Chapter 4 Echoes in the Halls

The footsteps grew louder, slow and deliberate. Ariella's fingers tightened around Damian's without meaning to, and for a brief second, he didn't let go.

A tall woman emerged from the corridor behind them, dressed in deep plum and carrying a tray of tea that trembled slightly in her grip.

"Miss Duvall," the woman said in a voice wrapped in dust and distant grief. "I am Lenora, the housekeeper. I cared for your grandmother. And your mother."

Her eyes flicked briefly to Damian.

"I didn't expect you to come," she added softly, setting the tray down.

Ariella forced a smile, remembering the line in the contract - affection must be displayed. She shifted closer to Damian and looped her arm through his. His eyes flicked to her, amused. She didn't care.

"We're here to honor her wishes," Ariella said.

Lenora's lips twitched, like the words had stung her. "Be careful what you honor in this house, child. The dead remember everything."

She turned without another word and disappeared down the corridor, her footsteps vanishing before they should have.

Damian leaned closer. "She's harmless. Mostly."

"What did she mean?" Ariella whispered. "The dead remember everything?"

He sighed. "This house is built on a hundred secrets, Ariella. And some of them... echo."

That night, Ariella couldn't sleep again.

The bed was too soft, the silence too loud. She stared at the cracked ceiling, the way the shadows seemed to form patterns that moved when she blinked.

At exactly 2:13 a.m., she heard it.

A whisper.

Not loud. Not angry. Almost... mournful.

Ariella...

She bolted upright, heart slamming against her ribs.

"Damian?" she called out, but the hallway beyond her bedroom was empty.

She stepped out, barefoot on the cold floor, drawn forward by a voice she couldn't place - a voice she had heard once before.

In childhood.

The whisper came again. Fainter. Closer.

She followed it down the east wing hallway to a door she didn't remember seeing before. It was narrow, carved with moons and vines, and slightly ajar.

Something told her to turn back. But curiosity was louder than fear.

She pushed the door open.

It was a mirror room - walls covered in mirrors of every size, some cracked, some clouded, all reflecting distorted versions of her face.

And on the far end, scrawled in fog on one of the mirrors, were the words:

"He will betray you. Just like the others."

Ariella spun around.

No one was there.

But her reflection... wasn't moving.

Her blood turned to ice as she realized - it was watching her.

End of Chapter Four.