Chapter Thirteen: The Darkest Discovery

Selene's POV

The darkness of the night clung to the walls of the old house as Callista and I continued our search. The once warm and comforting atmosphere had turned cold, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something—or someone—was watching us. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of the curtains, sent a shiver down my spine.

We had found so many pieces of the puzzle, yet the picture they formed was still incomplete. My mind raced with thoughts of Callista's grandmother and the woman she loved, the letters, and the journal that spoke of a dark presence. And now, the cryptic final entry in the journal echoed in my mind: *"He knows. He's coming for us."*

Who was "he"? And what had he done to them?

I turned to Callista, who was examining an old, dust-covered bookcase. Her eyes were focused, determined, but I could see the tension in her posture. She was scared—just as scared as I was. But we had to keep going. We couldn't stop now.

"Callista," I called softly, moving closer to her. "We're missing something. There's got to be more to this."

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and resolve. "I know. But where else can we look? We've searched almost every inch of this house."

I glanced around the room, my eyes scanning the walls, the furniture, the shadows. There had to be something—something we hadn't seen yet.

Then it hit me. The piano.

"The piano," I said aloud, my voice trembling slightly. "We haven't checked the piano."

Callista's eyes widened, and she nodded. Together, we walked over to the grand piano that sat in the center of the room. It was old, its black finish faded and scratched, but it still held a certain elegance. I lifted the heavy lid, revealing the yellowed keys beneath.

As I pressed down on one of the keys, a soft, haunting note filled the room. The sound echoed in the silence, sending a chill down my spine. But nothing else happened.

"There has to be something more," Callista murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

I ran my fingers along the keys, then slowly reached under the piano, feeling around for any hidden compartments. My heart skipped a beat when my fingers brushed against something cold and metallic.

"There's something here," I whispered, my voice trembling with anticipation. "Help me lift this."

Callista and I both grabbed the edges of the piano lid and carefully lifted it up. Beneath the strings, hidden within the piano's inner workings, was a small, ornate box. It was covered in dust, but the intricate designs on its surface were still visible.

"What is this?" Callista asked, her voice hushed as if afraid to break the spell that had settled over us.

I gently pulled the box out and placed it on the piano bench. "Let's find out."

With trembling hands, I opened the box. Inside was a collection of old, fragile papers, their edges yellowed with age. I carefully lifted one out and began to read.

Author's POV

As Selene read the faded words on the page, the room seemed to darken around her. The secrets contained within the box were more sinister than anything she and Callista had imagined.

The papers revealed the existence of a powerful, influential man—Callista's great-grandfather—who had discovered the forbidden love between his daughter and her lover. His fury knew no bounds. Determined to erase the stain on his family's honor, he had used his wealth and connections to have the two women separated and their love buried in the shadows.

But there was something darker, something more malevolent hinted at in the papers—rituals, ancient curses, and the summoning of a dark force to ensure the women's love would never be reunited, even in death. The presence they had felt in the house, the one mentioned in the journal, was the result of those rituals, a curse that had lingered for generations.

"Selene," Callista's voice was shaky, her face pale as she read over my shoulder. "What did he do?"

I shook my head, trying to process the horror of what we had discovered. "He cursed them, Callista. He cursed their love, and now… now it's trying to destroy us too."

Callista's POV

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. My family—my own blood—had done this. My great-grandfather had cursed my grandmother and her lover, and now that curse was reaching out from the past to touch us, to tear us apart.

I felt sick, overwhelmed by a mixture of fear, anger, and sadness. But there was no time to dwell on it. We had to break the curse before it could do any more damage.

"We have to do something," I said, my voice trembling. "We have to stop this."

Selene nodded, her expression grim but resolute. "We will. We'll find a way."

But how? How could we fight something so dark, so ancient? And what would it cost us?

Author's POV

As the chapter draws to a close, Selene and Callista are left with more questions than answers. The dark history they have uncovered has shaken them to their core, but they are determined to fight back, to protect their love from the curse that has haunted their families for generations.