It was deep into the night.
The entire house had fallen silent. Everyone was asleep, and the rooms were covered in darkness. Outside, the garden was still, with only the faint sound of the night breeze moving through the trees.
But Maria could not sleep.
She kept turning from one side to the other, her mind filled with everything that had happened—the mysterious book, Rathi's warnings, Nick's death, Jenifer's death, and the strange secrets her parents had revealed.
She finally closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Then she heard it.
Footsteps.
Very faint at first.
Step...
A pause.
Step...
Maria's eyes opened immediately.
The sound was coming from somewhere outside her room.
She remained completely still.
The footsteps were getting closer.
Step... step... step...
Maria's heart began beating faster. For a moment, she thought about getting out of bed and checking who was there.
But something inside her told her not to move.
Instead, she slowly closed her eyes and pretended to be deeply asleep.
She kept her breathing steady.
A few seconds passed.
Then she slowly opened her eyes just a little.
At first, she could see nothing.
Then she noticed a figure standing near the doorway.
A woman.
Maria froze.
The woman remained completely silent for a moment before slowly stepping into the room.
Maria's fear grew instantly.
Even though the room was dark, there was something unmistakable about her.
Those eyes.
Those strange, terrifying blue eyes.
Maria knew her.
It was the same mysterious woman who had been following her for years.
The same woman she had seen around the events surrounding Nick and Jenifer.
Maria forced herself not to react.
She continued pretending to sleep while secretly watching every movement.
The woman slowly approached her bed.
She stopped beside Maria.
For a few moments, she simply stood there.
Maria could feel the fear rising inside her, but she did not move.
Then, unexpectedly, the woman turned away.
She walked toward the cupboard.
Maria immediately understood.
The book.
The mysterious book was inside that cupboard.
Maria thought the woman was going to take it.
The woman reached the cupboard and slowly opened its door.
Maria watched carefully.
She expected the woman to take the book and leave.
But she didn't.
The woman simply stared inside for a moment.
Then she slowly closed the cupboard.
Maria was confused.
Why had she opened it if she wasn't going to take the book?
The woman turned around and walked toward the door.
She left the room.
Maria waited.
She listened carefully until the footsteps moved farther away.
Only then did Maria slowly sit up in bed and release the breath she had been holding.
She was terrified, but she knew she couldn't simply stay there.
She had to know where the woman was going.
Maria quietly got out of bed and followed her.
As she reached the hallway, she stopped and looked toward the other rooms.
Everyone was still asleep.
She thought about waking them.
But then another thought came to her.
What if the mysterious woman was waiting for someone?
If Maria called everyone, she might put them in danger too.
So she decided to follow the woman alone.
Keeping as quiet as possible, Maria moved through the house.
The woman went outside.
Maria followed at a distance and watched as she walked toward the garden.
Maria stopped behind the gate and hid there, carefully observing her.
For the first time, Maria began to realize something.
Maybe this wasn't a ghost.
Maybe there was no spirit haunting her.
There was someone real behind all of this.
Someone who possessed abilities Maria couldn't understand.
The woman stopped in the garden.
Then she took out her phone and made a call.
Maria watched silently.
After a few moments, someone answered.
The woman spoke.
"How are you?"
Maria suddenly felt a chill.
The woman's voice was deeply unnatural.
It didn't sound like an ordinary human voice. There was something strange and disturbing about it, almost as if her voice carried an echo that didn't belong to the quiet garden.
Maria couldn't see the woman's face clearly.
But her blue eyes were unmistakable.
The woman continued speaking.
"I made that book in such a way that Maria won't be able to read it."
Maria's eyes widened.
The book.
She was talking about the same book.
Maria remained hidden behind the gate, listening carefully.
The woman then asked,
"By the way, where is Rathi?"
There was a pause while the man on the other end replied.
The woman's expression changed slightly.
"She escaped from me?"
She remained silent for a moment.
