INT. ST. LUKE’S – NAVE – NIGHT
Empty pews. Candlelight flickers against old stone. Rain
whispers on stained glass.
Children’s drawings hang on a bulletin board near the side
aisle — bright crayons, stick figures with halos.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CONFESSIONAL – CONTINUOUS
The screen slides open. FATHER MICHAEL DONNELLY (40s), gentle
face worn thin, adjusts his stole.
A breath from the other side — damp, tremulous.
PENITENT (V.O.)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned.
It’s been… a month.
Michael closes his eyes, centering.
MICHAEL
Go on, my son.
INTERCUT — NAVE / CONFESSIONAL
— Michael listens.
— Candle flames gutter.
— The children’s drawings sway in the draft.
PENITENT (V.O.)
It’s the same sin as before.
I tried to stop. I prayed.
I stayed away from the park… for a while.
Michael’s hand tightens on the wood.
MICHAEL
What did you do?
PENITENT (V.O.)
I touched her again.
The same girl. She’s nine now.
A candle pops. Michael flinches; the lattice throws bar
shadows on his face.
MICHAEL
Do you repent?
PENITENT (V.O.)
I came here instead.
If you forgive me, maybe God will take it away.
He hears the words for what they are — permission-seeking.
MICHAEL
You understand this is also a
crime?
Silence. Then a low, confident exhale.
PENITENT (V.O.)
You can’t tell anyone.
You’re bound.
Michael stares at his own dim reflection in the screen — a
man behind bars.
He raises his hand. The words scrape out.
MICHAEL
God, the Father of mercies, through
the death and resurrection of His
Son—
The penitent sobs with relief. A door latch clicks. Footfalls
retreat.
Michael remains, the blessing unfinished in his mouth.
MICHAEL (WHISPER) (CONT’D)
Forgive me, Lord… for hating one of
Your children.
HOLD ON the children’s drawings beyond the booth — stick
halos smiling into the dark.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
2 -
A Somber Discovery
EXT. CITY SERVICE ALLEY – DAWN
Needling rain. A delivery van brakes, reverses. Headlights
rake a shape by the dumpsters.
Not a bag. A GIRL (9) on her back. Hair combed. Small hands
folded on a ROSARY.
INT. ALLEY – MORNING
Crime tape. Camera flash. Hum of murmurs.
DETECTIVE SOFIA ALVAREZ (30s, sharp, grounded) ducks under
the tape with RUSSO (40s, loyal, dry).
Alvarez crouches by the body — steady, gentle. She studies a
laminated SAINT CARD on the girl’s chest.
ALVAREZ
St. Dymphna.
RUSSO
Patron of… innocence?
ALVAREZ
(in control)
That’s not for us — that’s for him.
She notices the cleanliness: hair parted, lips wiped, hands
arranged.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
He washed her. Staged her.
RUSSO
Same neatness as Emma Cruz.
Alvarez signals a CSU TECH.
ALVAREZ
Macro the rosary. Fibers, residue,
wax — everything.
She steps back, forcing herself to look, to absorb.
INSERT — Alvarez’s POV: the girl’s face, peaceful and wrong;
raindrops pooling in eyelashes.
A DEACON (50s) at the tape line crosses himself, devastated.
DEACON
She was one of ours.
St. Luke’s.
Alvarez nods once — a promise.
ALVAREZ
Then we’ll treat her like our own.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
3 -
Tensions and Reflections
EXT. ALLEY – LATER
Two black sedans nose up. MONSIGNOR DALTON (60s, immaculate)
exits with a YOUNG PRIEST and a PR WOMAN. Umbrellas bloom.
Dalton’s smile: a velvet blade.
DALTON
Detective Alvarez. We’d like to
assist.
ALVAREZ
You’d like to manage.
DALTON
We want to ensure no innocent
clergy are maligned.
ALVAREZ
I haven’t named any clergy.
(pauses)
Yet.
They hold the stare in the rain.
DALTON
We share the same goal.
ALVAREZ
My goal is to stop the next body.
She turns away. Dalton’s smile doesn’t move — but his eyes
harden.
CUT TO:
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CHAPEL – MORNING
A radio murmurs the news. Michael, in shirtsleeves, lowers
the volume until it’s a hiss.
He lights a candle for the girl. Another for Emma. His hand
hesitates — lights a third without meaning to.
MICHAEL (UNDER BREATH)
Mercy… the disease I can’t cure.
His fingers touch a small gold wedding band in his pocket — a
widow’s ring, left in his care. Warm metal against cold skin.
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – HOMICIDE – MIDDAY
Rain streaks the high windows. Alvarez studies a corkboard:
two bodies, two saint cards, one parish circled.
Russo arrives with coffee and a manila envelope.
RUSSO
Captain says press is calling him
the Mercy Killer.
Says it’ll “calm the city.”
ALVAREZ
It’ll sell T-shirts.
She opens the envelope — lab PRELIMS.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Beeswax residue on the rosary. Hand-
mixed pumice in the skin folds.
RUSSO
Like from candles. Like from
cleaning.
ALVAREZ
Like from a church.
They share a look — not accusation, orientation.
She draws a red triangle connecting locations on a city map.
Above it she prints: SHEPHERD’S PATH.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
4 -
Shadows of Concern
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CLASSROOM HALL – AFTERNOON
SISTER AGNES (70s, gentle steel) steps from a classroom.
Children’s laughter echoes, brittle.
Father Michael crosses the courtyard beyond glass — jacket
damp, eyes far.
Agnes intercepts him in the hall.
SISTER AGNES
You haven’t slept.
MICHAEL
Who sleeps when wolves run?
SISTER AGNES
Even shepherds lay down sometimes.
A flicker of humor that isn’t.
SISTER AGNES (CONT’D)
There were men in suits by the
fence. Not police.
MICHAEL
Dalton’s watchers.
SISTER AGNES
They frighten the children.
MICHAEL
They should.
He moves past. She watches him go — a man fading at the
edges.
CUT TO:
INT. ARCHDIOCESE LIMO (MOVING) – LATE AFTERNOON
City slides by, gray and wet. Dalton sits opposite the PR
WOMAN, rehearsing lines on a tablet.
PR WOMAN
Grief, cooperation, due process.
Avoid specifics.
Dalton glances out the tinted glass — a small knot of
PROTESTERS huddled under umbrellas outside the chancery.
Signs: PROTECT THE CHILDREN.
DALTON
We’ll give them rosaries and
permission slips.
(then)
Keep Donnelly off the microphones.
PR WOMAN
And if he speaks?
Dalton’s mouth tightens.
DALTON
Then the Archdiocese won’t.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
5 -
Confession and Consequence
INT. ST. LUKE’S – RECTORY PARLOR – EARLY EVENING
A knock. Michael opens the door. Alvarez stands there, damp,
badge glinting.
MICHAEL
Detective.
ALVAREZ
Father.
May I?
He steps back. She takes in the room — crucifix, file box, an
old leather chair with a prayer cushion.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
One of the victims attended your
school.
I’m not here to accuse you.
I’m here because you know this parish better than anyone.
MICHAEL
I know the souls.
Not all the sins.
ALVAREZ
Sometimes those are the same thing.
She sets a small evidence photo on the table — the saint
card.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Have you seen these in circulation?
Parish office printers?
Any volunteer who’d… take that kind of liberty?
Michael’s throat works.
MICHAEL
If someone confessed a crime to me,
I couldn’t tell you.
ALVAREZ
I know.
(softens)
But you could tell me where to
look.
He hesitates, torn. Then:
MICHAEL
Cedar Park.
Thursdays. After the buses.
She hears the specificity; doesn’t press the source.
ALVAREZ
Thank you, Father.
She leaves him alone with the ringing nothing.
HOLD ON Michael as he looks at his hands — absolution hands —
and wonders what else they do.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
6 -
Haunted by the Past
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – BLUE HOUR
Steeples prick a bruised sky. Bells begin to toll in
overlapping waves.
Streetlights bloom across rain-slick streets like rows of
votive candles igniting.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
Forgive me, Father, for I have seen
too much.
SMASH TO BLACK.
INT. RECTORY – NIGHT
Thunder rolls. Michael lies awake in bed, eyes open to the
lightning that flickers across the ceiling like artillery.
A framed photo of him in Army chaplain fatigues, arm around a
dying soldier, sits on the nightstand. He stares at it until
the glass catches another flash—blood where memory fills in
the color.
CUT TO FLASHBACK – IRAQ, FIELD TENT – NIGHT
Explosions in the distance. Michael kneels beside a wounded
corporal, blood pumping through his hands.
CORPORAL
Tell my mother… tell her I wasn’t
afraid.
MICHAEL
You’re going home, son. Hold on—
A shell WHISTLES—impact—light.
CUT BACK TO:
INT. RECTORY – NIGHT
Michael jolts upright, drenched in sweat. He grips the
crucifix around his neck, whispering a prayer that doesn’t
calm him.
Genres:
["Drama","Crime","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
7 -
Tension and Transitions
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – DAY
The murder board now shows three victims, red string
connecting parishes like arteries.
Alvarez pins another saint card photo.
RUSSO
You’re burning through overtime
like communion wine.
ALVAREZ
Then maybe God will reimburse me.
She adds a marker: Cedar Park – Possible Suspect Sightings.
RUSSO
We canvassed. Nobody saw a priest.
Or they’re not admitting they did.
She scans Keller’s file again, half-believing, half-hoping
she’s wrong.
ALVAREZ
He’s not random. He’s ritual.
Somebody’s preaching with a bullet.
INT. ARCHDIOCESE BOARDROOM – DAY
Polished oak table. Rain against stained glass shaped like
swords.
Dalton presents slides to the ARCHBISHOP HENNESSEY (70s).
DALTON
If we appear defensive, the wolves
will scent blood.
Our tone must be benevolent—remorse without confession.
ARCHBISHOP
And Father Donnelly?
DALTON
He’s unstable, but popular.
Transfer him quietly.
The Archbishop rubs his temples.
ARCHBISHOP
He buried four children this year.
Let the man breathe.
DALTON
Breathing’s when they talk.
Talking’s when they ruin us.
A beat. Dalton’s phone BUZZES—text: Detective Alvarez asking
for parish records.
DALTON (MURMURS) (CONT’D)
And the hunt begins.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – DAY
Children play softball in the courtyard. Michael stands near
the fence, eyes tracking Joey, the smallest kid, perpetually
benched.
He waves Sister Agnes over.
MICHAEL
Why isn’t he playing?
SISTER AGNES
No one picks him. He can’t hit.
Michael calls to Joey, tossing him a ball.
MICHAEL
Try again. Eyes open. Shoulders
square.
Joey swings—connects. The ball skips between fielders. Cheers
erupt.
For a moment, Michael smiles. Then the church bell tolls—off-
key, mournful. The smile dies.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
8 -
Late Night Revelations
INT. ALVAREZ APARTMENT – NIGHT
The detective sits at her kitchen table surrounded by files.
A half-drunk mug, cold pizza, photos.
She circles details on a legal pad: Cleans bodies. Saint
cards. Candle wax. Precise shots.
A soft knock. It’s RUSSO, holding a grocery bag.
RUSSO
You forget what daylight looks
like?
ALVAREZ
It’s overrated.
He sets down the bag—bagels and aspirin.
RUSSO
Captain says you’re too close.
ALVAREZ
Then maybe I’m close enough.
She flips a photo toward him—one of a bullet casing, polished
bright.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Military brass. Cleaned with grade
B compound—chaplain inventory
standard.
Russo exhales.
RUSSO
That’s not a coincidence.
ALVAREZ
No. That’s training.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
9 -
Reflections of Guilt
INT. ST. LUKE’S – SANCTUARY – LATE NIGHT
Michael polishes the brass candlesticks until they gleam. He
catches his reflection distorted in the metal.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned…
Intercut with quick flashes—
– The confessional door opening.
– The girl’s lifeless hand.
– A pistol slide racking.
