Mara woke to the sound of someone breathing.

Slow.

Heavy.

Close.

She opened her eyes.

Darkness surrounded her.

For several seconds, she couldn’t remember where she was.

Then she remembered.

The house.

The locked room.

The black heart.

Nora.

Iris.

Mara suddenly sat up.

“Iris?”

Her voice echoed.

No answer.

Mara looked around.

She was lying on a cold stone floor.

Her clothes were covered with dust.

Her head hurt.

She tried to stand.

Pain shot through her ankle.

She fell back down.

“Iris!”

Nothing.

Mara’s breathing became faster.

She turned on her phone.

The screen was cracked.

The battery showed twelve percent.

There was no signal.

Of course.

She used the flashlight.

The light revealed a narrow stone corridor.

Mara slowly stood.

The corridor stretched in both directions.

There were no doors.

No windows.

Only stone walls.

And something else.

A smell.

Mara covered her nose.

It smelled like wet earth.

And something rotten.

She heard breathing again.

Mara froze.

“Who’s there?”

Silence.

Then—

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

The sound came from the wall beside her.

Mara stepped backward.

“Not again.”

The scratching continued.

Then a tiny voice whispered:

“Mara.”

She stopped breathing.

“Iris?”

No answer.

“Mara.”

The voice came from inside the wall.

Mara walked closer.

“Iris, is that you?”

The wall moved.

Just slightly.

Mara jumped back.

Then a face appeared.

Not through the wall.

Inside it.

A girl’s face.

Pale.

Pressed against the stone.

Mara screamed.

The girl opened her mouth.

“Help me.”

Mara stared.

“Who are you?”

The girl blinked.

“I can’t breathe.”

Mara stepped closer.

“How do I get you out?”

The girl’s eyes became black.

Mara froze.

The girl’s smile grew.

“Open the door.”

Mara stepped backward.

“No.”

The face disappeared.

Mara ran.

She didn’t stop.

The corridor seemed to stretch as she moved.

Her footsteps echoed.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Then she heard something behind her.

Running.

Mara looked back.

Nothing.

She ran faster.

The footsteps came closer.

Mara reached the end of the corridor.

There was a wooden door.

She grabbed the handle.

Locked.

Behind her—

Step.

Step.

Step.

Mara pulled harder.

“Open!”

The footsteps stopped.

Mara slowly turned.

At the far end of the corridor stood a woman.

Evelyn.

Mara couldn’t move.

Evelyn stood completely still.

Her head was tilted to one side.

Her arms hung beside her body.

Her burned face was almost hidden by her black hair.

But her eyes were visible.

Black.

Empty.

Watching.

Mara stepped backward.

Evelyn smiled.

“Mara.”

Mara turned back to the door.

She pulled the handle.

Nothing.

Evelyn took one step forward.

Mara began hitting the door.

“Open!”

Another step.

“Mara.”

Another.

Mara closed her eyes.

“Please.”

A cold hand touched her shoulder.

Mara screamed.

She turned.

Evelyn was standing directly behind her.

Mara couldn’t breathe.

Evelyn leaned closer.

“You broke my heart.”

Mara whispered:

“Where is Iris?”

Evelyn smiled.

“Still asking about her?”

“Where is she?”

“You should be asking about yourself.”

Evelyn’s fingers moved toward Mara’s face.

Mara ducked.

She ran beneath Evelyn’s arm.

The door suddenly opened.

Mara fell through it.

The door slammed behind her.

Mara lay on the floor.

She waited.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, she looked around.

She was in a bedroom.

An old bedroom.

There was a bed.

A wardrobe.

A small table.

And a mirror.

Mara stood.

She recognized the room.

It was her childhood bedroom.

Mara’s breathing stopped.

“No.”

She walked toward the bed.

The sheets were white.

A stuffed rabbit sat on the pillow.

Mara knew it.

She had owned that rabbit.

She remembered sleeping with it.

But she also remembered something else.

She had not seen it since she was nine years old.

Mara picked it up.

Dust covered its face.

A dark stain covered one ear.

Mara dropped it.

The mirror began to shake.

