizes that it’s not what they’d been told to believe.
All the children were stolen from their families. Their parents left heartbroken and empty, wondering where their little girls were taken to.
She finds out that Peter had met with many men who gave him updates on police reports and investigations back in Greece and tried to cover them up.
Iris feels stupid and blind. How could she have not realized what was happening right under her nose?
The more she understands, the more disgusted she becomes with the institution. This isn’t an orphanage. This isn’t a school. It’s a breeding ground for little girls.
Why was Iris chosen to be trained as a nun? Why didn’t she have the same fate as those little girls?
As soon as Iris grasps this information, she can’t help but dig for more. Anytime Peter leaves her in his office unattended, she prods around his desk, looking through files.
One day, Iris makes sure to bring a bobby pin with her. In the corner of the room, stands a large filing cabinet that requires a key to access it. When Peter leaves the office, she sticks the pin inside the lock and manages to get it open.
Iris sifts through the many files, organized by last names.
And that’s when she sees it.Karras, I.A folder with her name on it. Dread settles over her like a heavy blanket, and paranoia creeps in.
Iris looks back at the door and listens, making sure no one is close by before she opens it. She can't believe her eyes.
It’s an entire binder filled with information about her, her family, and her past. She finds her birth certificate, medical records, and a classification document which scored her readiness to become a sister, removing her from the possibility of being sentelsewhere.
In a frenzy, Iris rummages through the drawers, taking out folder after folder of names she recognizes. She becomes more and more nauseous.It doesn’t help that she’s also pregnant.
That day, Iris decides that she won’t keep quiet anymore. She’ll talk to Peter about what she’s found. Soon after her discovery, Peter comes back into his office, alone.
“Louloúdi mou,” he greets her with a kiss on the forehead. “How are my girls doing?”
They’d found out that they were having a little girl. They were both ecstatic with the news, but by discovering what Peter was really doing and what the Sisterhood was hiding, Iris became worried about her daughter’s future.
Instead of responding to his question, Iris pulls out the pile of folders and drops them on his desk. “What is this?” Her voice comes out wobbly with fret.
His face softens, the opposite reaction Iris was expecting, and reaches for her arms. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, darling.”
Iris jerks back. “Don’t dismiss me. What are these files, Peter?” she asks again, anger stirring in her chest. “Why are there hundreds of documents on girls as young as four years old?”
A sudden tautness assails her middle, stomach churning with disgust.
Peter lets out a loud sigh. “The Sisterhood has been alive for decades, Iris. This is not my doing. I’m just—”
