# **Chapter 13: One More**
377 Words
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Three weeks passed.
Evelyn didn’t return to the house.
She rented a small apartment across town. Nothing special. But it had light. Space. Peace.
Lila started to smile again.
She played. Laughed. Drew pictures of flowers instead of ghosts.
For the first time in years, Evelyn felt hope.
But the past doesn’t vanish.
Especially not when it’s tied to a house that **remembers everything**.
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One morning, a letter arrived in the mail.
No return address.
No stamp.
Just her name, written in childish handwriting.
**Evelyn.**
She opened it slowly, her fingers already trembling.
Inside was a crayon drawing.
Red and black.
A girl.
A house.
A tall shadow standing in the doorway.
And three words:
> **“One more secret.”**
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Evelyn felt the chill return to her spine.
She turned to Lila, who was quietly drawing in the corner.
“Did you see anyone at the door?”
Lila shook her head. “No. But I heard a knock.”
Evelyn’s voice was barely a whisper. “How many knocks?”
Lila looked up at her.
> “Three.”
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That night, Evelyn couldn’t sleep.
The wind howled outside.
And the shadows seemed longer than they should be.
She lit a candle and sat at the kitchen table, the drawing on the counter beside her.
*One more secret?*
What did that mean?
She’d already confessed everything.
Or had she?
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Suddenly, the candle flickered.
And the temperature dropped.
Not a little.
**Freezing.**
Evelyn’s breath fogged the air.
Then she heard it.
From the corner of the room.
A whisper.
> “You’re not done.”
She turned — but nothing was there.
Only Lila’s crayon box… tipped over.
All the red crayons missing.
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Evelyn went to check on her daughter.
She wasn’t in bed.
The blanket was crumpled. The window slightly open.
Then she saw it.
A trail of red crayon marks across the floor.
Leading to the closet.
She opened it with a trembling hand.
Lila was there — standing inside, eyes wide, body stiff.
“Lila?” she whispered.
Her daughter slowly looked up at her and spoke in a voice that wasn’t her own:
> “The Hollow Man says it’s **your turn**.”
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- Writer