Mara looked up.

Her reflection stood inside it.

But Mara wasn’t moving.

The reflection smiled.

Mara stepped backward.

Her reflection raised its hand.

Behind the reflection stood Iris.

Mara turned.

Nobody.

She looked back.

Iris was still there.

The girl placed her hand against the mirror.

Mara stepped closer.

“Iris.”

The reflection’s mouth moved.

Mara couldn’t hear her.

“What?”

Iris pointed toward the bed.

Mara turned.

The bed was empty.

She looked back.

Iris was gone.

The mirror cracked.

Mara jumped.

A line appeared across the glass.

Then another.

Then another.

Suddenly, the mirror shattered.

Mara covered her face.

Pieces of glass fell across the floor.

When she lowered her hands, someone was standing behind her.

A little girl.

Mara turned.

Iris.

Mara ran toward her.

“Iris!”

She tried to hug her.

Her arms passed through the girl.

Mara froze.

Iris was transparent.

A ghost.

Mara stepped backward.

“No.”

Iris looked at her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I can’t stay.”

“Where are you going?”

“Back.”

“Back where?”

Iris pointed toward the floor.

“Below.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“You have to come with me.”

“I don’t want to.”

Iris’s face became sad.

“You have to.”

“Why?”

“Because you opened the door.”

Mara stared.

“I didn’t open it.”

Iris shook her head.

“Not the locked room.”

Mara felt cold.

“Then what door?”

Iris whispered:

“The first one.”

Mara suddenly remembered.

A memory.

Not from the house.

From before.

She was a baby.

Someone was holding her.

A woman was crying.

Her grandmother.

Eleanor.

And beside her was another baby.

Iris.

But there was something else.

A third crib.

Empty.

Mara stared.

“What is that?”

Iris looked at her.

“The beginning.”

The bedroom door opened.

Mara turned.

The hallway outside was dark.

A child’s laughter echoed from somewhere.

Mara looked back at Iris.

“Where are we?”

Iris whispered:

“Inside your memory.”

Mara stared.

“What?”

“This is the night you were born.”

Mara’s heart began racing.

“No.”

“You need to remember.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You must.”

Iris walked toward the hallway.

Mara followed.

The moment she stepped outside the room, everything changed.

The house became brighter.

Newer.

The walls were clean.

The floors polished.

The portraits were not damaged.

Mara looked around.

It was the house from forty-two years ago.

She was seeing the past.

Mara walked downstairs.

She heard voices.

A woman’s voice.

Her grandmother.

And another woman.

Mara recognized her.

Her mother.

They were arguing.

Mara stopped.

“Why did you bring her here?”

Her mother’s voice shook.

Eleanor answered:

“Because she belongs here.”

“She’s my daughter!”

“And she is mine.”

“You’re insane!”

Eleanor slapped her.

Mara covered her mouth.

Her mother began crying.

“You promised me.”

“I promised the house.”

“I don’t care about the house!”

“You will.”

“You’re going to kill her!”

Eleanor became silent.

Then she whispered:

“Not her.”

Mara froze.

Her mother asked:

“Who then?”

Eleanor looked toward the stairs.

Mara followed her gaze.

A young woman stood there.

Holding a baby.

Iris.

Mara’s mother.

Eleanor.

And a baby.

But where was Mara?

Mara suddenly understood.

She wasn’t watching her own birth.

She was watching Iris’s.

Mara looked at the baby.

Iris.

The little girl who had become her sister.

The house had wanted her.

But someone had interfered.

Mara walked closer.

Her grandmother spoke.

“The house has chosen.”

Her mother shook her head.

“No.”

“It wants the child.”

“Then let it have me.”

Eleanor laughed.

“You don’t understand.”

“What?”

“The house doesn’t want a mother.”

Eleanor looked at the baby.

“It wants a daughter.”

The lights went out.

Mara stepped backward.

A baby’s cry filled the house.

Then—

Another cry.

Mara turned.

There was another baby.

In another room.

A baby with black eyes.

Mara’s heart stopped.

Nora.

Mara walked toward her.

The room was dark.