He wipes faster, harder, until wax streaks the altar cloth
like blood.
SISTER AGNES (O.S.)
Father?
He freezes.
She stands in the doorway, candle in hand.
SISTER AGNES (CONT’D)
You should rest.
MICHAEL
Rest is for the forgiven.
EXT. CITY STREETS – DAWN
A lone figure (Michael) walks beneath elevated tracks, collar
turned up. Bells echo from unseen towers.
A police cruiser slows beside him—then drives on.
He stops beneath a crucifix billboard: “GOD SEES YOU.”
He stares back up.
MICHAEL
Then look closer.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
10 -
Undercover Surveillance
INT. PRECINCT – DAY
Alvarez studies surveillance stills from Cedar Park. One
blurry frame—someone in black clerical coat, umbrella
lowered.
She zooms in. The collar catches light.
RUSSO
Could be anyone.
ALVAREZ
Could be him.
RUSSO
You want it to be him?
ALVAREZ
I want it to stop.
She hits PRINT. The image emerges slowly—an apparition
forming in gray ink.
HOLD ON the printer as the face resolves into near
recognition.
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
EXT. CEDAR PARK – LATE AFTERNOON
Wind combs the hedges. A swing creaks on its own.
Alvarez’s unmarked sedan sits a half block away. Inside:
binoculars, thermos, nerves.
Russo peers over a paper tray of fries.
RUSSO
If I die watching a swing set, tell
my kids I went out heroic.
ALVAREZ
You don’t have kids.
RUSSO
Then tell my dog.
She tracks a beige sedan gliding to the curb. KELLER steps
out with a brown bag. Casual. Practiced.
He circles the park once, not looking at children. He looks
for gaps—absent parents, tired eyes.
ALVAREZ
There. That’s the rhythm.
A patrol car rolls past. Keller stiffens, then relaxes.
Continues. Harmless again.
RUSSO
We move?
ALVAREZ
And spook? No. Let him believe he’s
invisible.
A mother laughs into her phone. A boy’s toy truck sticks in
gravel. No one helps.
Keller does not break his pattern. He returns to the sedan
and pulls away.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Follow. Lights off. Two cars
between.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
11 -
A Clash of Mercy and Authority
INT. DIOCESAN LOBBY – DUSK
Marble floors, hushed money. Monsignor Dalton strides across
the atrium, spots Sister Agnes waiting, hands folded tight.
DALTON
Sister. You didn’t call for an
appointment.
SISTER AGNES
I came for mercy.
DALTON
We sell it on Sundays.
SISTER AGNES
Then give some away tonight.
A stare. She steps closer, low.
SISTER AGNES (CONT’D)
Leave him. He’s breaking and you’re
pushing.
DALTON
He’s disobeying.
SISTER AGNES
He’s bleeding.
Dalton’s jaw ticks.
DALTON
And when he stains the whole
Church?
SISTER AGNES
Then maybe it needed washing.
He watches her go, something like fear flickering behind his
eyes.
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
12 -
Seeking Forgiveness at Dusk
EXT. MARINA COURT – DUSK
Keller’s sedan pulls into the horseshoe. He disappears
inside.
Alvarez stops a building manager taking out trash.
ALVAREZ
We’re looking for Charles Keller.
Maintenance, sometimes volunteers
with church schools.
MANAGER
Basement unit. Keeps to himself.
Clean, though. Real clean.
RUSSO
You got cameras?
MANAGER
They look mean. Don’t work.
ALVAREZ
That’s the story of this city.
She jots the unit number.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – SIDE CHAPEL – EARLY EVENING
Candles cast small, stubborn hearts against stone. Sister
Agnes kneels alone. One candle for Michael. One for “the
unknown child.”
She whispers: “Fiat.” Yes, and no, together.
Wax drips—fat, slow tears.
SISTER AGNES
(whisper)
Do not abandon him. Do not abandon
them.
She touches the cool marble. Stays there.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – MICHAEL’S ROOM – SAME
Michael opens the footlocker. The .45 in its military rag.
The field Bible. The notebook.
He sets the widow’s ring in its box on the sill. Rain beads
on the glass, distorting the city lights into small halos.
He checks the gun with careful ritual. Magazine. Slide.
Safety.
He lays the Bible, ring, and gun in a line. Crosses himself,
imperfectly.
MICHAEL
Forgive me… for what I’m about to
make forgiveness mean.
He pockets the gun. The notebook goes into his coat. He turns
out the light.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – BLUE HOUR
Steeples silhouette the bruise-colored sky. Bells begin to
toll in overlapping waves.
Streetlights awaken up the avenue like votive candles in
rows.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
Forgive me, Father, for I have seen
too much.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
13 -
Confrontation in the Shadows
INT./EXT. KELLER’S SEDAN / RIVERFRONT – NIGHT
Keller drives, humming off-key. He glances in the mirror: no
one there.
He turns into an industrial lot by the river. The wind off
the water rattles chain-link.
Keller parks. Sits a moment, hands at ten and two, breathing
steady.
He gets out with the brown bag. Heads for a dead warehouse
door.
Across the street, an unseen car door opens. Quiet.
Deliberate.
INT. WAREHOUSE – CONTINUOUS
Keller’s flashlight cuts through dust motes. His footfalls
echo. He hums to calm himself.
A voice from the dark—
MICHAEL (O.S.)
You shouldn’t be here.
Keller spins, beam jittering.
KELLER
Who’s there?
Michael steps into the cone of light. Drenched. Calm. Eyes
gone quiet.
KELLER (CONT’D)
Father Donnelly—? Jesus, you scared
the—
MICHAEL
That’s my job.
He steps closer. Keller retreats until his back finds cold
steel.
KELLER
Listen, I don’t— I don’t know what
you heard—
MICHAEL
I heard everything.
The gun appears like an admission.
KELLER
You can’t— you’re a priest.
MICHAEL
Once.
Between them: rain on sheet metal, a heartbeat.
KELLER
What are you gonna do, confess
after?
Michael’s eyes shine — grief and resolve.
MICHAEL
Already have.
The shot cracks. Keller drops, the flashlight spinning, beam
skittering the ceiling.
Silence settles like dust.
EXT. WAREHOUSE LOT – LATER
Rain rinses thin red lines into oily puddles.
Michael kneels, folds Keller’s hands precisely. Places a
Saint Dymphna card between them.
He looks up at the blank sky.
No thunder. No answer.
MICHAEL
(soft)
Amen.
He turns and disappears into rain.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
14 -
Ritual of Silence
EXT. FULTON GREEN – NIGHT (MINUTES LATER)
Police tape. Strobes. A blanket over Keller’s body.
Alvarez crouches, steady as ever. Russo stands over her
shoulder.
She studies the wound. Close-contact. Clean.
Russo holds up a bagged saint card—St. Raphael, Patron of
Travelers.
RUSSO
Bus driver. He’s choosing saints
that fit the sin.
ALVAREZ
He’s not improvising. He’s liturgy.
She scans the darkness beyond the tape: hedges, path, church
tower on the ridge.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
He’s nearby when he does it. He
stays to feel the silence after.
RUSSO
How do you know?
ALVAREZ
Because I would.
She stands. Points at CSU.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Full sweep for brass polish and
beeswax trace. And canvas the parks
again for a priest coat — umbrella,
collar, anything.
Russo nods, already moving.
Genres:
["Crime","Mystery","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
15 -
A Cry in the Night
INT. ST. LUKE’S – NAVE – NIGHT
Michael, soaked, stands before the altar. His collar is gone.
His eyes are not.
He lights a single candle. The flame trembles and holds.
Sister Agnes appears in the archway, a silhouette carved by
sorrow.
SISTER AGNES
You’ve been out.
He doesn’t turn.
MICHAEL
I heard a cry. I followed.
It’s quiet now.
She takes him in — the wet coat, the hands that won’t stop
shaking.
SISTER AGNES
What have you done?
He looks up at the crucifix. It looks back as it always
has—without moving.
MICHAEL
What I should’ve done a long time
ago.
He passes her in the aisle.
SISTER AGNES
Then God help you.
MICHAEL
He won’t.
Agnes flinches as if struck.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
16 -
The Weight of Mercy
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – WAR ROOM – LATE NIGHT
Keller’s photos projected on a screen. Rosary close-up. The
saint card, bagged.
Alvarez marks KELLER — CONFIRMED on the board, draws a line
to St. Luke’s.
RUSSO
Execution style. Hands arranged.
Same wax. Same pumice.
ALVAREZ
He’s baptizing the dead.
She pins a printout: a blurry clerical coat from earlier
surveillance.
She writes under it: FATHER MICHAEL DONNELLY — ST. LUKE’S.
Russo turns, reading her face.
RUSSO
You want a warrant?
ALVAREZ
Not yet.
I want him to tell me why.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – MICHAEL’S ROOM – PRE-DAWN
The window has gone from black to bruised blue.
Michael kneels beside the bed, hands clasped, head unbowed.
It’s not prayer. It’s a holding pattern.
He places the widow’s ring back into its velvet box. Closes
it gently.
On the nightstand: the .45 and the notebook. He opens the
notebook. Writes:
ONE MORE SOUL BEFORE DAWN.
He stares at the words until they blur.
Distant bells begin to toll the hour. Sirens thread through
them like a second liturgy.
His lips form the word anyway, empty and full at once—
MICHAEL
Amen.
SMASH TO BLACK.
MONTAGE – CITY UNDER SIEGE (NIGHT/DAY)
— A NEWS ANCHOR’s mouth moves silently on a TV in a
laundromat: “MERCY KILLER” chyron.
— Parents yank kids from playgrounds; swings creak, empty.
— A SCHOOL BUS passes a roadside shrine of candles and
stuffed animals.
— Alvarez in her office, sound OFF, watching the same
segment; she turns the screen face-down.
— In the rectory, Michael turns a radio down to a whisper;
the hall swallows the last word: “—mercy.”
END MONTAGE.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
17 -
Vigil of Tension and Truth
EXT. ST. LUKE’S – FRONT STEPS – EVENING (VIGIL)
Hundreds of candles. Low chant. Photos of Emma Cruz and the
unidentified girl.
Monsignor Dalton at a microphone — flawless tone.
DALTON
…we are a people of hope. We mourn…
and we forgive.
Camera shutters click. Dalton steps aside.
Father Michael approaches the lectern, paper in hand — then
folds it in half.
MICHAEL
We pray tonight not for answers but
for courage.
Courage to keep our children safe.
Courage to tell the truth when it costs.
A murmur at costs. Dalton stares.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
If you fear someone, speak.
If you see something, act.
He steps back. The crowd doesn’t know how to react: Amen?
Applause? Silence wins.
EXT. ST. LUKE’S – SIDEWALK – LATER
Candle smoke drifts. Mourners trickle away.
A MOTHER (30s) clutches a framed photo. Michael kneels to her
height.
MOTHER
If God forgives monsters…
(beat)
…then He’s worse than they are.
Michael absorbs the blow and nods like a penitent.
She walks into the night.
A few yards off, Alvarez watches — no notebook, no questions,
just witnessing.
EXT. ST. LUKE’S – EAVE / RAIN GUTTER – CONTINUOUS
Alvarez and Michael stand under the stone eave. Rain beads
off the lip.
ALVAREZ
Your homily didn’t sound like a
company line.
MICHAEL
I’m not a company priest.
ALVAREZ
You believe in mercy?
MICHAEL
I did.
(then)
I still do. I’m revising the
definition.
She notices the faint tremor in his hand. He notices the
service pistol at her hip.
ALVAREZ
Justice without mercy is just
punishment.
Mercy without justice is permission.
MICHAEL
And which saves a child?
A beat. Rain ticks.
ALVAREZ
The one that stops the next body.
He looks away — confession by stare.
MICHAEL
If I knew the name of a wolf,
Detective…
I’d tell you.
ALVAREZ
If you knew where a wolf would be?
He meets her eyes. Doesn’t answer. Has already answered.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
(quiet)
If you cross a line, I will stop
you.
