Velora stood alone in her room.
The silence in the house felt heavier than usual. Like the walls themselves were hiding something.
Her father's words echoed again in her mind.
"You survived something you shouldn't have."
Survived.
That word kept returning.
Across the room, Riven Ash appeared faintly near the window.
Weaker than before.
"You're pushing your memory too hard," he said quietly.
Velora ignored the warning.
"I heard the gunshot," she said.
His expression darkened.
"I remember rain. Sirens. Someone shouting."
Her breathing became uneven.
"And someone called the police."
Riven Ash didn't answer.
That silence told her more than words could.
"You said they ruined everything," Velora continued slowly. "You said they were never supposed to call."
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"Then tell me who did."
For a moment he said nothing.
The room felt colder.
Finally he spoke.
"I wasn't supposed to die that night."
Her heart skipped.
"The police arriving changed everything. They forced everyone to scatter."
Velora stepped closer.
"Then who called them?"
His eyes met hers.
There was hesitation there.
Conflict.
And something darker.
"You're not ready to hear that truth."
"Try me."
The air around them felt tense.
Finally, he said quietly—
"It wasn't your father."
Velora froze.
"What?"
"He didn't betray me."
Her mind struggled to process that.
"But everyone said—"
"Everyone believed what they were told," he interrupted.
Her heartbeat quickened.
"If it wasn't him…" she whispered.
Riven Ash looked toward the hallway.
Toward the direction of her parents' room.
His voice dropped.
"The call came from inside this house."
Velora's chest tightened.
There were only a few people in the house that night.
Her father.
Her mother.
And her.
Slowly… a horrifying realization formed.
"No," she said immediately.
Riven Ash didn't confirm it.
But he didn't deny it either.
And that silence was louder than any answer.
Velora's voice shook.
"She wouldn't."
The ghost's expression hardened.
"You don't know your mother as well as you think."
The hallway floor creaked outside.
Velora turned sharply toward the door.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Her mother's voice came from the other side.
"Velora?"
The room temperature dropped instantly.
Riven Ash disappeared.
Velora stood frozen.
Because for the first time in her life—
she was afraid of opening the door.