The baby lay inside a small wooden crib.

She was crying.

Nobody was holding her.

Nobody was caring for her.

Mara stepped closer.

A voice whispered behind her.

“She was never supposed to exist.”

Mara turned.

Iris stood there.

“Who is she?”

“Nora.”

“Why was she created?”

Iris looked toward the baby.

“Because the house needed a replacement.”

“For you?”

Iris nodded.

“But why?”

Iris looked at Mara.

“Because your grandmother tried to cheat the house.”

Mara remembered.

Eleanor’s words.

The sacrifice.

The promise.

The house.

Mara whispered:

“What did she do?”

Iris answered:

“She gave the house me.”

Mara stared.

“But you were only a baby.”

“Yes.”

“And I was…”

“You were born later.”

Mara looked at Nora.

“Then why does she look like me?”

Iris didn’t answer.

Mara stepped closer.

Nora stopped crying.

Her black eyes opened.

She looked directly at Mara.

The baby smiled.

Mara stepped backward.

Nora spoke.

Not like a baby.

Like an adult.

“Because I was made from you.”

Mara screamed.

The memory shattered.

She fell to the floor.

Darkness surrounded her.

Then she heard a heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Mara opened her eyes.

She was back in the basement.

Iris was beside her.

Mara sat up.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Iris looked at her.

“Because you need to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“The house.”

Mara stood.

“Tell me everything.”

Iris looked toward the walls.

“The house was built over something.”

“What?”

“A grave.”

“Whose grave?”

Iris shook her head.

“We don’t know.”

“Then how did Evelyn become part of it?”

“She wasn’t the first.”

Mara stared.

“What?”

Iris walked toward the wall.

She placed her hand against it.

The stone moved.

A hidden door appeared.

Mara stared.

Iris opened it.

Inside was a small room.

The walls were covered with symbols.

In the center was a stone table.

And on it—

A book.

Mara walked closer.

“What is that?”

“The first book.”

“Whose?”

“The first woman who made the bargain.”

Mara picked it up.

The cover was made of something that felt like skin.

Mara almost dropped it.

She opened the first page.

A name was written.

EVELYN VOSS.

Mara looked at Iris.

“I thought Evelyn was the beginning.”

“She was.”

“Then why did you say she wasn’t the first?”

Iris looked at the book.

“Because there was someone before her.”

Mara turned the page.

There was a drawing.

A woman.

Standing in front of the house.

Beside her was a little girl.

Mara recognized the girl.

It was Evelyn.

Mara stared.

“Who is the woman?”

Iris whispered:

“Her mother.”

Mara turned the page.

The next drawing showed Evelyn as a child.

Then another.

Then another.

The final drawing showed Evelyn as an old woman.

Her mother stood behind her.

Mara looked closer.

The woman behind Evelyn had black eyes.

Mara closed the book.

“Who was she?”

Iris shook her head.

“Nobody knows.”

Mara opened the book again.

A sentence was written beneath the drawing.

THE HOUSE DOES NOT CREATE MONSTERS.

IT FINDS THEM.

Mara felt cold.

Another sentence appeared.

EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A FIRST SACRIFICE.

Mara turned the page.

The next page was empty.

Then words slowly appeared.

Not written in ink.

They appeared as if burned into the paper.

MARA VOSS.

Mara dropped the book.

“No.”

Iris looked at her.

The book opened by itself.

Another sentence appeared.

THE LAST DAUGHTER.

Mara backed away.

“No.”

The book continued.

THE LAST DOOR.

Then—

THE LAST SACRIFICE.

Mara screamed.

She kicked the book away.

It landed on the floor.

Iris stared at it.

“You’re the last one.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“There are no other Voss girls.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does.”

Mara looked at her.

“What happens if I die?”

Iris didn’t answer.

“Iris.”

The little girl looked away.

“What happens?”

“The house sleeps.”

Mara understood.

“If I die, the house goes back to sleep.”

Iris nodded.

“And Nora?”

Iris whispered:

“She becomes the new keeper.”

Mara’s blood turned cold.

“Keeper of what?”

