Leo pressed play. The film opened not on the expected establishing shot of St. Peter's Basilica, but on a shaky, handheld close-up of a sweating man's face. It was Cardinal Lomeli (the role Ralph Fiennes was born to play). But Lomeli wasn't acting. His eyes were wide, not with dramatic sorrow, but with real, primal terror. The audio was tinny, distorted, as if recorded through a coat pocket.
Leo stared at the frozen image. He checked the news. The Vatican released a statement: "Cardinal Lomeli has entered a period of silent retreat. The Conclave proceeds peacefully." Conclave.2024.720p.HDCAM-C1NEM4
He looked back at his screen. The file size had changed. It was now 0 bytes. But the folder was still there, renamed to a single word: Leo pressed play
The "movie" unfolded like a fever dream. The familiar plot beats were there: the sudden death of the Pope, the locking of the Sistine Chapel, the whispered factions (the Progressives, the Traditionalists, the mysterious African candidate). But everything was wrong . The dialogue was raw, overlapping, improvised. Scenes went on too long, capturing cardinals picking at their fingernails, staring into space, weeping without tears. It was Cardinal Lomeli (the role Ralph Fiennes
— See the Fourth . As in: the Fourth Secret of Fatima. The one the Church said did not exist.
But the cough wasn't from a theater.
Leo realized the truth. This wasn't a leaked copy of a movie. This was the only copy. The "HDCAM-C1NEM4" group hadn't pirated a film; they had intercepted a live feed from inside a real Conclave. A Conclave where the "election" was a cover for a purge. A cabal of cardinals, following a heretical prophecy, believed the new Pope had to be chosen by "the silence of the locked room." Meaning: kill all but one.