Day 10 began with a palpable tension that lingered in the air as Travis Montgomery, Michael Cooper Williams, and Andy Herrera woke up in the old stone house. The oppressive presence of SinLau Vu still clung to them like a shadow, and after the terrifying events of the previous night—the levitating rosary, the chilling presence that refused to leave—there was a heavy sense of unease that none of them could shake.
The kitchen was quieter than usual as they prepared breakfast together. The clinking of silverware and the soft hiss of the coffee machine were the only sounds that broke the stillness. Andy stood by the counter, sipping her coffee, her sharp eyes occasionally glancing toward the hallway, as if expecting something—someone—to appear.
Travis flipped pancakes on the stove while Michael sat at the kitchen table, staring down at his phone, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. None of them could stop thinking about SinLau and the increasing strength of her manifestations.
"We need to talk about last night," Travis said, breaking the silence as he set a plate of pancakes down on the table. "That rosary... it's getting more aggressive. SinLau's not letting go, and I don't know how much longer we can deal with this."
Andy nodded, leaning against the counter, her expression thoughtful. "You're right. I've seen some messed-up stuff in my life, but nothing like this. SinLau's spirit is angry, and it's only getting worse. If we don't find a way to help her move on, I'm afraid things are going to escalate."
Michael sighed, pushing his plate aside, his appetite completely gone. "But how do we help someone like her? We've tried destroying the rosary, throwing it away, everything. It keeps coming back, and she keeps getting stronger."
As they discussed their options, Michael's phone vibrated on the table, the sudden noise making all of them jump slightly. He grabbed it and looked at the screen, seeing that it was Tammy calling.
"Tammy's calling," Michael said, glancing at Travis and Andy. "Maybe she has more information."
He answered the call, his voice filled with cautious hope. "Tammy, hey. What's going on?"
Tammy's voice came through, shaky but filled with urgency. "I need to tell you what I found out. It's about SinLau Vu and her connections to our family. Last night after we talked, I did some more digging, and there's something you need to know."
Michael put the phone on speaker so Travis and Andy could hear as well. "Go on, Tammy. We need all the information we can get."
Tammy took a deep breath before continuing. "I've already told you about SinLau's obsession with the rosary and her darker tendencies, but there's another person involved in all of this—someone who had frequent bad blood with SinLau. Her name is Nhung Nguyen."
Travis frowned, recognizing the name. "Nhung? Who is she?"
"Nhung Nguyen is my aunt," Tammy explained, her voice tense. "She's also Linh and Dang's daughter, which means she's directly tied to the family and the house. She and SinLau hated each other. They had some kind of intense rivalry, but it wasn't just family drama. Nhung always said that SinLau was 'dark,' that she had been corrupted by whatever she was messing with. They never got along, and from what I've heard, Nhung wanted nothing to do with SinLau, especially after she got sick."
Andy's brow furrowed as she listened. "Sick? What happened?"
"SinLau died of sudden cancer," Tammy revealed. "But even before that, she and Nhung had completely cut ties. Nhung didn't care when SinLau passed away. In fact, I think she was relieved. SinLau's darkness—it scared her. It scared all of us."
Michael exchanged a worried look with Travis. "So, what does this mean for us? Why is SinLau haunting the house now? And what's the connection to the rosary?"
Tammy sighed, her voice filled with hesitation. "I don't know everything, but I think Nhung might. She was close to SinLau's affairs when she passed. If anyone knows more about SinLau's dark side or why she's still tied to the house, it's Nhung. You should contact her—she'll have answers."
"Is she... safe to talk to?" Travis asked, his tone wary. "If SinLau was into something dark, I don't want to make things worse."
"Nhung is safe," Tammy reassured them. "She might be shaken up about all of this, but she's not like SinLau. If you reach out to her, she'll know more. But be careful—this whole thing is more twisted than it seems."
After the call ended, the kitchen was filled with an uneasy silence. Travis, Michael, and Andy sat around the table, digesting everything Tammy had said. The revelation that Nhung Nguyen, Linh and Dang's daughter, had a deep, antagonistic relationship with SinLau only added another layer of darkness to an already disturbing story.
"We need to contact Nhung," Andy said, breaking the silence. "She might be our only chance to figure out what's going on here. If she knows more about SinLau's rituals or the rosary, we could use that to help her move on."
Travis nodded, though the unease in his stomach was growing. "I agree. But we have to be careful. If SinLau's spirit knows we're trying to stop her, things might escalate even more. I don't think she's going to let us go that easily."
Michael ran a hand through his hair, his face pale. "This is starting to feel bigger than anything we can handle. First the rosary, then the woman at the top of the stairs, and now this... bad blood with Nhung. It's all connected, and I feel like we're just pieces in a much larger game."
Andy placed a reassuring hand on Michael's shoulder. "We're going to figure this out. We've been through some dark things before, and we've made it through. This is no different. We just need to stay focused and take it one step at a time."
Travis stood up from the table, his mind racing as he paced the kitchen. "Okay, let's contact Nhung and see if she can shed some light on this. But we need to be ready for anything. If SinLau's tied to the rosary and she had a deep connection to the house, there's no telling how far her influence goes."
They spent the next few hours trying to track down Nhung Nguyen's contact information. Tammy had provided them with her aunt's number, and after some hesitation, Michael dialed it, his fingers trembling as he hit the call button.
The phone rang several times before a woman's voice answered, cautious and wary. "Hello? Who's calling?"
"Hi, this is Michael Williams," he began, his voice soft but steady. "I'm calling about SinLau Vu. I was told you might know more about her and what's happening in our house. We're staying in the old stone house, and we've been dealing with... things."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, then a sharp intake of breath. "You're in that house?" Nhung's voice was laced with fear and recognition. "You've been seeing things, haven't you? Feeling things?"
"Yes," Michael admitted. "And we know SinLau is tied to the rosary, but we don't know why she's haunting us. Tammy told us you had a bad relationship with her. We're hoping you can help us understand what's going on."
Nhung's voice wavered. "SinLau... she was always troubled. The things she was into, the darkness that surrounded her... I warned my family, but no one listened. And now it seems like she's come back. But why you? Why now?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Travis said, stepping closer to the phone. "Please, if there's anything you can tell us, anything about her past, her connection to the rosary—it might help us stop this."
There was another long pause before Nhung finally spoke, her voice quiet but filled with a strange sense of regret. "I'll help you. But you need to understand—what SinLau became before she died... it wasn't just her. She was into something far darker than any of us realized. And I'm afraid, if you don't stop her, she'll take more than just the house."
Travis, Michael, and Andy exchanged a glance, their stomachs twisting with dread.
They had known this would be dangerous.
But now, with SinLau's dark past unraveling before them, they realized just how deep her hold on the house—and them—had become.
And the fight to break free had only just begun.