“The house.”

Mara stared at the dark walls.

The house breathed.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Mara whispered:

“So Nora wants me dead.”

“Yes.”

“And Evelyn?”

“She wants you alive.”

Mara frowned.

“Why?”

Iris looked at her.

“Because Evelyn wants your body.”

Mara stepped backward.

“What?”

“She can’t leave the house.”

“Why?”

“Because she is part of it.”

Mara looked at the walls.

“She wants to use me to escape.”

Iris nodded.

Mara suddenly understood.

Nora wanted her body.

Evelyn wanted her body.

The house wanted her death.

Everyone wanted something from her.

Everyone except Iris.

Mara looked at her.

“What do you want?”

Iris smiled.

“I want you to leave.”

“With you.”

Iris shook her head.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m already dead.”

Mara’s eyes filled with tears.

“Then I’ll bring you with me.”

Iris smiled sadly.

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m part of the house.”

Mara shook her head.

“No.”

“I’ve been here too long.”

“There’s always a way.”

Iris looked at her.

“Is there?”

Mara didn’t answer.

Then something hit the wall.

BOOM.

Both girls turned.

Another hit.

BOOM.

The stone wall cracked.

Iris’s face changed.

“She’s coming.”

Mara looked around.

“Who?”

“Evelyn.”

“Then we run.”

“There’s nowhere to run.”

“Then we fight.”

Iris stared at Mara.

“With what?”

Mara looked at the book.

She picked it up.

“With this.”

Iris shook her head.

“That book belongs to the house.”

“Maybe it tells us how to destroy it.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody has ever destroyed the house.”

Mara opened the book.

“Then I’ll be the first.”

The wall exploded.

Evelyn crawled through the opening.

Mara screamed.

Iris grabbed her.

“Run!”

They ran through the hidden door.

The corridor behind them began collapsing.

Mara looked back.

Evelyn was crawling after them.

Her arms stretched across the floor.

Her fingers reached for Mara.

Mara ran faster.

They reached a staircase.

Mara climbed.

One step.

Two.

Three.

The stairs began moving.

Mara screamed.

The staircase was changing.

The house was trying to separate them.

“Iris!”

“I’m here!”

Mara reached for her.

Their hands touched.

Then something grabbed Iris.

Iris screamed.

Mara turned.

Evelyn had her.

“No!”

Mara grabbed Iris’s arm.

Evelyn pulled the other way.

Mara screamed.

“LET HER GO!”

Evelyn laughed.

“She belongs to me.”

“NO!”

Mara pulled harder.

Iris cried.

“Mara!”

“Hold on!”

Evelyn opened her mouth.

A terrible scream exploded from it.

Mara flew backward.

Iris disappeared.

“Iris!”

Mara hit the wall.

She tried to stand.

Evelyn was gone.

Iris was gone.

Mara was alone.

Then she heard something.

A child laughing.

Nora.

Mara looked up.

Nora stood at the top of the stairs.

She smiled.

“Your sister is gone.”

Mara stared.

“Where is she?”

Nora shrugged.

“Back where she belongs.”

Mara stood.

“I’ll find her.”

“You won’t.”

“I will.”

Nora smiled.

“Then come.”

She turned.

Mara followed.

They walked through the house.

Nora led her down a hallway Mara had never seen.

The walls were covered with children’s drawings.

Mara stopped.

Every drawing showed the same thing.

A little girl standing beside a door.

Mara looked closer.

The little girl was Nora.

The door was black.

And behind the door was a woman.

Evelyn.

Mara understood.

“Nora.”

The girl stopped.

“What?”

“Why do you hate me?”

Nora turned.

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you trying to kill me?”

“I’m not.”

Mara stared.

“You just said you wanted my body.”

“I do.”

“Then you want me dead.”

Nora shook her head.

“I want you gone.”

“What’s the difference?”

Nora smiled.

“You don’t have to die.”

Mara felt cold.

“What do you mean?”

Nora stepped closer.

“I can put you somewhere else.”

“Where?”

Nora pointed toward the black door.

“Inside.”

Mara stared.

“Inside what?”

