The town of Blackridge had always whispered about the old Hollow House.
No one dared enter. No one dared speak its name aloud.
But seventeen-year-old Mara Linton never believed in whispers. She believed in truth.
And tonight, the truth was calling her.
A chill ran down her spine as she stepped past the rusted gates. The air smelled of decay and old secrets.
From deep within the house, a voice whispered her name.
"Mara… come home."
Chapter 2: Shadows with Memory
Inside, the walls were covered in cracked portraits. Faces twisted in silent screams.
Mara realized the shadows moved differently here. Not with the light… but against it.
She touched one portrait. Her fingers trembled. The eyes blinked.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
A single tear fell from the painted eye—and it wasn't paint.
Chapter 3: The Forgotten Ones
The house was alive. Not in a friendly way.
Voices echoed through empty halls.
Footsteps followed her even when she stood still.
Objects moved, but only when she wasn't looking.
And then she found the diary.
It belonged to a girl named Liora, who vanished a hundred years ago.
The first page read:
"They remember you, Mara. They always remember."