MICHAEL
If I don’t, who will stop him?
They let the rain say the rest.
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
18 -
Crossroads of Mercy and Truth
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN RESIDENCE – STUDY – NIGHT
Archbishop Hennessey by a fire. Dalton stands, hands behind
his back.
HENNESSEY
The city’s afraid. The press is
circling.
I don’t want Donnelly feeding either.
He signs a document: TEMPORARY TRANSFER – STILLWATER.
HENNESSEY (CONT’D)
Deliver it yourself.
If he refuses, reassign without faculties.
Dalton hesitates — the nuclear option.
DALTON
He’s loved.
HENNESSEY
Then love him from a distance.
Dalton nods, already composing the performance.
INT. RECTORY – MICHAEL’S STUDY – LATE NIGHT
Desk lamp pools warm light. The church beyond the window is
black glass.
On the desk: open Bible, Keller’s saint card, a blank homily
page titled “On Mercy.”
Michael tries to write. Stops. Writes again.
INSERT – the page:
MERCY without TRUTH is a lie.
TRUTH without MERCY is a weapon.
What stops a hand already raised?
He underlines stops. Hard.
FLASH ECHO: The FIELD TENT. The corporal’s eyes. “Tell my
mother…”
Michael blinks back to the room. He places Keller’s saint
card atop the homily as a paperweight. The candle flame seems
to lean toward it.
He kneels at the chair, hands clasped — not in prayer; in
argument.
MICHAEL
Show me the line.
If I must cross it… bless my feet.
Silence. The flame steadies.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
19 -
Pre-Dawn Revelations
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – BULLPEN – PRE-DAWN
Alvarez alone with the murder board. Files everywhere. Coffee
gone cold.
She lays out the saint cards in sequence: Dymphna. Jude.
Raphael.
She draws a diagonal across a printout: STATIONS OF THE
CROSS.
ALVAREZ
(under breath)
Dymphna — innocence. Jude —
desperation. Raphael — travelers…
She flips to a chart: Station IV — Jesus Meets His Mother.
She circles it in red.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Next one’s a woman.
Russo enters, tie crooked, sees the mess.
RUSSO
You redecorated.
ALVAREZ
We’re missing her before she’s
dead.
Church staff and volunteers, any pattern with women —
cleaners, office, cafeteria, bus parents—
RUSSO
You think he’s scheduling his sins?
ALVAREZ
He’s preaching.
And Act Two of his sermon is about to start.
She grabs her coat.
RUSSO
Where?
ALVAREZ
Where a mother goes when she’s too
tired to pray.
She’s gone. Russo looks at the board — the cross of red
string — and follows.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – DAWN
Bells toll a new hour over rain-washed roofs.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – MICHAEL’S ROOM – SAME
Michael sits on the bed’s edge, notebook open. Hands steady
now.
He writes a final line beneath ONE MORE SOUL BEFORE DAWN:
…AND THEN I STOP.
He closes the book. Stares at the crucifix.
MICHAEL
(soft)
Amen.
HOLD…
SMASH TO BLACK.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
20 -
Tensions of Faith and Duty
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – WAR ROOM – EARLY MORNING
Alvarez pins Keller’s photo beside the others. The MERCY
KILLER headline blares from a TV she doesn’t look at.
Russo enters with coffee.
RUSSO Captain says the Archbishop’s office called. They want
“cooperation.”
ALVAREZ
They want a leash.
She circles a note on her board: “ST. LUKE’S CONNECTION?”
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN CORRIDOR – SAME
Dalton walks briskly, the transfer order folded in his hand.
The echo of his shoes feels like guilt. He passes portraits
of saints staring down from gilt frames. Their eyes follow
him.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – RECTORY OFFICE – DAY
Michael types a homily. The cursor blinks like a pulse.
ON SCREEN:
“Forgiveness without change is complicity.”
A KNOCK. Sister Agnes enters.
SISTER AGNES
They’re sending Monsignor Dalton.
He stops typing.
MICHAEL
Then they’ve already decided.
SISTER AGNES
You don’t have to fight them.
MICHAEL
If I don’t, who fights for them?
(the children)
Agnes’s eyes glisten.
SISTER AGNES
Don’t lose yourself, Michael.
MICHAEL
Maybe that’s what it takes to find
what’s left.
EXT. RIVERFRONT – DUSK
Alvarez stands by the warehouse where Keller died. CSU tape
flaps in the wind. She lights a cigarette, doesn’t smoke it.
ALVAREZ
(to herself)
What kind of priest brings a gun to
confession?
She looks up—church bells toll across the water. The sound
travels like a dirge.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CHURCH – NIGHT
Dalton hands Michael the letter. Between them, the
candlelight shivers.
DALTON
A retreat. Rest.
Your bishop cares for your soul.
MICHAEL
Tell him my soul’s on duty.
He rips the letter cleanly in half.
Dalton watches, jaw set.
DALTON
Then God have mercy on you.
MICHAEL
He won’t.
Dalton leaves, robe whispering like a threat.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
21 -
Haunted Reflections
INT. MICHAEL’S ROOM – LATER
He opens his notebook again. Adds a single name under the
others. Closes it, calm.
From outside, faint children’s laughter echoes—haunting,
memory or ghost.
He looks to the crucifix.
MICHAEL
I hear them.
The bells begin again, overlapping with distant sirens.
HOLD ON MICHAEL, face half-lit, half-shadowed.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
EXT. ST. LUKE’S CHURCH – NIGHT (RAIN)
A flash of lightning reveals the Gothic spire. Rain pours
through the halo of a streetlight.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – SANCTUARY – SAME
Father Michael kneels before the altar. Candles hiss and
gutter.
The rosary slips through his fingers—beads clicking like
distant shell casings.
He opens his eyes. A shadow at the back pew: Sister Agnes,
watching.
SISTER AGNES
You’ve stopped sleeping.
MICHAEL
Sleep feels dishonest.
SISTER AGNES
You think violence will bring
peace?
He turns, face streaked with candlelight.
MICHAEL
I think peace needs defenders.
A thunderclap swallows the words.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
22 -
Secrets and Shadows
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – WAR ROOM – MORNING
A rain-streaked window behind Alvarez. The wall of photos
grows denser—each victim now linked by red thread.
Russo tapes up a new lead sheet: “Bus Driver – Ballistics
Match.”
RUSSO
Captain says the Archdiocese lawyer
wants every warrant sealed.
ALVAREZ
(to herself)
Of course they do. God forbid
transparency.
She draws a circle around Keller’s face, another around St.
Luke’s, then connects them—one line short of closure.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
He’s hiding inside the Church.
And the Church is hiding him.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN RESIDENCE – DALTON’S OFFICE – LATE
AFTERNOON
Dalton studies Michael’s personnel file. A photograph slips
loose: Michael in desert fatigues, younger, holding a rosary
and a wounded soldier’s hand.
Dalton traces the edge of the photo, thoughtful.
DALTON
(to himself)
A warrior in priest’s cloth.
He looks out the window toward St. Luke’s steeple barely
visible through the rain.
DALTON (CONT’D)
And now he’s gone rogue.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
23 -
Shadows of Mercy
EXT. CITY STREETS – NIGHT
Alvarez drives through sheets of rain. The radio spits
fragments of a sermon:
“Blessed are the merciful…”
She kills the sound, tension coiled.
A CHILD’S SHOE lies in the gutter, washed by the rain. She
brakes, stares at it—an image she won’t forget.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – MICHAEL’S ROOM – SAME
He stands before the mirror, collar loose, eyes bloodshot.
The gun rests on the dresser beside the widow’s ring.
He holsters it beneath his cassock, smooth, practiced.
MICHAEL
(quiet prayer)
If I can’t save their souls,
maybe I can save their bodies.
He pockets a saint card — St. Gabriel, Messenger of God.
EXT. CHURCH STEPS – CONTINUOUS
Michael exits into the rain, trench coat flaring.
Dalton’s sedan waits across the street, engine running.
Inside, Dalton lowers the window two inches, watching.
Michael doesn’t look back. He disappears into the city’s
shimmer.
DALTON
(murmured)
God help you, Michael.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – DAWN BREAKING
Church bells clash with police sirens, echoing over gray
rooftops.
FADE IN:
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – WAR ROOM – MORNING
The murder board looms like a stained-glass window made of
pain.
Alvarez pins the word MOTHERS beside the saint-card sequence.
RUSSO enters with a manila stack and bad coffee.
RUSSO
Captain met the Archdiocese
counsel. They want “transparent
cooperation,” which means secrets.
ALVAREZ
They can have my transparency when
I have his face on a warrant.
She circles the string labeled STATION IV – JESUS MEETS HIS
MOTHER.
RUSSO
So we’re looking for a woman next?
ALVAREZ
A mother figure. Daycare. School
lunch. Church office. He’s
preaching by target.
RUSSO
You gonna tell the Captain you
think our vigilante’s a priest?
She doesn’t answer. The silence is yes.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
24 -
Confession and Consequences
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CONFESSIONAL – DAY
Screen slides open. A WOMAN’S voice—raspy, exhausted.
WOMAN (V.O.)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned.
MICHAEL sits, rigid, as if bracing for shrapnel.
MICHAEL
How long since your last
confession?
WOMAN (V.O.)
Years.
(then)
I run the aftercare at St. Gilda’s.
Parents pay late. The Archdiocese
pays later.
So I… (beat)
I take pills from the med cabinet to help some of the… lively
ones nap. Two at a time. Sometimes three. They sleep. It’s
easier.
Michael shuts his eyes. The silence feels like a verdict.
MICHAEL
You drug children?
WOMAN (V.O.)
They’re safe. It’s safe. I checked
online.
MICHAEL
(quiet thunder)
Confession is not anesthesia.
A beat. He softens.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
Do you intend to stop?
WOMAN (V.O.)
I… I’ll try.
He hears the same word again—try.
He assigns a penance that sounds like a goodbye.
MICHAEL
One novena for those you’ve harmed.
And tell your pastor — today.
WOMAN (V.O.)
He’ll fire me.
MICHAEL
Then you will not harm again.
The grate closes. Footfalls fade.
Michael sits in the dark, breath shaking, the .45 a shadow
under his cassock like a second spine.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE – MIDDAY
Monsignor Dalton reviews a security still: a blurry figure in
a priest’s coat near Keller’s scene.
DALTON
(to aide)
Call the parish. Confirm Donnelly’s
schedule last night.
AIDE
If he says he was hearing
confessions?
DALTON
Then he’ll be eager to confess to
me.
He slides the Stillwater transfer into a leather folder like
a blade into a sheath.
EXT. ST. GILDA’S PARISH – AFTERNOON
A modest brick building beside a fenced yard. A painted sign:
AFTERCARE – 3–6 PM.
From a distance, Michael watches parents collect kids. A
woman with a lanyard (THERESA BRIGGS, 40s) dispenses hugs and
laminated reminders.
Michael notes the med cabinet through the office window—its
lock broken, held with blue painter’s tape.
He writes a name in his small notebook: BRIGGS – ST. GILDA’S
– PILLS.
He turns away—ashamed of the relief that action provides.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
25 -
Defiance in the Rain
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – CAPTAIN’S OFFICE – AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN stares down Alvarez and Russo over steepled fingers.
CAPTAIN
The Archbishop’s counsel wants you
to back off clergy.
You’ve got Keller. Enjoy the win.
ALVAREZ
Keller was a piece. He wasn’t the
hand.
CAPTAIN
Find me a civilian suspect. Or
you’re off church property
entirely.
Alvarez’s jaw sets.
ALVAREZ
Then I’ll find him before I ask you
for permission.
She exits. Russo lingers a half-beat, shrugs a don’t worry
that means I worry all the time, and follows.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – RECTORY PARLOR – EVENING
Rain ticks the windows. Dalton stands, immaculate, transfer
folder in hand.
DALTON
You’re burning your candle at both
ends, Father.
We’ve arranged Stillwater. You leave tonight.
MICHAEL
No.