“The walls.”

Mara backed away.

“No.”

Nora smiled.

“You’ll live forever.”

“No!”

“You’ll never grow old.”

“Stop!”

“You’ll never be alone.”

Mara screamed:

“NO!”

The house shook.

Nora’s smile disappeared.

“Then die.”

Mara ran.

She didn’t know where she was going.

She only knew she had to escape.

She reached a door.

She opened it.

Inside was darkness.

Mara stepped through.

The door closed.

She turned.

There was no handle.

No exit.

She was trapped.

Then she heard a voice.

Iris.

“Mara.”

Mara spun around.

“Iris?”

The darkness moved.

Iris appeared.

She was crying.

Mara ran toward her.

“I found you!”

But Iris stepped backward.

Mara stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Iris whispered:

“You’re too late.”

“Too late for what?”

Iris looked behind Mara.

Mara turned.

Nora stood there.

And beside her—

Evelyn.

Mara’s blood turned cold.

Evelyn placed one hand on Nora’s shoulder.

Nora smiled.

Mara looked at Iris.

“What’s happening?”

Iris whispered:

“They made a deal.”

Mara stared.

“What deal?”

Iris looked at Nora.

“Nora will take your body.”

Mara stepped backward.

“And Evelyn?”

Iris whispered:

“Evelyn will take hers.”

Mara didn’t understand.

“Whose?”

Iris looked at herself.

Mara’s eyes widened.

“No.”

Iris nodded.

“Evelyn wants my soul.”

Mara screamed.

“No!”

Evelyn smiled.

“She has been mine for forty-two years.”

Mara looked at Iris.

“I won’t let her.”

Iris began crying.

“You can’t stop her.”

Mara looked around.

The room had no doors.

No windows.

Nothing.

Then Mara remembered the book.

The first book.

She still had it.

Mara opened it.

The pages turned by themselves.

One page stopped.

A sentence appeared.

THE HOUSE CAN ONLY BE DESTROYED BY THE GIRL WHO OPENS THE FIRST DOOR.

Mara stared.

She whispered:

“Me.”

Evelyn’s smile disappeared.

Mara looked at her.

“I opened the first door.”

Evelyn stepped backward.

Mara understood.

The house had been waiting for her.

Not because she was the last Voss.

Because she was the one who had opened the door forty-two years ago.

Mara looked at Iris.

“I can end this.”

Iris shook her head.

“How?”

Mara looked at the black door.

“The heart.”

Evelyn screamed:

“NO!”

Mara ran toward it.

Evelyn attacked.

Mara ducked.

Nora grabbed her.

Mara fought.

Iris screamed.

“RUN!”

Mara pulled free.

She reached the door.

She opened it.

Behind it was the heart.

The black heart.

It was beating faster now.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Mara reached for it.

Evelyn grabbed her.

Mara screamed.

“LET ME GO!”

Evelyn whispered:

“If you destroy it, Iris dies.”

Mara froze.

Evelyn smiled.

“Choose.”

Mara looked at Iris.

Iris was crying.

Mara looked at the heart.

Then at Evelyn.

Then at Nora.

She realized the truth.

There was no way to save everyone.

Someone had to die.

Someone had to stay.

Someone had to become the next monster.

Mara closed her eyes.

Then she smiled.

Evelyn frowned.

“Why are you smiling?”

Mara whispered:

“Because you made one mistake.”

Evelyn stared.

Mara looked at Iris.

“You thought I would choose.”

The heart stopped beating.

Silence.

Mara whispered:

“I won’t.”

The heart cracked.

Evelyn screamed.

The house began collapsing.

Nora screamed.

Iris screamed.

The walls exploded.

Mara grabbed Iris.

“RUN!”

They ran.

Behind them, the house was dying.

The floor collapsed.

The ceiling fell.

The walls cracked.

Mara and Iris climbed toward the surface.

Then a hand grabbed Mara’s ankle.

She screamed.

Nora.

The little girl was hanging from the darkness below.

“Don’t leave me!”

Mara looked down.

Nora was crying.

For the first time, she looked like a real child.