Then she said,
"Okay. so that, Iam having an important work to do with rathi. I'll complete it and call you later."
The call ended.
Maria watched as the mysterious woman slowly lowered her phone.
For a moment, she simply stood there.
Then she turned toward the forest.
She began walking.
Maria remained behind the gate, afraid to move.
The woman continued farther and farther into the darkness.
And then, just before she disappeared among the trees, Maria saw those unnatural blue eyes one last time.
A moment later, the woman vanished into the forest.
Maria stood frozen in the darkness.
She had followed the mysterious woman.
She had heard her voice.
She had heard her speak about the book.
And now Maria knew something she had never known before.
The woman was not simply watching her.
She was deliberately hiding the truth from her.
And somehow, that mysterious book was at the center of everything.
Maria ran back into the house.
She moved as quietly as she could through the dark hallway and rushed into her room, closing the door behind her. Her breathing was heavy, and her mind was racing after everything she had just heard.
She immediately went toward the cupboard.
With trembling hands, Maria opened it.
Then she froze.
Her eyes widened in shock.
The book was still there—but it was no longer the same.
The pages had been torn into countless pieces.
Maria stared at it in disbelief. She quickly picked up what remained of the book and tried to find a page that she could read, but most of the writing had been destroyed.
"Why?" she whispered.
She felt as though every hope she had of discovering the truth had disappeared.
The book had been the one thing connecting everything—the mysterious woman, Rathi, Nick, Jenifer, and the strange events that had followed Maria for years.
And now she couldn't read it.
Maria slowly went through the damaged pages, desperately searching for anything that had survived.
Then she noticed one piece of paper.
It was still completely intact.
She carefully picked it up.
There was something written on it about the mysterious blue eyes.
Maria began reading.
The blue eyes were described as demon eyes—a supernatural power connected to a demon. According to the writing, someone possessing this power could influence another person's mind and force that person to act according to the wielder's will.
But there was another terrifying statement.
The person who obtained the demon-eye power would also gain a power equal to that of the demon itself.
Maria stopped reading.
Her hands became cold.
Suddenly, memories began rushing through her mind.
Her mother's strange behavior during those early days.
The time when her mother seemed as though she wasn't herself and had tried to attack Roshan.
Jenifer's sudden death.
The mysterious woman appearing again and again.
That unnatural voice Maria had heard only moments earlier.
And those impossible blue eyes.
Everything seemed to be connecting in her mind.
Maria stared at the paper.
"Is this what happened to them?"
She couldn't stop thinking.
If the woman really possessed the power described in the book, then perhaps the things Maria had witnessed weren't random.
But another thought frightened her even more.
Rathi.
The mysterious woman had specifically asked about Rathi during the phone call.
Maria remembered the woman's words.
Where is Rathi?
Then the man's answer.
She escaped from me.
Maria's expression changed.
"Rathi..."
She suddenly became worried.
If that woman was searching for Rathi, then Rathi could be in serious danger.
Maria looked toward the window.
She wanted to do something, but she didn't know where Rathi was or where she had gone.
For several moments, she simply stood there holding the single surviving page.
Then she slowly placed it inside the cupboard.
She closed the cupboard door.
The room became silent again.
Maria sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor.
She thought about everything again.
The book.
The blue eyes.
The mysterious woman.
Rathi.
Nick.
Jenifer.
Her parents.
Her mother's strange behavior.
The more she thought, the more confused she became.
Her head began to feel heavy.
She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.
But the thoughts wouldn't stop.
One question after another kept appearing in her mind.
Who was the woman?
What exactly were the blue eyes?
Why was she hiding the truth from Maria?
And what had happened to Rathi?
Maria pressed her hand against her forehead.
The room seemed to spin slightly.
She tried to stand.
But her dizziness became stronger.
Her balance failed.
Maria collapsed onto the floor.
The room fell completely silent.
And inside the closed cupboard, the single surviving page remained hidden—the only remaining piece of the mysterious book that might reveal the truth.