Dalton’s smile is patient.
DALTON
You don’t have that word.
MICHAEL
I’ve used all the others.
(then)
A woman at St. Gilda’s is drugging
children.
Dalton blinks. He did not expect a counterattack.
DALTON
If you heard that in confession—
MICHAEL
I said “a woman.” I didn’t name
her.
But if the Church will not stop wolves, the city will—
Or someone else will.
Dalton hears the someone else and knows.
DALTON
Michael…
This path doesn’t end in absolution.
MICHAEL
Neither did theirs.
They stand in silence. Rain does the talking.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
26 -
Confrontation at St. Gilda's
EXT. ST. GILDA’S – DUSK (STAKEOUT)
Alvarez in an unmarked car. Russo with binoculars.
RUSSO
Why here?
ALVAREZ
Act One of the Stations was
children. Act Two is mothers.
Aftercare is where tired becomes dangerous.
RUSSO
We doing Stations-of-the-Cross
policing now?
ALVAREZ
Whatever gets us to Easter.
They watch Theresa Briggs lock up. She pockets a key—then
reopens the office door, slips inside, lights off.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Got you.
INT. ST. GILDA’S – OFFICE – MINUTES LATER
A desk lamp clicks on. Theresa opens the med cabinet. Inside:
children’s acetaminophen, allergy syrups… a hidden pill
bottle tucked behind wipes.
She shakes two into her palm. Hesitates.
A soft click behind her.
MICHAEL (O.S.)
Don’t.
Theresa startles, pills scattering.
THERESA
What are you— Father? You can’t be
in here—
MICHAEL
Neither can those.
He steps into the lamp glow. Calm. Terrifying.
THERESA
You can’t tell anyone. You’re—
you’re bound—
MICHAEL
I’m bound to them.
His coat shifts. The outline of the gun underneath.
Theresa sees it. Goes pale.
THERESA
I… I only wanted quiet.
MICHAEL
Then listen.
He takes a saint card from his pocket — ST. MONICA (Mothers
in Tears) — and sets it on the desk inches from her shaking
hand.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
Go to the police.
Today.
Tell them everything.
THERESA
You’ll— you’ll kill me if I don’t?
MICHAEL
I’ll light a candle if you do.
She sobs, nodding frantically.
Michael turns and leaves as—
— the front door CREAKS.
He freezes in the hall shadow.
Alvarez steps in with Russo, flashlights off, badges low.
RUSSO
Police. St. Gilda’s after-hours
check.
Theresa’s eyes flick from the hall to Alvarez. Decision.
THERESA
(off Theresa’s breath)
I… I need to report something.
Alvarez catches it — and catches, just for a second, a
clerical coat shifting in the dark hall.
She moves toward it—fast.
ALVAREZ
Father—!
Michael is already gone through a side exit, into rain.
EXT. ST. GILDA’S – SIDE ALLEY – CONTINUOUS (RAIN)
Michael runs. Alvarez bursts out behind, gun low.
ALVAREZ
Stop—!
He hesitates, half-turns, the streetlight flaring off wet
pavement and a flash of metal at his hip.
Their eyes lock. She knows.
He bolts. She chases.
He vaults a chain-link fence, vanishes between dark garages.
Alvarez reaches the fence a second too late.
RUSSO (O.S.)
Sofia—!
She keeps staring into the dark where a priest just
disappeared like smoke.
INT. ST. GILDA’S – OFFICE – MOMENTS LATER
Theresa sobs, hands wrapped around the saint card.
RUSSO
Ma’am— who was he?
THERESA
(terrified, grateful)
An answer.
Alvarez takes the saint card gently.
INSERT: ST. MONICA – Tears of Mothers.
Alvarez looks from the card to the door. The pattern is real.
The hunter is real.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
27 -
Night of Reckoning
INT. ST. LUKE’S – SIDE CHAPEL – NIGHT
Sister Agnes kneels alone. Two candles: one for Michael, one
for whoever he saves next. She pinches out her own—then
relights it, whispering:
SISTER AGNES
For the living. For the lost. For
the stubborn.
She wipes at her eyes with the heel of her hand like a
soldier.
INT. DALTON’S CAR (PARKED) – SAME
Dalton sits in the dark across from St. Luke’s. Rain pebbles
the windshield. He watches the church doors.
DALTON
(soft, to no one)
Come home, Michael. Before they
crucify you.
His phone BUZZES: Unknown number. He answers.
A quiet MALE VOICE (filtered), resolute:
VOICE (FILTERED)
Tell your Archbishop someone is
cleaning the pews you left dirty.
The line clicks dead. Dalton exhales, shaken.
EXT. CITY OVERPASS – LATE NIGHT
Michael stands alone, rain in his hair, city sprawled
beneath. He pulls out his phone. Dials 67 first, then a
number.
ALVAREZ (V.O.)
This is Detective Alvarez.
MICHAEL
(anonymous, low)
There’s a list you’re missing.
Volunteers who float between
parishes.
Check for a deacon named Sutter.
He travels.
ALVAREZ (V.O.)
Who is this?
MICHAEL
Someone who wants it to stop.
He kills the call. Stares at the crosshatch of highways—paths
that never technically intersect but somehow still collide.
CUT TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
EXT. CITY STREETS – NIGHT
Rain softens to mist. A neon sign flickers: CAFÉ DIVINE.
Inside, Alvarez sits alone, reviewing cell-tower pings and
church rosters.
Her phone buzzes: CAPTAIN.
CAPTAIN (V.O.)
You’re off the case, Detective.
Turn in your files.
ALVAREZ
You take me off, you lose your
killer.
CAPTAIN (V.O.)
You’ve got nothing but a hunch and
a collar. Go home.
The line dies. She stares through rain-slick glass at a
cathedral spire in the distance.
INT. MICHAEL’S ROOM – RECTORY – SAME
Michael scrubs blood from under his nails in the sink until
his skin is raw.
He glances at a photo of his Army unit — men in sand and
fatigue, smiling beside a chapel tent.
A voice behind him: Sister Agnes.
SISTER AGNES
You’re frightening them. Even the
ones who don’t know why.
MICHAEL
I’m trying to save them.
SISTER AGNES
No. You’re trying to erase your own
guilt. That’s different.
She leaves the door open — a small act of mercy he doesn’t
deserve.
Genres:
["Thriller","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
28 -
Confrontation in the Park
EXT. RIVERSIDE PARK – DAY
Children play. Michael sits on a bench watching — coat
buttoned to his throat.
He counts them like rosary beads. Missing ones linger in his
mind.
A shadow falls across him — Dalton.
DALTON
You look like a man waiting for
arrest or absolution.
Neither is coming.
MICHAEL
I was hoping for rain.
Dalton sits beside him.
DALTON
You’re forcing the Church’s hand.
They’ll excommunicate you.
MICHAEL
Then I’ll join the only order that
still keeps its vows. The dead.
Dalton studies him, almost pitying.
DALTON
They won’t write you a saint’s card
for this.
MICHAEL
No. But they’ll stop writing
obituaries for children.
Dalton leaves without turning back.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
29 -
Revelations and Restraints
INT. ALVAREZ’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Case files blanket the floor. She pins saint cards to a
board, lines drawn between victims and sins.
She adds one last card: St. Michael the Archangel.
ALVAREZ
(murmurs)
Of course. The protector. The
warrior angel.
A chill runs through her — she knows who her suspect is.
INT. CHURCH ARCHIVES – NEXT DAY
Rows of dusty files. Alvarez flashes her badge at a young
PRIEST CLERK. He hesitates, lets her in.
She flips through personnel records until she finds:
DONNELLY, MICHAEL J. – HONORABLE DISCHARGE, CHAPLAIN,
OPERATION IRON SANCTUARY.
Beside it, a notation: PTSD EVALUATION – CLASSIFIED.
She photographs the page, heart pounding.
INT. ST. LUKE’S – CONFESSIONAL – NIGHT
A new penitent: a man’s voice, breathy, urgent.
PENITENT (V.O.)
I hit her. My wife. I don’t even
know why anymore.
MICHAEL
Then you’ll turn yourself in.
PENITENT (V.O.)
She’ll forgive me. She always does.
Michael’s hand slides to the pistol beneath his cassock. He
stops himself — barely.
MICHAEL
Your penance is to be a better man
than this moment.
PENITENT (V.O.)
I’ll try.
That word again. Michael winces.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
30 -
Confession in the Shadows
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – EVIDENCE LAB – LATE
Alvarez and Russo watch a tech run a ballistics comparison.
TECH
Slug from the bus-driver shooting
matches a weapon registered to Fort
Benning chaplaincy. Serial filed
off, but chemical residue matches
army cleaner.
RUSSO
So the priest was a soldier.
ALVAREZ
He still is.
EXT. ST. LUKE’S – NIGHT
Alvarez parks across the street. Rain starts again. She
waits.
Inside, Michael emerges from the rectory carrying a duffel
bag. He locks the door, crosses himself, and walks toward the
church.
Alvarez steps out of her car.
ALVAREZ
Father Michael!
He stops in the rain, turns just enough for the streetlight
to catch his face — half peace, half hell.
MICHAEL
You shouldn’t be here.
ALVAREZ
Neither should you.
A beat between confessor and cop — faith versus law. She
lifts her badge instead of her gun.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Come in with me. Tell them what
you’ve done before you can’t go
back.
MICHAEL
There’s no going back when you’ve
buried innocence.
He walks past her, into the cathedral. She doesn’t follow —
not yet.
INT. CATHEDRAL – CONTINUOUS
Michael sets his duffel beside the altar. Inside — a Bible, a
gun, and a stack of saint cards.
He lights three candles, each flame reflected in the gun
metal.
MICHAEL
(to God)
If this is sin, then judge me
quickly.
He places one card at the altar: St. Michael.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
31 -
Shadows of Judgment
EXT. CATHEDRAL – NIGHT
Alvarez on the steps. Dalton arrives, umbrella open.
DALTON
You’ll need more than a badge to
stop him now.
ALVAREZ
You made him what he is. You
covered it all up.
DALTON
And you’ll make him a martyr if
you’re not careful.
They both look up as thunder rumbles — the sound of something
breaking inside the church.
HOLD ON THEM.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
INT. CATHEDRAL – NAVE – NIGHT
The candles flicker as Father Michael kneels at the altar
rail. His reflection wavers in the brass cross above him.
A door CREAKS. Dalton enters, coat dripping.
DALTON
The Archbishop will disavow you.
He’s drafting the statement now.
MICHAEL
Tell him to start with the truth.
DALTON
The truth is complicated.
MICHAEL
No. It’s expensive.
Dalton steps closer, lowering his voice.
DALTON
You think God chose you for this
crusade?
You’ve made yourself judge and jury.
MICHAEL
Then maybe He’s tired of mistrials.
Dalton’s calm cracks for a beat.
DALTON
If you keep going, I can’t protect
you.
MICHAEL
You never could.
Dalton leaves the folder on the pew—EXCOMMUNICATION ORDER—and
walks away, silhouette swallowed by shadow.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
32 -
Shattered Faith
EXT. CITY STREETS – LATE NIGHT
Detective Alvarez drives fast, rain on the windshield like
static. Dispatch chatter bleeds through the radio.
DISPATCH (V.O.)
—possible shots fired near St.
Dominic’s rectory—
She spins the wheel, tires hiss.
INT. ST. DOMINIC’S RECTORY – CONTINUOUS
A trembling PRIEST (50s) sits cuffed to a chair, lip
bleeding. Two UNIFORMS stand aside as Alvarez enters.
UNIFORM 1
Caller hung up. Said, “Mercy
delivered.”
Alvarez spots the saint card on the floor: ST. JOSEPH –
Fathers and Workers.
Her stomach drops.
ALVAREZ
He’s not just cleaning the Church.
He’s tearing down the family tree.
INT. MICHAEL’S ROOM – RECTORY – DAWN
Michael sits by the window, soaked and shaking. A CHILD’S
VOICE (remembered): “Run, Father!” He presses fingers to his
temple—flash of gunfire, desert sand, screams.
