Aria's pov
When I woke up, I wasn't in my bed, I was on the floor. My hands were muddy, my hair wet, and my candle was gone.
For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then I saw the trapdoor, It was open. I remembered Damien's voice before everything went dark.
"That's where I buried the truth."
My whole body felt weak. I pushed myself up and climbed the stairs. The house above was silent, like nothing had happened. Had it all been real? The voice, Maria's ghost, the tape, Damien's eyes?
Or was I finally losing my mind?
I walked into the living room, Everything looked normal. No sign of mud, no sign of Damien, But the locket I found yesterday was on the table again, open. Inside, the photo was gone, Only one word was written now, scratched into the metal.
"Tonight."
I dropped it fast.
"Tonight what?" I whispered.
The air suddenly felt heavy again, The chandelier above me swayed though no window was open. The house was breathing slow and deep. I tried calling Damien, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I even tried Harper, but her number didn't connect. It was like everyone had disappeared.Only me and the house.
By noon, the sky turned dark again. Rain started to fall slow, cold drops that hit the windows like tapping fingers. I stayed near the fireplace, trying to keep warm. Then the doorbell rang, I froze, No one ever came here. I opened the door slowly, A man stood there in a long coat, rain dripping from his hat.
"Mrs. Wolfe?" he asked.
"Yes," I said quietly.
He showed me a badge. "Detective Ezra Kane. I'm here about Maria Lane."
I swallowed hard. "You found her?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. But her car was discovered by the river, three miles from here." My heart dropped. "Was anyone with her?"
He looked at me for a moment. "We found footprints. A man's and a woman's. The man's print matches a pair of shoes owned by your husband."
My breath caught. "That's not possible."He flipped his notebook. "Is your husband home?"
I shook my head. "He left."
"When?"
"I don't know."
He nodded slowly. "If he contacts you, Mrs. Wolfe, call me immediately."
He handed me his card. His eyes were sharp, but soft too. Like he knew I was scared.As he turned to leave, he stopped and looked back. "One more thing do you ever hear music playing at night?"
My throat tightened. "Yes."
He sighed. "Then don't follow it."
He left before I could ask what he meant.
By evening, the rain got worse, The sky turned almost black. The pond outside looked like a sheet of glass.I kept hearing the detective's voice in my head Don't follow it.But then the music started again, Soft piano notes. The same song, My wedding song.I covered my ears, but it didn't stop. The sound grew louder, echoing through the halls like it was calling me.I grabbed my candle and walked toward it, My hands were shaking. The music was coming from outside now.
The garden. The pond.
"No," I whispered. But my feet kept moving anyway.
When I stepped outside, the rain stopped suddenly, as if the whole world had paused. The pond glowed faintly, like there was light beneath the surface.
Then I saw something, A shadow in the water shaped like a door.I stepped closer, My reflection rippled and broke apart.The music stopped and then, the ground under my feet cracked, I screamed as I fell straight into the freezing water.
Everything went black for a moment not like I fainted, but like the whole world blinked. Then a strange light filled the water, soft and blue. I could see clearly, but I wasn't gasping for air. I was breathing, somehow. The water didn't feel heavy anymore. It felt like air pretending to be water, calm, slow, and quiet. Below me, the door shimmered, waiting. I swam closer, my heart pounding.The key, The silver key from the velvet box, I still had it in my pocket. My hands were numb, but I managed to pull it out.I pushed it into the lock, It turned, The door opened and I swam through it.
Suddenly I was standing not floating, not drowning standing in a hallway just like the one inside the mansion. Except everything was underwater, glowing blue and quiet.There were portraits on the walls, Damien, Julian, Their mother, My father and me. But in my portrait, my eyes were gone again.
At the end of the hallway, someone stood facing the wall. A man in a dark suit, I took one step closer. The water didn't slow me, It felt like walking through air.
"Damien?" I whispered.
He turned around slowly.
It was him pale, dripping, but alive. His eyes were dark again, the same way they were last night.
"Aria," he said quietly. "You shouldn't have come here."
"Where are we?"
He looked up. "Home."
"This isn't home," I said.
He smiled sadly. "It's the real one."
Then the walls began to shake. The portraits fell, floating around us. The light flickered.
"Damien, what's happening?"
"It's waking up," he said. "The house doesn't like secrets."
"What does that mean?"
He stepped closer, put his hand on my face. "I tried to protect you. But you wouldn't stop looking." I felt tears mixing with the cold water. "Protect me from what?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but something pulled him back fast, like invisible hands.
"Damien!" I screamed.
He reached out for me, but the water turned red.He vanished.
I was alone. The piano music started again, louder now, echoing from above. I looked up and saw the surface shimmering, far away.I tried to swim up, but the water grew thicker, heavier. Then I saw something move a shadow bigger than anything I'd ever seen. It circled me slowly. My candle flickered even underwater, glowing faintly beside me. The shadow moved closer, and then I saw its face.
Maria.
Her eyes were open, wide and pale. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Then, finally, I heard her voice not from her mouth, but inside my head.
"The door isn't the end. It's the beginning."
Before I could react, her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, Cold, Strong.The pond began to glow brighter, turning white.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was a reflection not of me, but of someone else. A girl who looked exactly like me, standing on the edge of the pond above, staring down with a smile.
My smile.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying in my bed, dry, breathing fast.
Was it a dream?
No. The silver key was still in my hand, wet. Then I saw muddy footprints on my floor, They weren't mine and on my mirror, written in red letters, were the words:
"Welcome back, Aria."
The house creaked, The lights flickered once. Then a voice whispered behind me low, soft, and smiling.
"Did you miss me?"