Morning slowly arrived.
Sunlight began to enter through the curtains, but Maria was still lying on the floor beside her bed. She had not moved since she collapsed during the night.
Outside the room, Cathy walked toward Maria's bedroom carrying two cups of coffee.
She reached the door and tried to open it.
It was locked from inside.
"Maria?" Cathy called softly.
There was no response.
Cathy knocked.
"Maria, wake up."
Still nothing.
She knocked again, this time more firmly.
"Maria!"
There was no answer.
Cathy became worried and knocked forcefully on the door.
The sound finally reached Maria.
Her eyes slowly opened.
For a few seconds, she didn't understand where she was. Then she remembered everything from the previous night.
The woman.
The blue eyes.
The phone call.
The book.
The torn pages.
And the mysterious information about the demon eyes.
Maria quickly pushed herself up from the floor.
She looked toward the locked door.
Cathy was still knocking.
"Maria! Are you okay?"
Maria took a deep breath.
She knew she couldn't tell Cathy what had happened.
If she told everyone about the mysterious woman, the blue eyes, and the demon described in the surviving page, they would become frightened. They might try to investigate it themselves—and Maria was afraid that doing so could put them in danger.
She quickly composed herself and walked toward the door.
Maria unlocked it and opened it.
"Good morning, Cathy."
Cathy looked at her with relief.
"Good morning. Why did you take so long to open the door?"
Maria forced a small smile.
"I was in deep sleep. I didn't hear you knocking."
Cathy looked at her carefully.
Something didn't feel right.
She studied Maria's face for a few seconds.
"Maria... are you hiding something from me?"
Maria's heart skipped for a moment.
But she remained calm.
"No, Cathy. Why would I hide anything from you?"
Cathy continued looking at her.
Maria smiled and took the coffee from her.
"See? I'm completely fine."
Cathy finally relaxed a little.
"Okay. Drink this before it gets cold."
Maria nodded.
She drank some of the coffee and then said she was going to take a bath.
Cathy entered the room and sat down while Maria went into the bathroom.
For a while, everything seemed normal.
But inside the bathroom, Maria stood silently.
She kept thinking about the previous night.
She knew Cathy would eventually notice something.
But she had already made her decision.
She would keep the truth to herself.
She didn't want Cathy—or anyone else—to become involved.
After finishing her bath, Maria changed her clothes and came back into the room.
Cathy was still sitting there.
As soon as Maria came out, Cathy looked toward the cupboard.
"Maria, you should read that book today."
Maria paused.
"The book?"
"Yes," Cathy replied. "We need to know what's inside it. Maybe it will finally give us some answers."
Maria swallowed nervously.
"Okay. I'll read it."
She knew Cathy had no idea what had happened to the book.
Maria followed her toward the cupboard.
Cathy opened it.
Suddenly, several torn pieces of paper fluttered out from inside.
Cathy stepped back in shock.
"What...?"
She stared at the cupboard.
The pages were scattered everywhere.
The book had been destroyed.
Cathy bent down and picked up one of the pieces.
"Maria, what is this?"
Maria stared at the torn pages.
Even though she already knew exactly what had happened, she forced herself to look shocked.
"I... I don't know."
Cathy turned toward her.
"Maria, what happened to the book?"
Maria shook her head.
"I don't know, Cathy. I didn't do anything."
Cathy looked at the destroyed pages with disappointment.
"All this time we were trying to find this book, and now..."
Her voice faded.
Maria remained silent.
Then Cathy noticed another piece of paper.
She picked it up and looked at it.
Maria immediately recognized it.
The surviving page.
For a brief moment, fear appeared in Maria's eyes.
But she quickly hid it.
Cathy looked confused.
"Maria... what is this?"
Maria slowly walked closer and acted as though she was seeing the page for the first time.
"I don't know."
Inside, however, Maria knew exactly what it contained.
She knew about the blue eyes.
She knew what the book had called them.