He grabs a small wooden cross from the desk and breaks it in
two.
MICHAEL
If faith won’t hold me—then fear
will.
He picks up the gun, reassembles it with ritual precision.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
33 -
Confrontation in the Shadows
EXT. POLICE PRECINCT – MORNING
Alvarez storms in with Russo.
ALVAREZ
I want eyes on every parish van,
every visiting deacon, every cleric
who’s touched a transfer file in
five years.
RUSSO
That’s a lot of collars, boss.
ALVAREZ
Then start with the one who signs
the transfers. Monsignor Dalton.
Russo pauses.
RUSSO
You think the priest’s priest is
next?
ALVAREZ
I think he’s bait.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN GARAGE – DAY
Dalton walks toward his sedan, briefcase in hand. The echo of
his steps multiplies—another set following.
He turns—nothing.
Slides into the driver’s seat, starts the engine—
Michael rises from the back seat’s shadow, gun drawn.
MICHAEL
Lock the doors.
Dalton’s breath stops.
DALTON
You’re here for my confession.
MICHAEL
For your testimony.
DALTON
And if I refuse?
MICHAEL
Then God will take dictation.
Dalton stares ahead, resignation mingled with terror.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
34 -
Confrontation at Dusk
EXT. BRIDGE OVERLOOK – DUSK
Dalton’s sedan idles at the guardrail. Michael stands a few
paces away, gun low, rain falling sideways.
MICHAEL
You moved predators like pieces on
a chessboard.
You buried their sins and called it mercy.
DALTON
You think bullets heal the Church?
MICHAEL
No. But silence kills it.
DALTON
And when you’re done—when every
wolf is gone—
what’s left of the shepherd?
Michael lowers the gun slightly.
MICHAEL
Maybe that’s the point.
A siren WHOOPS in the distance—getting closer. Dalton looks
at him, almost pleading.
DALTON
Run. Please.
Michael shakes his head.
MICHAEL
I’m tired of running.
He drops the gun into the river below. Alvarez’s cruiser
screeches to a stop nearby.
ALVAREZ
Father Michael! Hands where I can
see them!
He turns—hands raised, soaked, defiant.
MICHAEL
Detective… I was only doing your
job.
ALVAREZ
Mine has rules.
MICHAEL
So does mine. I broke both.
She cuffs him gently, like closing a prayer book.
EXT. BRIDGE – CONTINUOUS
Dalton watches, shaking, rain blurring his vision. The sirens
fade as they drive Michael away. He looks down at the river,
where the gun sank.
Something glints briefly—a saint card floating face-up: ST.
MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL.
Dalton crosses himself.
DALTON
Forgive us all.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
35 -
The Weight of Mercy
INT. POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM – NIGHT
A single bulb hums. Father Michael sits cuffed at the table,
soaked, mud on his collar.
Across from him, Detective Alvarez flips open a folder.
Photos spill out—victims, saint cards, headlines.
ALVAREZ
You kept notes. You planned every
target.
Why stop now?
MICHAEL
Because mercy’s a habit that kills
slow.
Justice does it clean.
ALVAREZ
You think God signed off on this?
MICHAEL
He stopped answering a long time
ago.
Someone had to finish the conversation.
A long silence. The ticking of the clock sounds like a
metronome for judgment.
ALVAREZ
You know what they’ll call you?
The Priest Killer. The Mercy Butcher.
That’s your legacy.
MICHAEL
No. They’ll call me what they
always do—Father.
She exhales, almost pitying.
He bows his head, finally small.
INT. HOLDING CORRIDOR – MOMENTS LATER
Officers escort Michael past press cameras.
Flashes explode like lightning inside a cathedral.
Reporters shout: “Father Michael, did you kill them?” “Do you
regret it?”
He says nothing—only makes the sign of the cross.
Behind the glass, Dalton watches. His phone rings. Caller ID:
Archbishop.
He silences it. For the first time, his faith looks like
fear.
INT. PRECINCT CHAPEL – NIGHT
Alvarez stands alone before a small crucifix. The candles
tremble in the air-conditioned draft.
She kneels. It’s awkward, unfamiliar.
ALVAREZ (SOFTLY)
You let him believe You wanted
this.
Or maybe he was right, and I’m the one who’s deaf.
She opens her badge case, stares at the photo of a murdered
child paper-clipped inside.
Her hand trembles.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
If there’s still grace left in this
city…
show me what to do with it.
A faint echo of church bells rolls through the vent from the
street—midnight mass somewhere distant.
She stands, pockets the badge, and walks into darkness.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
36 -
Intake and Reflection
INT. COUNTY JAIL – INTAKE – NIGHT
Fluorescents buzz. Father Michael stands for mugshots. Flash.
Turn. Flash.
Ink rolls his fingertips. A CO stares, conflicted.
CO
My mother’s parish is St. Luke’s.
Michael nods—no answer fits.
INT. COUNTY JAIL – HOLDING CORRIDOR – LATER
Shouts bleed from other cells. A trustee mops.
Officers escort Michael past faces at the bars—a mix of jeers
and quiet crosses.
INMATE #1
Yo, that the priest?
INMATE #2
Father Handgun.
INMATE #3 (SOFT)
Pray for me, Father.
Michael’s eyes flicker—he does.
INT. HOLDING CELL – NIGHT
Concrete. A steel cot. A slit of a window.
Michael sits, back to the wall, hands folded—then unclasp,
tremor.
He stares at the tattooed cross carved into the paint above
the cot.
FLASH CUT — IRAQ: FIELD TENT – NIGHT
The dying Corporal squeezes Michael’s hand.
CORPORAL
You’re the only one who stayed.
MICHAEL (YOUNGER)
That’s my job.
BACK TO CELL
Michael presses fingers to his temple. The hum returns.
Genres:
["Drama","Crime","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
37 -
Confrontations of Guilt
INT. POLICE HQ – INTERNAL AFFAIRS ROOM – MORNING
Detective Alvarez sits under stale ceiling tiles.
Two IA LIEUTENANTS flank a recorder.
IA #1
Detective, did you knowingly accept
anonymous tips from a suspect?
ALVAREZ
I accept tips that save children.
IA #2
Did you knowingly protect a suspect
who is a member of clergy?
ALVAREZ
No.
IA #1
Did you suspect Father Donnelly was
involved in the Mercy murders
before his arrest?
A beat. Alvarez stares at the red light on the recorder.
ALVAREZ
I suspected everyone who failed
those kids.
EXT. COURTHOUSE STEPS – DAY
Cameras. Chyrons. Umbrellas.
Monsignor Dalton at a podium, composed.
DALTON
The Archdiocese grieves with the
city.
Father Donnelly’s alleged actions reflect a crisis of the
person, not of the Church.
We ask for prayers for all involved.
Shouts from press. Dalton bows his head just enough to end
the questions.
From the fringe, Sister Agnes watches—jaw tight—then slips
away.
INT. JAIL – VISITATION BOOTH – AFTERNOON
Glass. Phone receivers. Michael sits. Dalton enters opposite,
picks up the phone.
A long look—old friends on opposite shores.
DALTON
They’ll seek maximum charges.
If you plead, the Church may fund your defense.
MICHAEL
The Church had its chance.
DALTON
You think you healed anything?
MICHAEL
I stopped bleeding.
DALTON
(yields)
Then say it here—on the record.
Repent. Give them penitence. Save something.
Michael studies Dalton through the reflection in the
glass—two faces superimposed.
MICHAEL
You first.
Dalton sets the receiver down. Leaves.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
38 -
Secrets and Shadows
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN BASEMENT – RECORDS – EVENING
Dim, dusty shelves. Sister Agnes unlocks a steel drawer.
Papers: TRANSFER MEMOS. HUSH SETTLEMENTS. A thin file:
SUTTER, DEACON – ASSIGNMENT HISTORY.
She photographs everything with a burner phone, hand shaking.
INT. ALVAREZ’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Files sprawl across the table. Alvarez’s phone BUZZES:
Unknown.
A message arrives: photos of transfer memos, settlements,
Sutter’s floating assignments.
ALVAREZ
(whispers)
Agnes…
She prints them, lines them on the wall. The shape is a map
of evasion.
Her face hardens—not triumph; resolve.
INT. JAIL – HOLDING CELL – LATE
Michael sits awake. The sound of snoring, a scream down the
tier, the clang of keys.
FLASH CUT — IRAQ: FIELD HOSPITAL – DAWN
Michael baptizes a dying boy with canteen water, hands
shaking.
BOY
Am I forgiven?
MICHAEL (YOUNGER)
You always were.
BACK TO CELL
Michael grips the edge of the cot.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
(under breath)
So were they.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
39 -
Shadows of Mercy
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN TRIBUNAL ROOM – DAY
A panel of clerics in suits. Dalton presents sanitized
packets to attorneys.
A PR woman sets out bottled water like communion.
PR WOMAN
We’re controlling the narrative.
DALTON
We’re controlling the damage.
PR WOMAN
Is there a difference?
Dalton doesn’t answer.
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – WAR ROOM – SAME
Alvarez pins SUTTER at the center of a new board: parishes,
dates, incidents.
Russo watches, eyebrows up.
RUSSO
You planning to take down the
Church this week?
ALVAREZ
Just the clerics who think moving
sin is absolution.
RUSSO
Captain won’t protect you.
ALVAREZ
Wasn’t asking.
INT. COUNTY JAIL – MEDICAL BAY – AFTERNOON
A DETENTION DOCTOR checks Michael’s vitals.
A new figure steps in: DR. HART (50s), kind eyes, posture
military—former Army chaplain.
DR. HART
They asked for a psych eval.
I asked because I’ve been where you’ve been.
Michael sizes him up.
MICHAEL
You carried a stole and a sidearm?
DR. HART
Different wars, same ghosts.
Hart pulls a chair. Not probing, present.
DR. HART (CONT’D)
You think this was confession or
combat?
MICHAEL
Both.
DR. HART
They don’t mix. Not for long.
Michael looks away, jaw working.
INT. JAIL – INTERVIEW ROOM – LATER
Hart and Michael sit without handcuffs between them.
DR. HART
Tell me about the first time you
knew mercy wasn’t enough.
Michael debates, then speaks:
MICHAEL
A father came to me.
Said he “lost his temper.”
I baptized his son an hour later—with a broken skull.
Beat.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
I told myself God would handle it.
(then)
He sent me back to say it again the
next Sunday.
DR. HART
So you changed gods.
Michael meets his eyes, unflinching.
MICHAEL
I changed jobs.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
40 -
Confronting Shadows
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE – DALTON’S DESK – DUSK
Dalton opens an envelope—inside: a single saint card: St.
Peter (Keys) and a printout of the leaked documents.
A sticky note: “OPEN THE DOOR. —A”
He looks toward the cathedral spire—trapped between fear and
conscience.
INT. COUNTY JAIL – CELL BLOCK – NIGHT
Lights out. Rain tick-ticks on distant vents.
Michael lies on the cot, eyes open. A SHADOW passes the
window slit—then a whisper of the lock.
The door slides open an inch—then another. A CO at the far
end glances away.
Michael sits up, frozen. The corridor is empty.
He could walk.
He doesn’t move.
FLASH CUT — CONFESSIONAL (MEMORY)
The abuser’s breath on the other side of the screen: “You
can’t tell anyone, can you?”
BACK TO CELL
Michael rises. Steps to the door. Closes it gently. Slides
the bolt himself.
He returns to the cot. Exhales like he’s been holding his
breath for years.
INT. ALVAREZ’S CAR – STAKEOUT – NIGHT
Alvarez watches Dr. Hart exit the jail into rain, head down.
She tracks him with her eyes, notepad open.
RUSSO (V.O., ON PHONE)
You really going to war with the
Archdiocese?
ALVAREZ
Already in it.
She hangs up. Starts the engine.
