Day 9 began as quietly as any other, but for Travis Montgomery and Michael Cooper Williams, there was no mistaking the heavy air of dread that lingered around them. The haunting had taken on a life of its own, growing stronger with each night. After the terrifying experience of seeing the ghostly woman in their bedroom the previous evening, they decided that a walk around the neighborhood might offer a brief escape—a chance to clear their heads and distance themselves, if only for a little while, from the dark energy of the house.
The early morning sun had yet to fully warm the air, and the neighborhood was still and quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds to break the silence. The couple walked side by side, their hands brushing against each other as they moved down the tree-lined streets. But the oppressive feeling of being watched lingered in the back of their minds, even out here, away from the house.
"This is getting too much, Travis," Michael said softly, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "We need to do something soon. I don't know how many more nights like last night I can take."
Travis nodded, the weight of Michael's words settling on him like a stone. "I know. It's like the more we try to fight it, the stronger it gets. We can't keep living like this."
Just then, Michael's phone rang, the sudden sound breaking the quiet stillness of their walk. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. It was Andy Herrera.
Michael quickly answered the call, his voice tight with anticipation. "Andy, what's going on? Did you find out anything more about the rosary?"
Andy's voice came through the phone, low and serious. "Yeah, I've been doing some digging, and I think I found something. It's not just about the rosary, though. It's about the house, and more importantly, about the Vu family."
Travis leaned closer to the phone, listening intently as Andy continued.
"There's a woman named SinLau Vu. She was the estranged sister of Van Vu, who was connected to the family that owned the house before Linh and Dang. SinLau was deeply religious, always holding onto a rosary—just like the one you guys have been seeing. She had a dark past, though, and things with her family weren't... great."
Michael frowned, feeling a chill run down his spine. "What do you mean?"
Andy paused, choosing her words carefully. "She had a lot of bad blood with Linh and Dang's side of the family. Apparently, she had some sort of falling out with them, and it got bad—really bad. SinLau was obsessed with religion, but not in a healthy way. She became estranged from the rest of the family and started turning to something... darker."
Travis's stomach twisted with unease. "Darker? Like what?"
"She was known for some violent outbursts," Andy continued. "There's a report of her slamming a bathroom door on Van, her brother, during one of their fights. That's the same kind of thing you guys experienced with the door slamming by itself, right?"
Michael's heart raced as the pieces began to fall into place. "Yeah. That happened to us a couple of nights ago. The bathroom door slammed shut, and we had no idea why."
Andy's voice grew even more serious. "It gets worse. SinLau's behavior became so erratic that the family took her to a therapist, hoping to get her help. But instead of getting better, she started spiraling. People said she started talking about dark things, like curses and punishments. She lived in the same house you guys are living in now, and her room was across from where Huy, Anh, and Tuyen Chau slept. You remember seeing the woman looking down at you from the stairs last night? I think that was SinLau."
Travis's breath caught in his throat as Andy's words sank in. The apparition of the woman who had stared down at them, her hollow eyes filled with grief and anger—it had been SinLau. And she was tied to the house in a way they hadn't fully understood until now.
Michael's voice shook as he asked, "Andy, what happened to her? Why is she still here?"
"She died in that house," Andy replied quietly. "She never left. From what I found, it sounds like SinLau's obsession with religion and her dark turn kept her spirit tied to the house. She had unfinished business, especially with her family. And the fact that the rosary keeps showing up? I think it's her trying to communicate—or maybe she's trying to hold onto something from her past."
Travis felt his heart pounding in his chest. Everything was starting to make sense, but the reality of it all was terrifying. "So she's the one haunting us? Why? We're not connected to her family."
Andy's voice softened, but there was still an edge of urgency. "It doesn't matter that you're not connected to the family. The house itself is the connection. SinLau's spirit is bound to it, and now that you've moved in, you're part of the story. She's reaching out to you through the rosary because that's the object she was most tied to in life."
Michael's face had gone pale, his hand gripping Travis's arm. "This is so much worse than we thought. We thought it was just the house, but it's her—SinLau is the one doing all of this."
Travis nodded, his mind racing. "What do we do, Andy? How do we stop her?"
Andy's voice was firm. "You need to confront her, but not in an aggressive way. She's been holding onto her pain for so long, and that's why she's still there. You have to give her a way out, a way to move on. I think you're going to need someone who knows how to handle this—a medium or a priest. This isn't something you can do on your own anymore."
The call ended with Andy promising to reach out to some contacts who might be able to help, but the weight of the situation felt heavier than ever. Travis and Michael stood there, the sun warming their faces, but the cold chill of dread clung to their bones.
They had been living in a house haunted by a spirit with unfinished business, a woman who had lived in darkness and whose grief and rage had seeped into every inch of their home.
The truth is, she was tied to the house, and now, to them.
And she wasn't done yet.