And she knew that the mysterious woman had deliberately destroyed almost everything that could reveal the truth.
Maria looked at Cathy and forced herself to remain calm.
She couldn't tell her.
Not yet.
Because somewhere beyond their home, the mysterious blue-eyed woman was still out there.
And Maria had a feeling that the destruction of the book was only the beginning.
Cathy looked at the torn pieces scattered across the floor. She felt deeply disappointed. They had spent so much time trying to understand the mysterious book, and now almost all of it had been destroyed.
But something else was bothering her.
She had noticed something strange about Maria.
Maria was pretending to be surprised.
Cathy could sense it.
She remembered the previous night, when she had walked away from Maria's room. At that time, she had felt as though someone was watching her from somewhere in the house. She had looked around but hadn't seen anyone.
Now, seeing Maria's nervous expression, Cathy wondered whether something had happened during the night.
Still, she didn't question Maria further.
Instead, Cathy gently put her hand on Maria's shoulder.
"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. Maybe we can still save the book."
Maria nodded quietly.
Cathy gave her a comforting smile.
"Come on. Let's have breakfast."
Maria followed Cathy downstairs.
Everyone else was already there. Silane and Henry were sitting at the dining table, along with the others. As soon as Silane saw Maria, she stood up and hugged her.
"Maria, don't keep thinking about everything that happened yesterday. Whatever happened is in the past. Try to forget about it for now."
Maria remained silent in her mother's arms.
She wanted to tell her everything.
She wanted to tell her about the woman who had entered her room.
She wanted to tell her about those blue eyes.
She wanted to tell her about the phone call.
And she wanted to tell her what she had discovered about the book.
But she couldn't.
Maria simply nodded.
"I'll try, Mom."
The morning breakfast began with an uneasy silence.
Everyone had gathered around the dining table for breakfast. Plates were being passed from one person to another, but nobody seemed particularly interested in conversation. The events of the previous night still lingered in everyone's minds.
Johan picked up the remote control and switched on the television.
The sound of the morning news filled the dining hall.
He began changing channels casually, moving from one programme to another without paying much attention.
"Johan, stop!"
Maria's voice suddenly cut through the room.
Johan immediately stopped changing the channels.
"What happened?" he asked.
Maria was staring at the television.
Cathy turned toward the screen as well.
The colour slowly drained from her face.
A news channel was showing a breaking-news report.
A photograph of a young woman appeared on the screen.
Underneath it was a headline reporting a murder that had taken place near a forest the previous night.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Cathy stared at the photograph in disbelief.
"No…" she whispered.
Maria remained completely still.
The woman in the photograph was Rathi.
The same Rathi who had tried to help them.
The same Rathi whose name had been mentioned by the mysterious woman only the previous day.
Cathy's breathing became unsteady.
"That's… that's Rathi."
She slowly reached for Maria's hand and held it tightly.
"Maria…" she said, her voice trembling. "I think it's not safe for us to stay here anymore."
Maria looked at her but said nothing.
"Please," Cathy continued. "We should all leave this place. You said Rathi tried to help us. She knew something. And now she's dead."
Her fingers tightened around Maria's hand.
"If whatever is happening can reach someone like Rathi, then what makes us think we're safe here?"
Silane immediately nodded.
"She is right, Maria. We should leave."
Henry looked toward the television again.
The news reporter continued speaking about the investigation, but the words barely registered in the room.
Johan slowly lowered the remote.
Roshan remained silent, staring at the photograph.
Maria finally spoke.
"Moving won't change anything."
Everyone looked at her.
Cathy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Maria took a slow breath.
"That mysterious woman didn't come from nowhere."
She looked toward Silane and Henry.
"She came from the village where you both came from."
Silane's expression changed.
Maria continued.
"The problems began there. Then somehow they followed us to San Jose."
She paused.
"And now they've reached Los Angeles."
Nobody interrupted her.
Maria's voice became quieter.