INT. COUNTY JAIL – EVALUATION ROOM – NEXT MORNING
Hart sets a Bible on the table. Not for show—weight.
DR. HART
You’re not insane. You’re not
incompetent.
You’re lucid and choosing.
MICHAEL
(and?)
DR. HART
I can recommend treatment.
Or I can recommend trial.
Michael studies the Bible, then Hart.
MICHAEL
Recommend truth.
Hart nods, pained. Closes the folder.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN CHAPEL – DAY
Dalton kneels alone. The chapel is stone cool.
He takes out the St. Peter card, rubs the keys embossed in
gold.
His phone BUZZES—Archbishop again. He declines.
He looks at the tabernacle.
DALTON
I locked too many doors.
He stands, decision hardening.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
41 -
The Weight of Truth
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – ALVAREZ’S DESK – AFTERNOON
Sister Agnes, in civilian coat, sits across from Alvarez—eyes
clear, resolve set.
SISTER AGNES
The truth will hurt the ones I
love.
But silence already killed them.
She slides an original transfer ledger across. Inked names;
dates; Sutter recurring.
ALVAREZ
This ends careers. Maybe yours.
Maybe mine.
SISTER AGNES
Then we will have done something
honest.
Alvarez swallows. Nods.
EXT. COUNTY JAIL – TRANSPORT BAY – SUNSET
Michael in shackles and orange, escorted to a transport van.
Dalton watches from the curb, no umbrella.
Their eyes meet—no words.
DRIVER
St. Gabriel Psychiatric, north
wing.
Doors slam. The van pulls out.
Dalton turns… and sees Alvarez step from her car, a folder
under her arm.
ALVAREZ
Monsignor.
You’re going to want a lawyer.
She offers the folder. He doesn’t take it.
DALTON
I want a confessor.
EXT. NORTH HIGHWAY – DUSK
The transport van hums along a rain-silvered road.
In the back, Michael watches trees smear into one long
penance.
He closes his eyes.
FLASH CUTS —
FAST, BLEEDING
IMAGES:
— The corporal’s hand losing strength.
— A child’s rosary on asphalt.
— Keller’s flashlight spinning.
— Sister Agnes’s tear on a wooden pew.
— Alvarez’s badge flicking candlelight.
BACK TO VAN
Michael opens his eyes. Calm. Terrible.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
Forgive me.
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
42 -
Whispers of Guilt
EXT. ST. GABRIEL PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY – NIGHT
The transport van rolls through iron gates. Rain streaks the
windshield.
A crucifix looms over the gate — its paint flaking, arms
spread against lightning.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – INTAKE CORRIDOR – NIGHT
A nurse wheels a cart past flickering bulbs.
Michael walks in restraints, escorted by two guards.
A PRIEST in hospital whites, FATHER CONNOLLY (60s), greets
him with polite unease.
CONNOLLY
Welcome to St. Gabriel’s, Father
Donnelly.
You’ll find the silence... therapeutic.
MICHAEL
I’ve learned silence doesn’t answer
prayers.
Connolly signs papers, eyes avoiding his.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – ISOLATION ROOM – LATER
Bare. Bed, table, Bible.
Michael sits as rain drums faintly.
The walls hum with whispers from other rooms — distant sobs,
prayers, laughter.
He kneels by the bed and begins to pray... but the words
curdle into whispers of names.
MICHAEL
Emma. Jude. Raphael.
Forgive me... or finish me.
Genres:
["Drama","Psychological Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
43 -
Shadows of Conscience
INT. POLICE HQ – BRIEFING ROOM – DAY
Alvarez and Russo study a new board:
DALTON, SUTTER, CHURCH PAYMENTS, and a photo of St.
Gabriel’s.
RUSSO
They moved him to a monastery with
padded walls.
You believe they’ll let him testify?
ALVAREZ
Not if Dalton gets there first.
He’s cleaning house before the press does.
She jabs a pin at the St. Gabriel photo.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
That’s our leak point.
Somewhere inside that building is proof the Church knew what
Sutter was.
And they buried it with penance.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN HALL – NIGHT
Dalton meets with the Archbishop and two corporate lawyers.
ARCHBISHOP
You’ll handle the fallout.
Contain the narrative.
Keep Donnelly isolated — he cannot speak to press, law, or
police.
DALTON
And if he refuses to recant?
ARCHBISHOP
Then pray his silence lasts longer
than his trial.
Dalton hesitates. His conscience flickers, but fear wins.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – MEDICAL WING – NIGHT
Dr. Hart visits Michael again, clipboard in hand.
Michael looks stronger, sharper — eyes clearer.
DR. HART
The papers say you were a priest
turned vigilante.
You think they’ll believe it was mercy?
MICHAEL
They’ll believe whatever keeps them
innocent.
DR. HART
And you?
MICHAEL
I stopped believing in innocence.
Hart folds his notes, quietly uneasy.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – CHAPEL – LATER
Empty pews. Candles still lit from evening mass.
Michael kneels — the only movement in the still room.
FATHER CONNOLLY (O.S.)
Do you remember your vows, Father?
Michael turns. Connolly stands behind him, hands clasped.
MICHAEL
Every one I broke.
CONNOLLY
Then you know the cost.
MICHAEL
Do you?
Connolly studies him, unnerved.
For a heartbeat, Michael seems almost radiant — or dangerous.
Genres:
["Crime","Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
44 -
Uncovering the Truth
INT. POLICE HQ – NIGHT
Alvarez and Russo watch news footage of Dalton giving another
statement.
He’s confident. Too confident.
NEWS ANCHOR (V.O.)
Sources confirm Father Donnelly
remains under Church psychiatric
care while awaiting federal review.
The Archdiocese assures transparency in ongoing
investigations.
ALVAREZ
Transparency my ass.
Her phone buzzes — an encrypted message: “ST. GABRIEL. ROOM
214.”
She stands. Russo grabs his coat.
RUSSO
We doing this officially?
ALVAREZ
Officially doesn’t get you past the
gate.
EXT. ST. GABRIEL – REAR SERVICE ROAD – NIGHT
A rental car idles under dripping pines.
Alvarez and Russo step out, flashlights off.
A side door creaks open — Sister Agnes waves them inside.
SISTER AGNES
Quickly. They’re moving files out
before sunrise.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – RECORDS ROOM – NIGHT
Stacks of folders. Water stains. Smell of mildew and incense.
SISTER AGNES
These are intake logs.
Transfers from parishes after “incidents.”
All marked confidential under Dalton’s authority.
Alvarez flips open one file — a familiar face: Deacon Sutter,
reassigned repeatedly.
ALVAREZ
He knew.
They all knew.
SISTER AGNES
I took vows to God, not to them.
If this is sin... then I welcome the flames.
They load folders into a canvas bag.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
45 -
Escape from St. Gabriel
INT. ST. GABRIEL – ISOLATION CORRIDOR – SAME TIME
Michael wakes to footsteps. The lock clicks.
The door opens. Two ORDERLIES enter with syringes.
ORDERLY #1
Doctor’s orders — sleep aid.
Michael glances—wrong uniform badges.
He moves fast—grabs a wrist, twists, slams one orderly into
the wall.
The syringe hits the floor, needle snapping.
ORDERLY #2
Restrain him!
Michael disarms the second—tranquilizer to the neck.
He drags both bodies into the room, takes a keycard, slips
into the corridor.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – LOWER HALLS – CONTINUOUS
Emergency lights pulse red. Sirens begin to wail.
Michael moves quietly through the labyrinth, clutching a
stolen ID badge.
He stops at a chapel window — moonlight filtering through
bars.
His reflection merges with the crucifix outside.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
Forgive me not for what I’ve
done...
but for what I still must.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – RECORDS ROOM – SAME
Alvarez and Agnes freeze at the alarm.
RUSSO (O.S.)
We’re burned! Move!
They shove the files into the bag and bolt for the service
hall.
INT. ST. GABRIEL – MAIN CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Flashing lights. Guards run past.
Michael turns a corner—and locks eyes with Alvarez.
For a second, disbelief. Then fury. Then understanding.
ALVAREZ
What did you do?
MICHAEL
What you were afraid to.
ALVAREZ
You can’t save them by killing
them!
MICHAEL
I’m not saving them anymore.
He steps past her. She raises her weapon—but doesn’t fire.
RUSSO (O.S.)
Alvarez! Let’s go!
She watches Michael disappear into the emergency stairwell.
EXT. ST. GABRIEL – PERIMETER FENCE – NIGHT
Searchlights sweep the grounds.
Michael slips into the shadows, scaling the wet chain-link
fence.
Beyond it, the forest stretches like an unending
confessional.
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE – NIGHT
Dalton sits in the dark.
On his desk: a USB drive labeled “St. Gabriel Transcripts.”
He stares at it, torn. Then slides it into his briefcase.
EXT. HIGHWAY OVERLOOK – PRE-DAWN
Alvarez’s car pulls to a stop at the guardrail. She steps
out, wind whipping.
She looks down the slope into fog where a faint figure —
Michael — vanishes among trees.
She lowers her gun. Crosses herself.
Whispers something we can’t hear.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
Genres:
["Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
46 -
Echoes of Confession
EXT. CITY OUTSKIRTS – NIGHT
A freight train rattles across rusted tracks. Rain spits in
sheets.
Down below, in the shadows beneath the overpass — FATHER
MICHAEL DONNELLY huddles under his coat, soaked and
shivering.
His eyes are alert, calm, dangerous.
He pulls a burner phone from his pocket. One missed call —
“UNKNOWN.”
He hesitates… then dials voicemail.
WOMAN’S VOICE (V.O.)
(crying)
Father… it’s me. You said I could
call if I was scared. My husband’s
gone again. He said he’d make it
right this time—he’s out there with
a gun. I don’t know what to do—
The message cuts off.
Michael closes his eyes, clutching the phone like a rosary.
INT. ALVAREZ’S CAR – NIGHT
DETECTIVE SOFIA ALVAREZ drives through the wet streets,
police scanner crackling.
DISPATCH (V.O.)
All units, possible domestic with
firearm, 1400 block of Beechmont.
Caller disconnected—female voice, distress.
Alvarez’s hand freezes mid-steering. She looks at the
map—Beechmont is two blocks from St. Luke’s.
ALVAREZ
(into radio)
Dispatch, this is Detective
Alvarez.
Patch that to Homicide. I’m on route.
She flicks on the siren and punches the gas.
EXT. BEECHMONT STREET – NIGHT
The rain slows to a mist. Police lights flash off brick walls
and parked cars.
Officers swarm a small house — door ajar, porch light
swinging.
Alvarez steps in cautiously, gun drawn.
Inside: the faint smell of gunpowder. A woman crying. A man
facedown.
WOMAN
He said the priest called him… told
him to confess...
Alvarez looks down.
The man’s hands are folded. A bullet hole between them.
A saint card rests on his chest — St. Monica, Patron of
Repentant Souls.
EXT. STREET – CONTINUOUS
Alvarez bursts out into the rain, shouting at a UNIFORM.
ALVAREZ
Witnesses! Anyone see him leave?
UNIFORM
One neighbor said a priest. Old
coat, collar.
Left on foot toward the cathedral.
Alvarez swears under her breath.
ALVAREZ
(to herself)
Back to where it started.
Genres:
["Crime","Thriller","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
47 -
Servants in the Dark
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE – NIGHT
MONSIGNOR DALTON sits alone, blinds drawn.
A news feed flickers on his laptop — “MERCY KILLER
SIGHTINGS.”
His phone buzzes. The caller ID reads: ARCHBISHOP.
He doesn’t answer.
He opens a drawer — removes a small silver crucifix.
There’s blood on the hinge from where he’s gripped it too
hard.
He mutters a prayer he no longer believes in.
EXT. ST. LUKE’S CATHEDRAL – NIGHT
Rain pours in silver sheets. The massive wooden doors are
chained shut.
Lightning illuminates gargoyles, streaked black with age.
A figure appears through the mist — Michael, climbing the
stone steps slowly, as though ascending to judgment.
