Aria's pov
Tell me the truth, Damien," I said. "H
"Tell me the truth, Damien," I said. "What did you bury under the pond?"
His face didn't move. Only his eyes.
"You don't want to know," he said quietly.
"Yes, I do!" My voice shook. "You keep saying I shouldn't look, but I already saw the photo! I saw her!"
He stared at me, calm like ice. "You shouldn't have gone near it."
I took a step closer. "Then tell me why! Tell me what's under there!"
He turned away, his shoulders stiff. "It's not a what," he whispered. "It's a who."
The room went silent. My heart jumped so hard it hurt.
"A person?" I whispered.
He didn't answer. He just walked past me, grabbed his coat, and said, "Stay inside, Aria."
The front door slammed.
The sound echoed through the house like thunder, and I stood there, shaking, staring at the window.
The pond looked calm again but I could feel it breathing. I told myself I wouldn't go, I told myself to stay inside, But my heart wouldn't listen.
By noon, the clouds started moving again. I put on my coat and went outside, The grass was still wet. My shoes sank into the mud. The air smelled like rain and something else metal, like blood. When I reached the pond, I stopped. The water was still, like a mirror, I could see my face in it, pale and tired. Then the surface moved, just a little, like something underneath was turning."Don't be stupid," I whispered to myself. "It's just water."
But I didn't believe that. I took a stick and pushed it into the water, It hit something hard, Not rock, Not mud, Something else. I dropped the stick and knelt down. My hands shook as I reached into the cold water. I touched something smooth, like metal. I pulled, but it was stuck.Then a hand grabbed mine, I screamed so loud a bird flew out of the trees.When I looked again, the hand was gone. The water was calm. My hand was wet, but it wasn't cold anymore it was warm. Like someone had touched it from below.
I fell back and crawled away. I wanted to run back inside, but then I saw it something shiny floating near the middle of the pond, A locket.I used a long branch to pull it closer. The chain wrapped around the stick, I lifted it out carefully. When I opened it, I almost dropped it again. Inside was a picture of Maria and Julian.They were standing by the same pond, smiling.
Under the photo were two words scratched in tiny letters.
"Forgive me."
My breath came out shaky. What was he asking forgiveness for?
I went back inside, still holding the locket. My clothes were damp, and my heart wouldn't slow down.When I walked into the living room, Julian was there, sitting on the couch, flipping through an old photo album.He looked up and smiled. "You look like you've seen a ghost again."
"Maybe I have," I said quietly.
He tilted his head. "What did you find this time?"
I held out the locket. "This. From the pond."
His face changed. For the first time, he didn't smile.
"Where exactly did you find it?" he asked.
"Floating," I said. "Near the middle."
He took it from me slowly. His fingers trembled.
"Julian?" I whispered.
He didn't answer. He opened the locket again and stared at it for a long time. Then he said, "She shouldn't have kept this."
"What do you mean?"
He closed the locket and looked up at me. "Because she saw what happened."My stomach turned. "Saw what?"
He put the locket in his pocket. "You ask too many questions, Aria."
Before I could reply, the front door opened. Damien walked in, his coat wet from rain. His eyes went straight to Julian.
"What are you doing here?" he said coldly.
"Talking," Julian said.
"Stay away from her," Damien snapped.
Julian laughed softly. "Why? Afraid she'll learn the truth?"
Damien stepped closer. "You don't know what you're talking about."
Julian looked calm. "Oh, I think I do."They were so close now I thought they might fight. I stepped between them. "Stop it!"
They both looked at me. For a second, I thought I saw something in their faces guilt, fear, pain.
"What truth?" I asked.
Neither answered.
Damien turned away first. "You should rest, Aria."
"I'm tired of resting," I said.
Julian smiled again, but his eyes were cold. "Maybe she deserves to know."
"Enough," Damien said sharply. "You've said too much already."
Julian leaned closer to him and whispered something I couldn't hear.
Damien's face went white, Then Julian walked away laughing under his breath.
That night, the air in the house felt heavy. The wind made the windows shake.I couldn't stop thinking about the pond, the locket, and the word forgive.I decided to check Damien's office again, Maybe there was something there he didn't want me to find. When I opened the door, I noticed the books on his shelf had been moved again. I looked behind them nothing, But then I saw the carpet. The edge was folded, I lifted it and there was a small trapdoor hidden underneath.A new one, I pulled it open. A set of stairs went down into darkness. I grabbed my candle and started walking slowly. The air got colder with every step. The smell was old and damp.
At the bottom was another small room stone walls, a single chair, and a wooden box on the floor. I knelt beside it, The box was locked.The silver key fit again. Inside were papers, photos, and one single cassette tape.
On the tape was written:
"E.W. confession."
E.W. Eleanor Wolfe: Damien and Julian's mother.
My hand was shaking as I put the tape in the small recorder sitting beside it.
A voice crackled, A woman's voice, Weak but clear.I held my breath.
The voice stopped for a moment, Then she whispered one last thing. The tape clicked off.
Then I heard it again. That same soft voice from before.
"Aria."
It came from the dark corner of the room.I turned fast, holding the candle high. The light shook.
"Who's there?" I whispered.
The air grew colder. The flame flickered. Something moved a shape. A woman's outline. Her hair dripping, her dress torn.She stepped forward, her eyes gray and sad, It was Maria.
"Please," she said softly, "don't trust them."
"Who?" I asked.
She opened her mouth to answer, but then her face twisted in fear. She looked behind me, I turned and saw Damien standing in the doorway, But his eyes weren't blue anymore. They were dark, almost black.i turned back to Maria and she was gone. I trembled. She Just talked to me now, is it her ghost fear gripped me.Then Damien called me
"Aria," he said quietly, "why are you down here?"
I stepped back. "What is this place?"
He looked around the room slowly. "A mistake."
Then he raised something in his hand.
A shovel, Wet, with dirt stuck to it.
My breath caught. "Damien… what did you do?"
He took a step closer. His voice was low. "I told you not to go near the pond."
"Why?" I whispered.
He smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile. It was the kind that made my stomach twist.
"Because that's where I buried the truth."
Lightning flashed above us. The candle blew out.Darkness swallowed everything.I heard a splash far away, but deep.
Then silence.
And in the dark, I heard the voice again.
Whispering.
"Come see what sleeps under the water."