"Do you really think changing houses or changing cities will make a difference?"
She looked at each of them.
"Wherever we go, she can follow."
Cathy shook her head.
"But Maria—"
"No," Maria interrupted gently. "Listen to me."
She looked down at the table.
"Anyone who has tried to support me… anyone who has tried to help me… has somehow become involved in this."
Her eyes moved toward the television.
"Look at Rathi."
The room fell silent.
"She tried to help us," Maria said. "And now she's dead."
Cathy's eyes filled with fear.
Maria continued.
"I don't want the same thing to happen to any of you."
Silane leaned forward.
"So what are you saying?"
Maria hesitated before answering.
"I think the safest thing is for me to stay away from all of you."
Everyone stared at her.
"What?" Johan asked.
Maria looked at them sadly.
"If that woman is targeting people who help me, then I won't allow her to use you against me."
She swallowed hard.
"I know she's still around us."
Cathy looked around the dining hall instinctively.
Maria continued.
"She could be anywhere. She could be watching us. She could be listening to every word we're saying."
A strange silence settled over the room.
Cathy suddenly remembered something.
"Maria…"
Maria looked at her.
"I felt it too."
"What?"
"Yesterday night."
Cathy's voice was low.
"I felt like something was watching us."
Maria's expression tightened.
Cathy continued.
"Remember the book?"
Everyone immediately became attentive.
"The book you kept inside the cupboard?" Johan asked.
Cathy nodded.
"Yes."
She looked at Maria.
"I had kept that book hidden because I thought nobody knew about it."
Her voice trembled.
"But that woman somehow knew."
Maria said nothing.
"She knew exactly where it was," Cathy continued. "She knew that we had kept it inside the cupboard."
Cathy's eyes moved toward the others.
"And then she destroyed it."
The words seemed to freeze everyone at the table.
Johan slowly put the remote down.
Roshan looked at Cathy.
"Wait… you mean the book that was in the cupboard?"
Cathy nodded.
"Yes."
Henry's face hardened with disbelief.
"But how could she have known where it was?"
"That is exactly what I'm afraid of," Cathy replied.
Silane stared at Maria.
"If she knew about the book without anyone telling her…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
Everyone understood what he meant.
She had been watching them.
Perhaps she had been listening.
Perhaps she had been closer than any of them had realized.
Cathy turned back to Maria.
"That's why you cannot isolate yourself from us."
Maria looked at her.
"We will stay together."
Cathy squeezed Maria's hand.
"You said that anyone who helps you becomes involved. Maybe that's true. But we're already involved, Maria."
She paused.
"And we're not going to abandon you now."
Silane nodded firmly.
"She is right."
Henry followed.
"We came this far together."
Johan looked at Maria.
"You can't decide that we're safer without you."
Roshan finally spoke.
"And if that woman is really watching us, separating yourself from us might be exactly what she wants."
Maria looked at all of them.
For a moment, she had no answer.
She wanted to believe them.
She wanted to believe that staying together would make them stronger.
But deep inside, another thought frightened her.
What if staying together only gave the mysterious woman more people to hurt?
Maria's eyes slowly returned to the television.
Rathi's photograph was still displayed on the screen.
A woman who had tried to help them was now dead.
And Maria could not escape the terrible feeling that Rathi's death was not a coincidence.
It was a warning.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
"I don't know what she wants from me," Maria whispered.
Cathy answered immediately.
"Then we'll find out."
Maria looked at her.
"But until we do…"
Cathy held her gaze.
"…we stay together."
Nobody spoke after that.
The television continued broadcasting the news in the background.
But the breakfast that had begun as an ordinary morning had become something else entirely.
A reminder.
A warning.
And perhaps the beginning of something much worse.
Because somewhere beyond the walls of the house, someone was watching.
And Maria was beginning to fear that the mysterious woman had been listening to them all along.
A few hours passed after the shocking news about Rathi.
The house had become unusually quiet.