He touches the door, whispers:
MICHAEL
I am still your servant.
Even if I serve in the dark.
He draws a key from his coat — old, brass, ornate — and fits
it into the lock.
The chain drops.
INT. ST. LUKE’S CATHEDRAL – CONTINUOUS
The doors groan open.
Moonlight pours through stained glass, splintering across
pews like blood and wine.
Michael steps inside. Every candle flickers to life on its
own — wind, or something else.
He walks down the aisle, eyes on the altar.
FLASH CUTS:
— A child’s rosary slipping through his fingers.
— Emma’s small hand, cold and still.
— The widow’s ring catching firelight.
— Keller’s lifeless stare.
He kneels at the altar rail.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
If you won’t answer, I will.
If you won’t absolve them, I’ll end them.
He pulls a pistol from his coat and sets it beside the
chalice.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
48 -
Confrontation at St. Luke's
EXT. ST. LUKE’S – SIDE STREET – NIGHT
Alvarez’s car screeches to a halt. She looks up at the dark
tower of the cathedral.
Rain runs down her face like sweat.
ALVAREZ
(quiet)
Please don’t make me do this,
Father.
She draws her weapon, starts toward the doors.
INT. CATHEDRAL – SAME TIME
Michael lights a final candle — the sanctuary lamp.
Behind him, faint footsteps echo.
ALVAREZ (O.S.)
Michael.
He doesn’t turn.
She steps into the light, gun raised, soaked from the rain.
ALVAREZ (CONT’D)
Put the weapon down.
MICHAEL
It was never the weapon that killed
them.
ALVAREZ
Don’t do this. We can still fix it.
He turns slowly, eyes hollow but calm.
MICHAEL
You can’t fix rot by praying over
the wood.
You burn it, Detective.
INT. CATHEDRAL – ALTAR – CONTINUOUS
They circle each other like two confessions colliding.
ALVAREZ
You took justice from the living.
MICHAEL
I gave it back to the dead.
ALVAREZ
You think that’s God’s plan?
MICHAEL
No.
It’s mine.
For a long beat, neither moves.
Rain hammers the stained glass.
Lightning floods the room.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
49 -
Shattered Confessions
EXT. ARCHDIOCESAN PARKING LOT – SAME TIME
Dalton exits his car, clutching his briefcase.
He looks up at the cathedral lights flickering like candles
at war.
He crosses himself, whispering:
DALTON
Lord forgive us both.
He starts toward the entrance.
INT. CATHEDRAL – ALTAR – CONTINUOUS
A door CREAKS open at the rear.
Dalton steps inside.
Sees Michael with gun in hand, Alvarez with hers drawn.
DALTON
Michael, please.
You don’t understand what they’ll do if you—
MICHAEL
I know exactly what they’ll do.
They’ll bury another truth.
Dalton steps closer.
Alvarez tenses, finger on trigger.
DALTON
You’re not their executioner.
You’re their witness.
Michael raises the gun — but not at Dalton.
At the stained-glass crucifix, depicting Christ with eyes
open.
MICHAEL
Then let Him witness too.
He FIRES — the glass explodes, shards raining down like
burning confetti.
Thunder follows.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
INT. ST. LUKE’S CATHEDRAL – NIGHT
Rain lashes the stained-glass void where Christ once stared
down. The wind howls through broken panes, scattering
candlelight.
Michael stands beneath the shattered crucifix, soaked in
light and shadow. Dalton and Alvarez face him from opposite
sides of the aisle — priest, sinner, and law.
DALTON
Michael… you don’t have to end it
this way.
MICHAEL
It already ended, Monsignor. The
night we forgot who we served.
ALVAREZ
Drop the weapon.
He doesn’t. His hand trembles — not from fear, but fatigue.
MICHAEL
You think this is about the gun?
This is confession, Detective. You came to hear it.
He steps toward the altar, blood running down his wrist from
the glass above.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
50 -
Confession of a Soldier
FLASHBACK – INT. MILITARY CHAPEL, AFGHANISTAN – NIGHT (YEARS
AGO)
Younger Michael, still in fatigues, cradles a dying soldier.
He’s surrounded by sandbags, shellfire outside.
DYING SOLDIER
Forgive me, Father… I killed them
all…
MICHAEL
You did what you had to.
DYING SOLDIER
Then so did you.
Michael looks down. Blood on his own hands — a pistol in his
grip.
A shell hits nearby. Screams. He fires toward the
darkness—killing a man dragging a child forward as a shield.
END FLASHBACK
BACK TO SCENE
Michael lowers his head, trembling. Alvarez sees it — the
fracture widening between faith and guilt.
MICHAEL
I broke the seal once before.
That night, I told a dying man he was forgiven… when I didn’t
believe it myself.
DALTON
You were a soldier.
MICHAEL
No, Monsignor. I was a coward
wearing a cross.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
51 -
Storm of Redemption
EXT. CATHEDRAL – SAME TIME
Police cars arrive, tires splashing. Uniforms take cover
behind cruisers as thunder cracks overhead.
CAPTAIN LARSON
(nods to SWAT)
We go on my mark. No shots unless
fired upon.
INT. CATHEDRAL – NIGHT
Alvarez edges closer, lowering her weapon slightly.
ALVAREZ
You came here for absolution.
But you already had it, Michael. You just couldn’t live with
it.
MICHAEL
Absolution’s easy. Redemption’s
work.
And I’m all out of time for both.
Dalton moves toward him carefully, palms open.
DALTON
Listen to me, son—if you give up
the weapon, I’ll speak to the
Archbishop myself.
Michael looks at him, and for the first time there’s pity in
his voice.
MICHAEL
You still think you’re part of the
Church, Monsignor.
But the Church doesn’t exist anymore. Just men hiding behind
God’s name.
EXT. CATHEDRAL STEPS – SAME TIME
The SWAT leader raises his hand. Alvarez’s partner Russo
pushes through the line, yelling.
RUSSO
Don’t breach! She’s still inside!
INT. CATHEDRAL – ALTAR – CONTINUOUS
Alvarez glances at the door. Michael senses movement — his
instincts sharpen.
MICHAEL
They’ll storm it. They’ll take me
down like a rabid dog.
ALVAREZ
Then don’t give them a reason.
Michael steps backward, bumping the altar. The chalice
topples, spilling wine that looks like blood.
DALTON
You can still confess to God.
MICHAEL
I already did. He stayed silent.
EXT. CATHEDRAL STEPS – CONTINUOUS
SWAT LEADER
Go, go, go!
Doors BURST inward. Flashlights slice through the dark nave.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
52 -
Descent into Despair
INT. CATHEDRAL – CONTINUOUS
Chaos erupts. Michael spins, gun raised — blinding beams
pinning him in white fire.
OFFICER (O.S.)
Drop it! Drop the weapon!
Michael freezes. The gun trembles in his grip. He looks at
Alvarez, pleading — a man begging not for mercy, but meaning.
MICHAEL
If God won’t forgive me, maybe the
bullet will.
He raises the gun toward his temple.
ALVAREZ
No!
She lunges — grabs his arm — the gun DISCHARGES.
A deafening blast.
Glass shatters again. Candles gutter out. Michael falls to
his knees — the bullet grazing, not killing. Blood trickles
down, mixing with holy wine on the floor.
Dalton rushes forward.
DALTON
Stay with me! Stay—
Michael’s hand grips Dalton’s wrist. Eyes fading but fierce.
MICHAEL
Don’t… let them bury it again.
DALTON
I won’t. I swear it.
Michael releases him — collapses fully.
INT. CATHEDRAL – MOMENTS LATER
Paramedics swarm the nave. Alvarez stands aside, shell-
shocked. Dalton kneels beside the stretcher, whispering last
rites.
DALTON (V.O.)
Through this holy anointing, may
the Lord in His love and mercy help
you with the grace of the Holy
Spirit…
As he speaks, his voice cracks. The paramedics lift Michael’s
body, shrouded in white. The rain hisses through the ruined
glass, like incense dispersing heavenward.
EXT. CATHEDRAL – DAWN
Gray light creeps across the wet city. Reporters cluster
outside police tape. Cameras flash.
Dalton exits, blood on his sleeve, crucifix dangling loose.
A reporter shouts:
REPORTER
Monsignor! Was he the Mercy Killer?
Dalton looks at the crowd — weary, hollow.
DALTON
He was a priest.
The rest of us are still deciding what that means.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
53 -
Confession in the Cathedral
INT. CATHEDRAL – SAME NIGHT
Emergency lights flicker red against the marble. SWAT teams
fan out. The nave looks like a battlefield dressed for mass.
Michael lies half-upright against the altar rail, hand
clamped over the grazing wound at his temple. A paramedic
tries to reach him—he waves the man off.
MICHAEL
Not yet. Not till I finish.
Dalton kneels beside him. Alvarez stands back, gun lowered,
torn between duty and pity.
DALTON
You’re bleeding out.
MICHAEL
Then start listening.
INT. CATHEDRAL – CONTINUOUS
SWAT COMMAND radios crackle; a captain whispers orders.
Alvarez signals stand down—she’s taking this her way.
ALVAREZ
Everybody out.
(beat)
This is between him and God now.
Reluctantly, the team withdraws. Doors slam. Silence, except
for rain hammering stained-glass shards.
MICHAEL
(weak)
You wanted confession? Fine.
Every bullet had a name.
Every name had a child behind it.
He gestures to the scattered saint cards littering the floor.
Each smeared with blood.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
They said God’s house is mercy.
Then why did I find so much rot in His walls?
ALVAREZ
Because the walls were built by
men.
Men fall. You fell.
He almost smiles.
MICHAEL
Maybe falling’s the only way up.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
54 -
Confession in the Storm
FLASHBACK – INT. MILITARY CHAPEL TENT – DAWN
Young Michael sits alone after the firefight, washing blood
from a chalice in bottled water. He stares into the cup and
sees his own reflection turn to Dalton’s.
END FLASHBACK
INT. CATHEDRAL – NAVE – NIGHT
Dalton looks shaken—haunted by what he sees reflected in
Michael now.
DALTON
You think killing them cleans the
slate?
It stains every altar you ever served.
MICHAEL
Then let it stain mine alone.
He reaches for the gun again—Alvarez kicks it aside.
ALVAREZ
Enough! The children have peace.
Don’t take that from them too.
Michael’s breathing grows shallow. He looks past her toward
the confessional.
MICHAEL
Every sin in this city started
there.
Behind that screen.
Behind silence.
He crawls toward it, dragging his vestments through his own
blood.
INT. CONFESSIONAL – CONTINUOUS
Michael collapses inside, pulling the door shut.
Through the lattice we see him reach for the microphone—his
handheld radio he stole from a fallen officer.
MICHAEL (INTO RADIO)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned…
and I’m not finished.
He flips the switch. His voice booms through the cathedral PA
system, echoing across the city as news crews’ mics outside
pick it up.
EXT. CATHEDRAL – CONTINUOUS
Reporters freeze as the loudspeakers erupt with his
confession—broadcast into the storm.
MICHAEL (V.O.)
I broke your laws to keep your
children safe.
I took up the sword because your shepherds slept.
Forgive me… or don’t.
But remember this: the wolves wear collars too.
Gasps ripple through the crowd. Alvarez slams the PA
breaker—too late. The world has heard.
INT. CATHEDRAL – SACRISTY – MINUTES LATER
Dalton braces himself at the sacristy sink, vomiting.
He wipes his mouth, then opens his briefcase—inside are
sealed diocesan files. He hesitates, then hands them to
Alvarez.
DALTON
Everything he said… it’s in here.
Transfers. Pay-offs. Silence.
ALVAREZ
Why now?
DALTON
Because one of us still believes in
penance.
INT. CATHEDRAL – NAVE – MOMENTS LATER
Michael slumps against the booth wall, voice fading.
MICHAEL
I absolve… no one.
I only light the candles.
The rest is theirs.
His hand drops. The last candle on the rail flickers, then
dies.
Dalton and Alvarez rush in.
