CHAPTER THREE
1254 Words
CHAPTER THREE
Just watching.
The hallway seemed longer than usual.
Darker.
Colder.
For a brief moment, Tania wasn't sure if she was actually looking at Ellen or if the dim lighting was playing tricks on her eyes.
The house had become strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence that made every small sound seem louder than it actually was.
"Tania?"
Farida's voice crackled through the phone.
"You disappeared again."
Tania swallowed.
"Ellen is standing in the hallway."
"So?"
"She's just standing there."
Farida laughed.
"Your sister's favorite hobby."
"I'm serious."
"Tania, you're turning a normal woman into a horror movie."
The words should have made her laugh.
Instead, she felt uneasy.
Because Ellen wasn't moving.
Wasn't blinking.
Wasn't doing anything.
She simply stood there.
Watching.
Then slowly, very slowly, Ellen turned and walked away.
The moment she disappeared around the corner, the tension in Tania's chest loosened.
Farida yawned dramatically.
"I think you've officially lost your mind."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
They talked for another fifteen minutes before ending the call.
Yet sleep refused to come.
Again.
The house felt restless.
As though something invisible wandered through its walls.
Near midnight, Tania finally climbed from bed.
She needed water.
Or fresh air.
Or something.
Anything.
The hallway outside her room was empty.
A soft wind drifted through an open window.
The curtains swayed gently.
Everything appeared normal.
Until she reached the staircase.
A faint light glowed beneath the door leading to her father's study.
Tania frowned.
At this hour?
Curiosity got the better of her.
Quietly, she approached.
Voices drifted through the partially opened door.
Her mother's voice.
And Ellen's.
Tania stopped.
Listening.
"I don't think she suspects anything yet."
Her mother sounded worried.
"She will eventually."
Ellen's voice remained calm.
As always.
"We can't keep hiding it forever."
Silence followed.
Then her mother sighed heavily.
"Every time I look at you, I remember him."
Augustus.
Tania immediately knew they were talking about Ellen's late husband.
"You need to move on, Mom."
The words startled Tania.
Mom?
Ellen rarely called their mother that.
Not anymore.
Not since the funeral.
Their mother laughed bitterly.
"Move on?"
More silence.
Then a sentence that made Tania's blood run cold.
"If only death were that simple."
The room fell silent.
Tania froze.
Death?
What exactly were they talking about?
A floorboard creaked beneath her foot.
Instantly.
The conversation stopped.
Completely.
Tania backed away before anyone could open the door.
Her heart hammered against her chest.
She hurried upstairs and locked herself inside her room.
Something wasn't right.
Something was being hidden.
And whatever it was involved Ellen.
The next morning brought no answers.
Only more questions.
Breakfast was unusually quiet.
Their mother seemed distracted.
Ellen looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
Something invisible.
Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
Her skin looked paler than normal.
Almost translucent beneath the morning sunlight.
Tania stared openly.
"You look terrible."
Their mother frowned.
"Tania."
"What?"
"I'm being honest."
Ellen calmly stirred her tea.
"I didn't sleep."
"Neither did I."
For a moment Ellen's gaze lifted.
Something strange flickered in her eyes.
Recognition.
Almost as if she knew exactly why Tania hadn't slept.
Then it vanished.
By noon, Ellen had left for the office.
Their mother disappeared shortly afterward.
The house finally belonged to Tania.
Or so she thought.
She was halfway through a movie when she heard it.
A sound upstairs.
A thud.
Heavy.
Distinct.
Tania muted the television.
The noise came again.
Thud.
This time louder.
From the third floor.
The abandoned floor.
The locked floor.
A chill ran through her body.
She stood slowly.
Listening.
Silence.
Then another sound.
Dragging.
As though someone was moving furniture across wooden boards.
Tania's heart began pounding.
No.
Impossible.
The third floor had been closed for years.
Nobody used it.
Nobody.
She grabbed her phone.
Instinctively dialing Farida.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Hey."
"Stay on the phone."
Farida laughed.
"What now?"
"Something's upstairs."
The laughter stopped.
"What kind of something?"
"I don't know."
"Tania..."
"I'm serious."
A long pause followed.
Then Farida sighed.
"Fine."
Phone pressed tightly against her ear, Tania climbed the staircase.
Each step creaked beneath her weight.
The higher she went, the colder the air became.
Soon she reached the landing.
A heavy metal gate blocked access to the third floor.
The same gate that had remained locked for years.
Except...
The lock hung open.
Tania froze.
Farida immediately noticed the silence.
"What happened?"
"The gate is open."
"What gate?"
"The third floor."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"You're joking."
"I wish."
Slowly, Tania pushed the gate aside.
The rusty hinges groaned loudly.
Dust filled the air.
The darkness beyond seemed almost alive.
Waiting.
Watching.
She switched on her phone flashlight.
The narrow beam cut through the gloom.
Old furniture sat covered in white sheets.
Family portraits lined the walls.
Broken chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
Everything looked frozen in time.
Abandoned.
Forgotten.
Then her flashlight landed on a door at the end of the corridor.
Half-open.
Tania frowned.
She had never seen that door open before.
Ever.
"Farida."
"Yeah?"
"I found a room."
"Congratulations."
"Stop joking."
"Tania, leave."
"No."
"Seriously."
"No."
Slowly she approached.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
The temperature dropped further.
Cold enough to make her breath visible.
By the time she reached the door, her hands were trembling.
She pushed it open.
The room beyond looked untouched.
A bedroom.
Old.
Elegant.
Dust covered every surface.
Yet one thing stood out immediately.
Photographs.
Dozens of them.
Covering an entire wall.
Tania stepped closer.
Her stomach tightened.
Every photograph featured Ellen.
Childhood pictures.
School photographs.
Birthday celebrations.
Family vacations.
Years of memories.
But something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
She looked closer.
Then her breath caught.
Every photograph ended five years ago.
Not one picture existed after that.
Not one.
Tania frowned.
That made no sense.
Ellen had become famous after inheriting her husband's companies.
There should have been hundreds of photographs.
Awards.
Business events.
Magazine covers.
Corporate gatherings.
Yet none existed here.
It was as though time had stopped.
A strange feeling settled over her.
Then she noticed something on the bedside table.
A leather journal.
Old.
Worn.
Its cover carried a single name.
ELLEN.
Tania's pulse quickened.
Without hesitation, she opened it.
The first pages contained ordinary entries.
Work.
Family.
Business.
Meetings.
Nothing unusual.
Then the writing changed.
The words became shaky.
Uneven.
Afraid.
June 14.
Someone keeps following me.
I don't know who.
I don't know why.
But I keep seeing the same man.
At home.
At work.
Near the cemetery.
The next entry was worse.
June 17.
I think Augustus knew something.
That's why he was scared.
Tania frowned.
Augustus?
What could he possibly know?
She flipped another page.
Her heart stopped.
June 18.
If anything happens to me, it wasn't an accident.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
The air heavier.
Another page.
June 19.
I hear voices at night.
Someone keeps saying my name.
Someone keeps warning me to run.
A cold breeze swept through the room.
The journal slipped from Tania's fingers.
Thud.
The sound echoed loudly.
Then another voice spoke behind her.
Soft.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"You shouldn't be reading that."
Tania froze.
Every muscle in her body locked.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
She turned around.
Ellen stood in the doorway.
Motionless.
Watching.
But this time something was different.
Something was terribly wrong.
For the first time, Tania noticed that Ellen wasn't casting a shadow.
And suddenly, for the first time in her life, she felt genuinely afraid of her sister.
- Writer
