Chapter 4 The Cabin

Ethan drove in silence, his knuckles white on the wheel. Aria stared at him, the locket warm against her chest. The roads were dark, the only light the glow of the dashboard.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice steady.

"My place. It's off the grid. They won't find you there."

Aria scoffed. "You expect me to believe you're helping me? After everything? After you testified, after you made me lose everything?"

Ethan's jaw tightened. He didn't look at her. "I know you hate me. I don't blame you. But... I need you to listen. The Veiled One is real. And it's using me to get to you. I'm not... I'm not in control anymore. Not really."

"How do you know about the Veiled One?"

He hesitated, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. "I've... seen things. Hallucinations. A woman in a white dress, her face a blur. She whispers. Says if I don't deliver you, she'll kill everyone I love. Starting with you."

Aria's breath hitched. "The patient I 'killed'-Mr. Carter. What happened to him?"

Ethan's eyes flickered. "He started having visions. A woman in white. He became violent, attacked a nurse. I... I sedated him. But when I checked on him later, he was... different. Cold. Smiling. He said, 'Tell Aria I'm waiting.' Then he died. Heart attack, they said. But I know better. I saw... I saw her in his eyes. The Veiled One."

Aria's mind raced. The Veiled One was in Mr. Carter?

Ethan pulled into a secluded cabin, hidden by trees. The cabin was small, wooden, with a porch light flickering. "We're here."

Inside, the cabin was cozy-wooden beams, a fireplace, a couch with a knitted blanket. Aria's old medical textbooks sat on a shelf-Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Neurosurgery: A Comprehensive Reference-their spines cracked from use.

"You kept these?" she said, touching the spine of Harrison's.

Ethan nodded, looking away. "I... I couldn't throw them away. Even after..." He trailed off.

Aria set the journal on the table, next to a half-empty mug of coffee. "Tell me everything. From the start. Why did you testify against me? What did the Veiled One promise you?"

Ethan sat, running a hand through his hair. He looked older than she remembered-lines around his eyes, a scar on his chin she didn't recognize. "After the trial, I started having nightmares. The woman in white. She said I had to 'prove my loyalty.' So I agreed to testify. I thought... I thought I was protecting you. That if I did what she said, she'd leave you alone. But then... I started seeing you in my dreams. Happy. Us, together. Laughing. And I... I couldn't ignore it. I went to the hospital to check on you, and that's when I saw the footage of you sleepwalking. I knew then-the Veiled One was in you, too. Or trying to get in."

Aria touched the locket. "Sister Agnes said we were childhood sweethearts. Is that true?"

Ethan's eyes softened. "Yes. We were 8. You saved me from a dog. A big, mean German Shepherd. I was scared to death, but you stood there, yelling at it to go away. Then you took my hand and said, 'Friends forever, Ethan.'" He smiled, a small, sad smile. "You gave me your marble. I still have it. In my wallet."

He pulled out his wallet, flipped it open. There, in a small plastic sleeve, was a blue marble, chipped, but still shiny.

Aria's eyes stung. She remembered the marble. She remembered him.

Ethan's smile faded. "The Veiled One erases memories. It wants you confused. Scared. So you'll let it in. But I... I fought it. I tried to remember. I tried to find you. To tell you the truth."

A phone buzzed. Ethan checked it, his face paling. "They know where we are. We need to move. Now."

Aria stood, but a sharp pain shot through her head. She staggered, grabbing the table. The locket burned against her skin.

Ethan caught her, his hands warm on her arms. "Aria? What's wrong?"

"Visions," she gasped. "A woman... white dress... she's here. I can feel her."

The lights flickered. The temperature dropped, so cold Aria could see her breath. A cold wind swept through the cabin, though the windows were closed.

Aria's vision blurred. She saw it: a woman in a flowing white gown, her face a blur, but her eyes glowing, red and angry. "Give me your body, Aria. Let me live again. I've waited so long."

Ethan pulled her close, his voice steady. "Don't listen. Focus on my voice. You're Aria Bennett. You're a doctor. You're strong. You're loved."

The vision faded. Aria looked up at Ethan, tears in her eyes. "Why are you helping me? After all you've done? After you hurt me?"

He cupped her face, his thumb brushing away a tear. "Because I never stopped loving you. Even when I was too scared to admit it. Even when the Veiled One made me do terrible things. I love you, Aria. I always have."

A knock at the door.

Ethan tensed. "Stay here."

He peered through the window. "It's Lila. Your sister."

Aria's heart leapt. "Lila's here?"

Ethan opened the door. Lila stood there, her surgical scrubs rumpled, a worried look on her face. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, her eyes red from crying. "Aria? Thank God."

Aria ran to her, hugging her tight. Lila felt thin, fragile, but her arms were tight around Aria. "Lila! I thought you hated me. I thought you believed I killed that patient."

Lila pulled back, tears streaming down her face. "I never hated you. I was scared. The Veiled One... it's been messing with all of us. Mom's death... it wasn't suicide. She was killed because she tried to stop it. I found her research. She was a Keeper, too. She tried to seal the Veiled One, but the group stopped her. They made it look like a suicide. And now they're after you because you're the last Keeper."

Aria froze. "What? Mom... was a Keeper?"

Lila nodded, pulling a folder from her bag. "I found this in her office. It's her journal. She wrote about the Veiled One, about the Keepers. She knew they'd come for you. She left clues. For both of us."

Ethan stepped forward. "We need to get to the convent. Sister Agnes has the ritual to seal the Veiled One. But we have to go now. They're coming."

Aria grabbed her coat, the locket still warm. "Let's go. All of us."

As they ran to the car, a black SUV pulled up, headlights blazing. Men in dark suits stepped out, guns drawn.

Lila grabbed Aria's hand. "Run!"

Ethan shielded them, yelling, "I'll hold them off! Go!"

Aria hesitated, looking back. Ethan was standing there, his hands raised, facing the men. "Ethan-"

"Go!" he shouted. "I'll find you. I promise."

The men fired. A bullet grazed Ethan's arm. He staggered, but kept fighting, throwing a punch at one of the men.

Aria, Lila, and Sister Agnes (who'd appeared from the convent, a small, frail figure in her habit) piled into the car. Lila started the engine, her hands shaking.

As they drove away, Aria looked back. Ethan was on the ground, but he was smiling-really smiling-for the first time in months.

Aria touched the locket, the photo inside warm. "Friends forever, Ethan."

The car swerved. A shadowy figure appeared in the road-a woman in white, her eyes glowing. Lila screamed. The car crashed.