Chapter Fifteen: The Interruption

The name burned into the box's lid sent a chill racing down Elena's spine.

Elena Holloway.

It didn't make sense.

This grave—Leon's grave—was centuries old. The fabric, the nameplate, the whispers in the walls—all of it pointed to something buried in the past.

And yet… her name was here.

On a box that had been waiting beneath the earth.

Leon's fingers tightened around the wooden edges. His expression was unreadable, his posture too still.

Elena swallowed. "Leon…"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he moved his thumb over the lock. Testing it.

Elena tensed. The whisper in the walls still echoed in her mind.

"You were never meant to find this."

Leon exhaled slowly. Then, he pressed against the lid.

A click.

A deep, hollow creak.

And just as the lid began to lift—

BANG.

The front door slammed open.

Elena jumped.

The sound ripped through the farmhouse, sharp as a gunshot.

Then—footsteps.

Fast. Heavy.

Charging toward them.

Leon's head snapped up. His eyes darkened.

"Elena—"

The lantern flickered violently.

And then—the storm hit.

The windows burst open, rain lashing through the broken panes like a thousand knives. The wind howled, carrying with it something far worse than the storm—

A voice.

But this time, it wasn't a whisper.

It was a scream.

A woman's.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Elena barely had time to react before the footsteps reached them.

A figure burst into the room—a woman, her coat soaked from the storm, her hair wild, her eyes burning with desperation.

Elena stumbled back.

The woman's gaze locked onto Leon—not in fear, but in fury.

"You," she spat.

Leon didn't flinch. Didn't move.

But his grip on the box tightened.

The woman's chest heaved, her breathing ragged. Then—her eyes flickered to Elena.

"Don't let him open it," she warned.

Her voice shook.

"Whatever is inside… he was never supposed to see it."

Elena's stomach dropped.

The box sat between them.

And suddenly, it felt far more dangerous than before.