For a moment, all three girls were shocked by what they were seeing, while Claire, staring at the dark figure standing near the window, immediately understood that whatever was happening inside Cindy's house was because of a spirit—one that wanted to torment and kill Cindy's family.
"What's happening here, and why has so much police gathered at Cindy's house?" Lily asked in bewilderment.
"I honestly have no idea. But I hope nothing bad has happened to Cindy's family," Stephnie said softly.
When the three girls reached close to Cindy's house, they saw Cindy and her brother Alex sitting inside an ambulance with minor injuries, while a police car had already left with Olivia toward the headquarters.
"You must be Cindy, the one who wrote us that email?" Claire said as she walked closer to her.
Seeing Claire there, Cindy became overwhelmed and suddenly hugged her tightly, bursting into tears. Watching Cindy like that brought tears to Stephnie's and Lily's eyes as well.
"What happened, Cindy? Why are there so many police cars at your house?" Stephnie asked, gently running her hand over Cindy's head.
Barely a minute had passed since Stephnie asked her question when Lily tapped Stephnie's shoulder and pointed to the side. Stephnie and Claire turned to see the police bringing a body out of Cindy's house.
"Oh my God! Whose dead body is that?" Claire asked Cindy in shock.
"My dad… my dad is no longer in this world. Last night my mom attacked the spirit that had possessed my dad's body, and in the process, she unknowingly took his life. Now the police are arresting her and taking her away. Alex and I… we're both orphans now." Saying this, Cindy began crying loudly, and Alex also became emotional.
Claire had grown up without her father as well, so she understood the pain of losing a parent very deeply. Knowing that Cindy had lost her father created an emotional connection inside Claire, and she asked Cindy to explain everything in detail once the police left.
"You two should go stay with some relatives for a few days, until our department finds a foster home for you and your brother," a lady police officer said as she approached Cindy.
"I can take care of myself and my brother, and this is my mom's distant sister—she's here now, so Alex and I will stay in this house," Cindy replied to the officer.
"Oh! You're Claire, right? The one from that online channel—the one who expels spirits?" the police officer asked, recognizing her.
"Yes, you're right. I'm Claire Allen McPhee, and these are my friends Stephnie and Lily. Together, we run a YouTube channel called 'The Ghost Mentors,'" Claire said, introducing herself and her two friends to the lady officer.
"Well, now that you're here, make sure you look after these two children," the lady police officer said to Claire in a slightly strict tone.
"By the way, officer, are you our fan? Do you want an autograph?" Lily asked excitedly.
But hearing Lily's question, the lady officer made a face and walked back to her team. After nearly half an hour of investigation, all the police officers finally left Cindy's house.
"Cindy, I know something terrible has happened to you, and you're not mentally prepared right now to answer any questions. But if the three of us want to help you, we need answers from you," Stephnie said to Cindy, who was holding Alex's hand and watching the police cars drive away.
"Yes, Stephnie, I will answer all your questions. Come on, let's go inside the house and talk," Cindy said as she walked toward the door, gesturing for the three girls to come in.
Lily went inside the house with Cindy and Alex, but Claire was still standing outside, staring up at the window on the first floor where she had seen the dark silhouette earlier.
"What happened, Claire? Why are you looking up like that? Come on, let's go inside," Stephnie said as she picked up her luggage.
"I saw a dark shadow at that window when we arrived. It was the same window where that figure was standing while the police were taking Olivia into custody," Claire explained, pointing toward the upper-floor window.
"Claire, I can already feel a very strong negative energy outside this house, but still, we need to check the house from inside," Stephnie replied.
Hearing her, both girls went inside, and Stephnie began inspecting the house. She noticed damp patches spreading across the walls of every room, and the house smelled of raw meat. Besides that, all the doors opened and closed with a strange creaking sound. Lily was busy setting up motion cameras in every room to record any paranormal activity happening inside the house, while Claire sat with the children, gathering every detail of what had happened the previous night.
While checking the entire house, Stephnie reached the same room whose window Claire had seen the dark shadow at. The moment she entered, she felt an extremely strong presence of a negative entity. As soon as she sensed it, she quickly took out a cross from her bag, sprinkled holy water on it, and hung it on the wall of that very room.
The instant she did that, the whole house echoed with the sound of footsteps. It felt as if someone had walked out of that room and was now coming down the stairs. The motion cameras Lily had placed on the ground floor suddenly started taking pictures by themselves, yet nothing was visible in the empty hallway.
Hearing the footsteps and the camera clicks, the children and Claire jumped to their feet in shock, and Stephnie hurried downstairs from the upper room. But suddenly, someone pushed Lily forcefully, sending her flying two feet away, and she fell to the floor unconscious.
Seeing this, the children began to panic, and Claire tried her best to calm them down. Stephnie stood frozen, stunned by the sudden attack, and for a moment her mind went completely blank. This was the first time a spirit had behaved in such a way right in front of them—something they had not expected at all.
Seeing Lily injured, Stephnie and Claire ran to her, lifted her up, and took her to the bedroom. They sprinkled water on her face and brought her back to consciousness.
"Where am I? And who pushed me?" Lily asked suddenly, sitting up in shock.
"Lily, you flew backwards on your own, as if thrown by air. No one pushed you. Are you okay?" Claire asked, looking at her with concern.
"Whoever pushed me—it wasn't a human. I could tell by the way that force hit me. Guys! I think we've finally encountered a dangerous spirit, one that doesn't want to cross over to the afterlife. It wants to stay on this earth and harm people," Lily said, fear trembling in her voice.