Michael’s eyes find hers one last time—peaceful.
MICHAEL (CONT’D)
Tell them… the confession is yours
now.
His body stills.
EXT. CATHEDRAL – DAWN
The storm breaks. Sunlight pierces through torn clouds,
gilding the ruined church.
Reporters swarm as police remove the stretcher.
Alvarez follows, soaked, file folder clutched to her chest.
Dalton lingers at the steps, watching the sunrise bleed
through smoke.
DALTON
(to himself)
Absolution was never his to give.
He walks down into the crowd, vanishing amid umbrellas.
INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS – INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
Alvarez sits alone before the diocesan files, now logged as
evidence.
She hesitates, then pulls one page free—a transfer order
signed by Dalton, dated years earlier.
ALVAREZ (V.O.)
They’ll seal the files. Call him
insane.
And I’ll let them—until the next body drops.
She closes the folder, slides it across the table toward
Internal Affairs.
ALVAREZ
But this time, they’ll start with
the priests.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
55 -
Whispers of the Past
INT. SMALL CHAPEL – TWILIGHT
Weeks later. Quiet.
A single candle burns in the corner.
Alvarez enters in plain clothes. She kneels at the same
confessional where Michael died.
A PRIEST’S VOICE whispers from behind the screen.
PRIEST (O.S.)
Bless me, child, for I have sinned.
She hesitates.
ALVAREZ
It’s been… a while since my last
confession.
PRIEST (O.S.)
Then you remember the words.
ALVAREZ
Yes, Father.
Forgive me— (for a long beat) —for wanting to understand him.
Silence. Then:
PRIEST (O.S.)
Some saints start as sinners.
Some sinners finish the work saints won’t.
A flicker of recognition in her eyes—Michael’s words.
She looks through the lattice—empty.
No one there.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – NIGHT
The cathedral stands dark, except for one candle flickering
in the broken window.
Its reflection glows over the river—shimmering like a pulse.
FADE IN:
EXT. ST. LUKE’S CATHEDRAL – DAWN
Crime-scene tape flaps lazily in the breeze. Floodlights shut
off one by one.
A lone custodian sweeps glass into a dustpan, each scrape
echoing like penance.
Across the street, Alvarez stands under the dripping eave of
a news van, watching the crew pack up. Her coat’s collar is
turned up; eyes hollow but steady.
A reporter spots her.
REPORTER
Detective Alvarez! Is it true the
Archdiocese knew?
ALVAREZ
(quiet)
They always know.
She turns away before more questions can form.
INT. POLICE EVIDENCE LOCKER – DAY
A technician seals a box: Donnelly, Michael — Case File 47-
Through the window, Alvarez signs the chain-of-custody form.
Her pen hovers over the signature line… then presses down
hard, leaving a groove in the paper.
TECHNICIAN
You okay, Detective?
ALVAREZ
I just keep hearing the bells.
TECHNICIAN
There haven’t been bells since the
shooting.
She looks up — uneasy.
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
56 -
The Cost of Truth
INT. ARCHDIOCESAN HALL – DAY
A press conference. Cameras. Polished wood. The Archbishop
stands flanked by Dalton, now gaunt and gray.
ARCHBISHOP
Our hearts grieve for the innocent.
Father Donnelly was a man of
service… and of great suffering.
His actions, though misguided—
Dalton interrupts, voice low but clear.
DALTON
—were not madness. They were
consequence.
Reporters murmur. The Archbishop’s eyes flare.
ARCHBISHOP
Monsignor—
DALTON
(ignoring him)
We have sinned by silence. Every
transfer, every lie… built this
altar.
Security steps forward. Dalton holds up a flash drive.
DALTON (CONT’D)
This holds every record he died
for. I’ll deliver it to the police
myself.
He walks away as flashbulbs pop — a fallen angel choosing
daylight.
EXT. CITY STREET – EVENING
Dalton leaves the chancery carrying the drive in a plain
envelope.
He crosses an intersection — a black sedan pulls up.
A tinted window rolls down. A gloved hand gestures him in.
He hesitates. Steps closer.
VOICE (O.S.)
The Church thanks you, Monsignor.
We’ll take it from here.
Dalton clutches the envelope tighter.
DALTON
You’ve taken enough.
He turns away into the rain — headlights flare behind him —
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. MORGUE – NIGHT
A sheet pulled back: Dalton’s crucifix rests on his chest,
chain broken.
A coroner closes the drawer.
INT. ALVAREZ’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
A small, cluttered space. On her table: the leaked flash
drive in an evidence bag labeled FOUND AT SCENE.
She plugs it into her laptop.
Hundreds of scanned files fill the screen — names, parishes,
sealed settlements.
She scrolls until her reflection in the monitor looks
ghostly.
ALVAREZ (V.O.)
He wanted the truth heard. Now it’s
screaming.
She selects Upload to Federal Server. A progress bar crawls
across the screen.
Outside, thunder rolls again.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller","Mystery"]
Ratings
Scene
57 -
Echoes of the Past
INT. CATHEDRAL RUINS – NIGHT
Weeks later. Reconstruction scaffolding. Workers hammer under
floodlamps.
Alvarez enters wearing civilian clothes, stopping where the
altar once stood.
She lights a single candle from her pocket.
A YOUNG PRIEST approaches, new to the parish.
YOUNG PRIEST
We’ll rebuild it stronger.
ALVAREZ
Maybe don’t. Maybe let it remind
you what happens when walls get too
thick.
He studies her — unsure if she’s a believer or a warning.
She sets the candle at the foot of the crucifix stump and
walks away.
EXT. CITY BRIDGE – DAWN
Alvarez leans on the rail, coffee in hand, watching fog lift
over the water.
Sirens wail faintly in the distance — the city breathing
again.
From below, the faint peal of church bells rises —
impossible; the cathedral bells were destroyed.
She half-smiles through tears.
ALVAREZ (TO HERSELF)
You got your answer, Father.
She flicks the coffee into the river — dark liquid dissolving
like wine.
Genres:
["Drama","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
58 -
Echoes of Faith and Scandal
EXT. CATHEDRAL – MORNING
Workers finish installing a temporary cross on the roof.
As they descend, a gust of wind catches the light through the
new glass — for just a second, the pattern forms a silhouette
of a man in a cassock kneeling.
A worker crosses himself, uneasy.
INT. SMALL CONFESSIONAL – DAY
Sunlight through new glass. The booth is freshly built —
smooth, unstained.
A shadow enters.
WOMAN (O.S.)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned.
PRIEST (O.S.)
It’s been some time. Speak freely.
WOMAN (O.S.)
I still dream of him. The priest
who tried to save us.
Through the lattice, the priest’s hand trembles — wearing a
rosary bracelet that once belonged to Michael Donnelly.
PRIEST (O.S.)
Then perhaps he did.
He makes the sign of the cross. Candlelight flares.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – SUNSET
The rebuilt cathedral stands against the setting sun, bells
ringing once more.
The sound carries across rooftops, into alleys, over the
river —
a requiem turning into a hymn.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
EXT. ROME – ST. PETER’S SQUARE – DAWN
Tourists scatter as news vans park beside the obelisk. Giant
screens replay American headlines:
“MERCY KILLER PRIEST: CHURCH SCANDAL DEEPENS.”
“ARCHDIOCESE FILES LEAK TO INTERNATIONAL PRESS.”
A Vatican AIDE rushes through marble corridors, folder
clutched tight.
INT. VATICAN CONFERENCE ROOM – MORNING
Cardinals seated around a long table. The Secretary of State
reads from a memo.
SECRETARY OF STATE
The Donnelly affair has sparked copycat vigilantes in Brazil,
Ireland, and Manila.
We cannot canonize a criminal… but we cannot bury a symbol,
either.
An older cardinal crosses himself.
CARDINAL #2
Perhaps the symbol is the warning
we needed.
The Secretary closes the file.
SECRETARY OF STATE
Then may God forgive us for needing martyrs to find our
conscience.
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Thriller"]
Ratings
Scene
59 -
Reflections on Justice and Legacy
EXT. BOSTON STREET – DAY
A mural appears overnight on a brick wall:
FATHER MICHAEL DONNELLY — THE SHEPHERD WHO FOUGHT THE WOLVES.
Alvarez drives past in plain clothes, slowing to look. A
street kid sprays a halo around the painted head.
ALVAREZ
(to herself)
He’d hate that.
She drives on, siren wailing somewhere behind her—another
call, another sin.
INT. NEW CATHEDRAL OF ST. LUKE – NIGHT
Six months later. The rebuilt church gleams with new glass.
Children in white robes rehearse for First Communion.
Sister Agnes watches them, hands clasped. She lights a votive
under a small framed photo of Michael tucked beside the
altar—unofficial, forbidden, yet present.
SISTER AGNES (SOFTLY)
Rest now, Father. We’re still
trying.
INT. NEWS STUDIO – SAME TIME
An anchor reads from teleprompter.
ANCHOR
The Donnelly Files have led to
worldwide investigations.
The Vatican has announced a summit on abuse reform—its first
in over a decade.
A photo of Michael flashes onscreen.
Beside it, one of Detective Sofia Alvarez addressing a Senate
hearing.
INT. SENATE HEARING ROOM – DAY
Alvarez testifies before a packed chamber.
ALVAREZ
We talk about justice like it’s
clean. It’s not.
Father Michael made it messy.
But maybe that’s the only way the rest of us finally see the
dirt.
Applause breaks out before the gavel slams order. Cameras
flash.
She meets eyes with a young congressional aide—wearing a
cross around his neck.
EXT. CATHEDRAL – DUSK
Later. Alvarez exits alone, descending the stone steps.
Rain begins again—gentle, almost cleansing.
Across the street, a child sells candles. She buys one.
ALVAREZ
For a friend.
She lights it at the foot of the statue of St. Michael the
Archangel.
The flame flickers blue, then steady.
INT. CONFESSIONAL – NIGHT
The same booth. Quiet hum of candles.
A penitent’s silhouette kneels.
PENITENT (O.S.)
Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned. I read his story… and I
understand why he did it.
The unseen priest—same rosary, same calm voice—answers:
PRIEST (O.S.)
Then pray you never have to.
The screen glows faintly red from candlelight, like a
heartbeat.
Genres:
["Drama","Mystery","Spiritual"]
Ratings
Scene
60 -
Echoes of Mercy
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – DAWN
Sunlight crawls over rooftops.
Church bells toll again—clear, mournful, defiant.
In the reflection of the river, for an instant, the ruined
and rebuilt cathedrals merge into one.
SUPER: “FOR EVERY SIN THERE IS A CONFESSION. FOR EVERY
CONFESSION, A PRICE.â€
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
EXT. CATHEDRAL GARDEN – MORNING
Weeks later. Fresh sod. New roses. Birds chatter over the
faint echo of distant bells.
A small plaque gleams near the rebuilt steps:
In memory of those who sought mercy, and those who gave it.
ALVAREZ stands there in plain clothes, holding a cup of black
coffee.
She sets it down beside the plaque, as if sharing it with
someone unseen.
ALVAREZ
You finally got your silence,
Father.
The rest of us are still talking.
She turns to leave. Wind stirs the roses — one petal falls
onto the coffee, floating like a drop of blood.
INT. CATHEDRAL – SAME TIME
Morning mass. Children’s voices rise in a hymn.
Sister Agnes plays the organ; sunlight slants through new
glass.
A YOUNG PRIEST lifts the chalice — hand shaking slightly —
the same rosary bracelet Michael once wore glinting in the
light.
From somewhere high in the rafters, a dove flutters free
through an open pane.
EXT. CITY SKYLINE – CONTINUOUS
The bells of St. Luke’s join the others across the city.
A slow aerial pullback reveals rooftops, bridges, rivers —
the sound swelling until it becomes one long, sustained note
of faith and doubt intertwined.
SUPER:
“Mercy is not the absence of justice. It’s the courage to
face it.”
The screen fades to white — then black.
FADE OUT.
THE END