THE TWIN SISTER
572 Words
Vivienne Hollow smiled.
It was the kind of smile that belonged on a face untouched by grief.
But her eyes...
They burned with something far older than hatred.
Edward stumbled backward.
"You should still be dead."
Vivienne laughed softly.
"Oh, Edward."
She brushed invisible dust from her black dress.
"I did die."
She looked at Alexa.
"I simply refused to stay that way."
---
Alexa's mind raced.
"Twin..."
She whispered the word before she realized it.
Vivienne smiled wider.
"Clever girl."
She took another step.
"Eleanor and I were born only minutes apart."
"You were twins?"
"Identical."
Vivienne's voice echoed through the abandoned library.
"Our parents couldn't tell us apart."
She laughed.
"Neither could Edward."
Edward closed his eyes.
"I loved Eleanor."
Vivienne's smile disappeared.
"I know."
---
The room trembled.
Books flew from the shelves.
Pages swirled around them like a storm.
Vivienne raised one hand.
The flying pages froze in midair.
"You want to know how the curse began?"
She looked directly at Alexa.
"It began with love."
Her expression darkened.
"And jealousy."
---
The pages began turning by themselves.
Each one showed a memory.
Young Eleanor laughing.
Edward holding her hand.
The three of them walking through the gardens.
Vivienne watching from a distance.
Always smiling.
Always alone.
"I loved him first," Vivienne whispered.
"But he never saw me."
Her voice cracked.
"He only saw my sister."
The pages suddenly caught fire.
One after another.
Ash drifted across the library.
"So I made sure..."
She looked at Edward.
"...if I couldn't have him..."
"...neither could she."
---
"No..."
Edward whispered.
"You didn't..."
Vivienne's silence answered him.
Alexa felt sick.
"You hired those men."
Vivienne clapped slowly.
"Very good."
"But they were fools."
"I only asked them to frighten Eleanor."
Her smile faded.
"They killed her instead."
Tears rolled down her face.
"For one brief moment..."
"I regretted everything."
Her expression changed.
Then she laughed again.
"But regret fades."
"Power doesn't."
---
The lights exploded.
Glass shattered.
The library plunged into darkness.
A cold wind roared through the building.
From somewhere deep inside the shadows...
A woman began singing.
Softly.
A wedding song.
Edward's face drained of color.
"No..."
Vivienne turned toward the darkness.
"She's awake."
The song grew louder.
More sorrowful.
More terrifying.
Then...
A pale hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed Vivienne's wrist.
She screamed.
Not in anger.
In fear.
The darkness pulled harder.
A second hand emerged.
Then another.
Dozens of ghostly hands clawed their way out of the shadows, wrapping around Vivienne's arms, her dress, her hair.
"No!"
She fought wildly.
"You belong to me!" she shrieked.
The singing stopped.
A familiar voice echoed through the library.
Cold.
Broken.
Heartbreaking.
"You stole my life..."
The ghostly bride stepped into the moonlight.
For the first time...
Alexa saw Eleanor's true face.
Not burned.
Not twisted.
Just beautiful...
And filled with endless sadness.
She looked at Alexa.
Then at Damien.
Finally, her eyes settled on Edward.
A single tear slipped down her cheek.
"Tell them..."
Her voice trembled.
"...who betrayed us all."
The floor cracked open beneath Vivienne.
Black smoke poured from the darkness below.
Vivienne laughed despite the terror on her face.
"You still don't understand!"
She looked at Alexa one last time.
"I am not the evil beneath Black Hollow..."
Her smile returned.
"I only opened the door."
A deafening roar erupted from beneath the earth.
Something enormous...
Something ancient...
Began to climb out.
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