Not a monster.

Not a demon.

Just a lonely little girl.

Mara reached for her.

Iris screamed:

“Mara, NO!”

Mara grabbed Nora’s hand.

The house shook violently.

Evelyn appeared behind Nora.

Her hands wrapped around the girl’s body.

Nora screamed.

“HELP ME!”

Mara pulled.

Evelyn pulled harder.

Mara screamed.

“LET HER GO!”

Evelyn laughed.

“She belongs to me.”

Mara looked at Nora.

Then at Iris.

Then at Evelyn.

Mara made her choice.

She pulled Nora free.

Evelyn screamed.

The house collapsed.

Mara, Iris, and Nora fell into darkness.

Mara woke on the grass.

Morning light filled the sky.

The house was burning.

Mara coughed.

She looked beside her.

Iris was there.

Alive.

Mara smiled.

“I did it.”

Iris stared at her.

“No.”

Mara’s smile disappeared.

“What?”

Iris looked behind her.

Mara turned.

Nora stood there.

She was holding something.

A small black object.

Mara recognized it.

The heart.

It was still beating.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Nora smiled.

“You broke the house.”

Mara stared.

“Then why is the heart still alive?”

Nora’s eyes turned black.

“Because the house wasn’t the prison.”

Mara felt cold.

“Then what was?”

Nora pointed toward Mara.

“You.”

Mara couldn’t breathe.

Iris screamed:

“RUN!”

Mara turned.

But it was too late.

Nora disappeared.

A black shadow entered Mara’s chest.

Mara screamed.

The world went dark.

The last thing she heard was Iris crying.

And then—

A heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Mara opened her eyes.

She was standing inside a room.

A locked room.

The door was closed.

Someone was knocking from the other side.

Three times.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Mara stepped toward it.

A child’s voice whispered:

“Mara.”

She froze.

The voice continued.

“Open the door.”

Mara looked down.

Her hands were covered in blood.

She slowly raised her eyes toward the mirror.

Her reflection was no longer hers.

It was Nora.

And behind the reflection stood Evelyn.

Both were smiling.

Then Mara heard Iris screaming from somewhere deep inside the walls.

“MARA!”

Mara ran toward the door.

She pulled the handle.

Locked.

She screamed.

“Iris!”

Silence.

Then a voice came from behind her.

Her own voice.

But it wasn’t her.

“She’s gone.”

Mara turned.

Her reflection stepped out of the mirror.

Nora was standing in the room.

Mara backed away.

“No.”

Nora smiled.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“What did you do?”

“I saved you.”

“You took my body.”

“No.”

Nora stepped closer.

“I took your place.”

Mara stared.

“What?”

Nora touched her face.

“You are still alive.”

Mara looked at her hands.

Then at the door.

“Where am I?”

Nora smiled.

“Inside.”

“Inside what?”

Nora pointed toward the walls.

Mara heard breathing.

Hundreds of voices.

Thousands.

The entire house was alive again.

Nora whispered:

“Inside the house.”

Mara screamed.

She ran toward the door.

Nora didn’t stop her.

Mara pulled it open.

She stepped outside.

And froze.

She was standing in front of the Hollow House.

But it wasn’t burning anymore.

It was new.

Perfect.

Alive.

The front door opened.

A little girl stood inside.

Iris.

Mara ran toward her.

“Iris!”

Iris looked at Mara.

But she didn’t recognize her.

Mara stopped.

“Iris?”

The little girl smiled.

“Who are you?”

Mara couldn’t speak.

Behind Iris stood Evelyn.

And beside Evelyn stood Nora.

All three smiled.

Then the house whispered:

“Welcome home.”

Mara turned to run.

The front door slammed shut.

The windows disappeared.

The walls closed around her.

And for the first time in forty-two years—

The house was fully awake.

Somewhere beneath the floor, hundreds of girls began whispering.

Somewhere behind the walls, Iris began screaming.

And somewhere inside Mara’s own mind—

Nora opened her eyes.

The last thing Mara heard was a voice whispering:

“Now we are sisters.”

Then the darkness swallowed her whole.