Cathy was sitting alone in the garden, staring at the trees without really noticing them. Her mind kept returning to Maria.
Why was Maria hiding something from her?
Maria had never behaved like this before.
Cathy knew her better than almost anyone. She could tell when Maria was worried, frightened, or pretending to be fine.
And since the previous night, something about Maria had felt different.
Cathy remembered the way Maria had behaved that morning. She had looked exhausted, nervous, and distracted. Even when Cathy had asked whether she was hiding something, Maria had denied it.
But Cathy wasn't convinced.
"Maria wouldn't normally hide something like this from me," Cathy whispered to herself.
Her thoughts then shifted toward the mysterious woman.
Who was she?
Was she really human?
Could she be some kind of spirit?
Or was there something supernatural behind everything that had been happening?
Cathy couldn't find an answer.
She was still lost in thought when she heard footsteps approaching.
She turned around.
Johan was walking toward the garden.
He noticed Cathy sitting alone and immediately realized that something was bothering her.
He walked over and sat beside her.
"Cathy, what happened? What are you thinking about?"
Cathy remained silent for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"I'm thinking about Maria."
Johan looked at her.
"Maria?"
"Yes. She's been worried since morning. I feel like she's hiding something from me."
Johan tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry. She'll be okay. Whatever she's hiding, if it's something important, she'll tell you when she's ready."
Cathy looked down.
"I know... but something feels wrong."
Johan was quiet for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"There's something I've been thinking about too."
Cathy looked at him.
"What?"
"The mysterious woman."
Cathy's expression became serious.
Johan continued.
"We still don't know who she is or what she actually wants."
He paused.
"But after everything Henry and Silane told us about Ash and Raven, I can't stop thinking about them."
Cathy frowned.
"You think she's connected to them?"
"I don't know," Johan replied. "But it's possible."
He looked toward the trees surrounding the garden.
"She could have come from that village. Maybe she's connected to Ash and Raven somehow."
Cathy thought about it.
"Why would she follow Maria all these years?"
Johan shook his head.
"That's what we need to find out."
He continued carefully.
"Maybe she knows about the ritual that happened when Maria was a baby. Perhaps she's trying to continue something that Ash and Raven started."
Cathy's expression became uneasy.
"Or she could be trying to take revenge for them."
"Exactly."
They both fell silent.
Neither theory felt impossible anymore.
But neither of them had any proof.
The more they discussed it, the more confused they became.
Finally, Johan sighed.
"We're going in circles."
Cathy nodded.
"We don't even know where to begin."
Johan looked at her seriously.
"We lost one of our biggest clues."
"The book," Cathy said quietly.
Johan nodded.
"Yes. That book could have answered so many questions. Now most of it is destroyed."
Cathy looked toward the house.
"And Maria is hiding something about it."
Johan didn't respond immediately.
Then he said,
"Which means we need another clue."
Cathy looked at him.
"Another clue?"
Johan nodded.
"Grendle and Gore."
Cathy's eyes widened slightly.
"The children?"
"Yes."
Johan leaned back and thought carefully.
"We know what happened to Ash and Raven. We know Maria was rescued. We know Henry and Silane left the village with Maria."
He paused.
"But what happened to Grendle and Gore?"
Cathy slowly realized what he meant.
"We never found out."
"Exactly."
Johan looked at her.
"They were Ash and Raven's children. They were there when everything happened. They might know something about their parents—or about that ritual."
Cathy became thoughtful.
"If they're still alive..."
"We need to find them," Johan said.
The two remained silent in the garden.
The mystery had taken another turn.
The book was almost gone.
Rathi was dead.
The mysterious blue-eyed woman was still somewhere out there.
And Maria was hiding something from Cathy.
But now they had another name to follow.
Grendle.
Gore.
Somewhere in the past, two children had witnessed the secrets surrounding Ash and Raven.
And if they were still alive, they might be the only people who could reveal what really happened after Maria was rescued.