Everything that had just happened made the three girls realize that Cindy wasn't lying about what her family had been experiencing. That night, Stephnie and Claire cooked dinner for everyone while Lily played with the children. For now, the spirit was either silent… or preparing for something much bigger.
Stephnie set the food on the dining table and called the children and Lily to come over. Everyone sat at the table and bowed their heads for the prayer before eating.
"Cindy, where is Mommy? Isn't she going to eat with us?" Alex asked his sister innocently.
Hearing Alex's question, Cindy instantly fell silent. She didn't know how to answer him. Everyone else in the house was mature enough to understand what was happening and where Olivia had gone. But Alex was still very young. He believed his father was injured, and the police had taken his mother Olivia to the hospital to be with him.
"Alex, eat your food for now. Mommy will come back soon," Claire told him gently.
"Yes, Alex, and when Mommy comes back, you have to tell her how tasty the meal Auntie Stephnie made was. So finish your food, okay?" Lily added softly.
Seeing her little brother's innocence brought tears to Cindy's eyes. But she herself was only fifteen, and she missed her parents terribly. She didn't even know when her mother would return, because according to the police, Olivia was accused of murdering her husband. The neighbors had also testified that last night they heard the couple fighting inside the house.
After dinner, Stephnie arranged beds in the living hall and put the children to sleep.
"Stephnie, what do you think we should do now?" Lily asked.
"I've figured out that the spirit in this house is extremely negative and powerful. But until I find out its name, I can't perform any exorcism here. By the way, Claire, when you talked to Cindy earlier, what exactly did she tell you about last night?" Stephnie asked.
In response, Claire narrated the entire story of the previous night exactly as Cindy had described it.
"So that means the evil spirit in this house isn't just dangerous—it's clever. That's why it used Olivia's hands to kill her own husband, Walter. This trapped Olivia in legal trouble and left her children completely alone. Now the spirit can easily take the children's lives, and afterward Olivia herself will surrender to it. Basically, this spirit achieved 'two goals in one strike,'" Stephnie said, understanding the situation clearly.
"There is one way we can get Cindy's mom out," Lily said suddenly after checking something on her phone.
"And what is that, Lily?" Claire asked, confused.
"You both know my dad is a famous lawyer. So whenever I got time as a kid, I used to read the synopses of his cases. That's how I know a bit of law. And according to the law, if we take someone's life in self-defense, no action is taken against us. To get Cindy's mom out of jail, we just have to prove that whatever she did to Walter was only to protect herself and her children."
"Wow, Lily! I didn't know you had that talent. You actually found the real solution to our problem!" Claire said excitedly after hearing her.
"And how exactly are you going to prove that, Lily?" Stephnie asked, looking at her.
"Do I have to make the entire plan myself? I found the way to solve this problem—now you and Claire figure out how to execute it. I'm going to sleep," Lily said with a yawn and went to lie down next to Cindy.
"Stephnie, the idea Lily gave us is truly wonderful. Now all we need is evidence or a witness to prove that Olivia killed Walter in self-defense," Claire said, taking a deep breath as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart.
"Claire, that's exactly what I was asking. Lily's idea is good, no doubt—but where will we get proof? Even Cindy's neighbors hate her family. I don't think any of them will testify in Olivia's favor," Stephnie replied, disappointed.
"Fine. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the local library and try to find out the history of this house from the past 31 years. Maybe we'll find a clue that can tell us the name of the evil spirit. You and Lily stay with the kids and take care of them, and try talking to the neighbors—see if any of them are willing to testify for Olivia," Claire said, noting down the plan for the next day in her diary.
"Yes, okay," Stephnie replied.
"Stephnie, the spirit is still around us. I can feel it. What if it harms the children while we sleep?" Claire asked, her face clearly filled with worry for the kids.
"Don't worry, Claire! I used my power to create a protective circle around all our beds—no spirit can cross it. So tonight, we can all sleep peacefully," Stephnie said, placing her pillow next to Alex.
After that, they all fell into a deep sleep. At midnight, the spirit appeared on the first floor of the house, and when it tried to move toward the children to harm them, Stephnie's protective circle stopped it. Because of the circle's power, the spirit grew even angrier, but it couldn't do anything and disappeared again. After many days, Cindy and Alex finally slept peacefully inside that house.
The next morning, everyone woke up feeling fresh, and Stephnie quickly started making breakfast for all of them.
"Kids, don't you have to go to school?" Stephnie asked, looking at Cindy and Alex.
"No, our school is under renovation right now, so it's closed for the next five days," Cindy replied while sitting at the dining table.
Just then, Claire and Lily came in after taking their showers.
"Lily, what are you putting on your face?" Cindy asked, seeing her apply something on her cheeks.
"Oh Cindy, this is sunscreen. It keeps my beautiful face always beautiful. You should try it too. After all, you're fifteen—and that's the age when girls usually get their first boyfriend." Lily said playfully, extending the sunscreen toward her.
Cindy blushed a little at that.
"Alright, all of you check for any evidence that can help prove Olivia's innocence. Meanwhile, I'm going to the local library to find out the history of this house," Claire said, heading toward the door.
"Claire, at least have breakfast first," Stephnie tried to stop her, but Claire didn't hear anything in her hurry and left without eating.
"Well, Claire has gone to work, so let's all have breakfast," Stephnie said, starting to serve the food on the dining table.
"Stephnie, did you check the photos the motion camera clicked yesterday when someone pushed me?" Lily suddenly asked. In all the chaos from last night, they had forgotten to check the camera images taken at the moment Lily had been lifted and thrown by an unseen force.
Meanwhile, Claire had already reached the local library to go through the pages of the house's history—completely unaware of what she was about to discover.