Chapter 6: The Weight of the Tide

The Ferryman's words echoed in my mind, a constant hum that drowned out the roar of the wind and the crashing waves below. You're part of this. It felt like an accusation, a truth I couldn't escape, even though I wanted nothing more than to ignore it.

I glanced at Mac, whose face had gone pale, the blood draining from his weathered skin. I had never seen him so shaken. The weight of the past had been like a storm cloud hanging over us, but now it was bursting open, raining down all its secrets, and neither of us was prepared.

The Ferryman stepped forward, his figure now fully illuminated by the flickering light from the lighthouse. His face remained hidden beneath the hood, but his presence was suffocating. He embodied everything dark and twisted in Haven's Cove, and I could feel the air grow heavier with every step he took toward us.

"You can't hide from the past, Ellie," the Ferryman said, his voice cold as ice. "The truth is already here, inside you. Your mother tried to outrun it, but it caught up with her. And now, it's your turn."

I took a step back, my pulse racing. The ruby glinted in his hand, a mocking symbol of all the lies and betrayal that had poisoned this town. I had thought it was just a relic, a piece of jewelry tied to my family's history. But it was so much more. It was the key to unlocking the truth—the truth I had been chasing for so long.

"No," I said, my voice shaking. "I'm not part of this. I don't want any part of it."

But even as I said the words, I knew they weren't true. Deep down, I knew I couldn't walk away from the secrets that surrounded me. My mother had spent her life searching for answers, and I had followed in her footsteps, unknowingly walking down the same dark path she had once traveled.

The Ferryman's smile was thin, almost predatory. "It's not about what you want, Ellie. It's about what's already been set in motion. The Circle is too powerful to stop, and the truth is too dangerous to hide."

I looked to Mac, hoping for some kind of reassurance, but his eyes were clouded with regret. He had warned me—warned me that the Circle would stop at nothing to protect their secrets. He had tried to shield me from the truth, but it was too late. The storm had already begun.

"I don't have time for this," I said, trying to steady my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. "You've already killed so many people. What more do you want from me?"

The Ferryman's eyes glinted with malice. "I don't want anything from you, Ellie. I'm here to finish what your family started. The ruby—your mother couldn't do it. She was too weak, too afraid of what the truth would cost. But you…" He let out a low chuckle, like he was savoring the moment. "You'll finish it for her. You'll bring it all to the surface, and you'll expose the Circle for what they are. And in the end, you'll be just like them. A part of the legacy."

The legacy. The word hit me like a slap, and I recoiled. I didn't want to be a part of this twisted history. I didn't want to be a pawn in their game. But deep down, I could feel the pull. The Ferryman was right. There was no escaping this. No turning back.

"I'm not you," I said, my voice a little stronger now. "I'll expose the Circle, but not for you. Not for them."

The Ferryman stepped closer, his gaze never leaving mine. "We'll see about that, won't we?"

Before I could react, he threw something at me—something sharp and glinting in the low light. I barely had time to react as I ducked, but I wasn't fast enough. The object grazed my arm, and I gasped, the pain sharp and immediate. It was a knife, small and precise, the kind a surgeon might use to cut away the lies. But it wasn't meant for cutting skin. It was meant for cutting through the past.

"You'll bleed for the truth," the Ferryman said coldly.

I staggered back, my hand pressing against my arm, but the blood wasn't the problem. The problem was the weight of his words. The truth. It was already in me, buried beneath years of denial, beneath every lie I had told myself to keep going. And now, it was rising to the surface, like water filling a sinking ship.

Mac lunged forward, but the Ferryman was quick, his movements smooth and practiced. He raised the knife again, his eyes glinting with an eerie calm.

"Mac, get back!" I shouted, my voice sharp with panic.

But before Mac could react, the Ferryman turned and disappeared into the fog, vanishing as quickly as he had appeared. The sudden silence left me breathless, the weight of what had just happened pressing on me like a vice.

I looked down at the knife in my hand, my fingers trembling around it. It felt cold, foreign, like it didn't belong to me. It didn't. But in this town, in this storm, nothing belonged to anyone. Not anymore.

"Ellie," Mac's voice was gentle now, a far cry from the gruff tone he had used earlier. "You have to listen to me. There's more you don't know. More than I can explain right now."

I swallowed hard, my mind reeling. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to know the truth anymore. But I knew I had no choice.

"I'm listening," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "But make it quick, Mac. Because whatever you're about to tell me, I need to know it now."

Mac hesitated, his eyes flickering to the lighthouse, to the shadows that seemed to shift with the wind. "Your mother... she didn't just investigate the Circle. She was one of them. She helped start it. And the ruby—it's the key. It was meant to pass down the line, to tie the family to the Circle, to their power."

I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. "My mother—was a part of this? She helped them? How could she... How could she—?"

"Because she had no choice," Mac interrupted, his voice pained. "Your mother was part of the bloodline, Ellie. She was born into it. And so are you."

The words hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over me with a force I couldn't withstand. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All the years of fighting, all the years of trying to uncover the truth, and now I realized it had all been leading me here. To this moment. To this terrible, undeniable truth.

I wasn't just a victim of the Circle. I was a part of it.

And now, there was no escaping the tide.