67. No holding back
Maximilian stepped outside first, pushing open the massive double doors and letting the cold morning air cut through the suffocating silence of the mansion.
Chloe and Aiden followed closely, both pale, both shaken — but unwilling to leave Max's side until he told them to.
Kyron came last, clutching the tablet, glancing back at the manor as if expecting the shadows to follow them.
They stopped at the stone steps.
The world outside felt normal.
Birds.
Wind.
Cars in the distance.
But the moment the mansion door shut behind them, Chloe whispered:
"It feels… lighter."
Aiden nodded. "Like something's watching from inside, not here."
Max didn't deny it.
He looked at both of them, took a breath, and finally dropped the truth he had been assembling piece by piece since the silence hit:
"The entity is tied to the mansion. Not us."
Chloe's eyes widened. Aiden stepped in closer.
Kyron swallowed. "Sir… explain."
Max did.
Calmly.
Logically.
Precisely — the way only he could break horror into strategy.
"This thing didn't attack her at the hospital by accident," Max said. "It wanted Eleanor out of the hospital. Away from people. Away from priests. Away from medical interference."
Aiden blinked, shocked. "So by attacking her there—"
"It forced my hand," Max finished. "I had no choice but to move her back here. Back to its ground."
The realization hit the siblings like a punch.
"So it's been tied to this mansion since the beginning," Chloe whispered, her voice trembling. "Since before we were even born…"
Max nodded.
"Since before I was born too."
Aiden frowned. "So it didn't follow Mom?"
"No," Max said darkly. "It's been waiting here. It wants the mansion occupied — by us. By her."
Kyron wiped sweat from his forehead. "Sir, this explains why the activity went dormant for years after your father died. Why your mother's health declined after she moved away. Why everything spiked the moment she returned."
Max continued, voice low:
"It kills outside only when it has to. Like the hospital incident. That was a push. A warning. A reminder."
Chloe covered her mouth. "It wanted her back home."
Max met her eyes.
"And I gave it exactly what it wanted."
---
Aiden stepped closer, stubborn fire in his eyes.
"Then we'll stay. We'll fight with you—"
"No."
Max's answer cut the air cleanly.
Aiden froze.
Chloe shook her head, fear lacing her voice. "Max, don't start that—"
"You two are not staying in that house with me," Max stated, unshakeable. "I will not lose either of you."
Aiden clenched his jaw. "But—"
"No arguments."
Max's voice softened only slightly. "When it fought my father, I was a toddler. And even then… it nearly won. Against him."
Chloe stepped closer, tears threatening. "We can help—"
"You can help by staying alive," Max said.
Silence.
The painful kind.
Kyron cleared his throat carefully. "Sir… there's a place in the city. One of your 5 star hotels — high security, constant staff presence, multiple exits, metal doors. No room for… entities to nest or hide."
Max nodded. "I know the one."
Aiden stared at him. "You want us to hide in a Hotel?"
"I want you safe."
His voice cracked once — then returned to steel.
"That mansion is about to become a battlefield. I can't fight anything while worrying about you both."
Chloe's lips trembled. "We don't want to leave you alone."
Max rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not alone. Kyron's here. And I have one advantage."
Aiden raised a brow. "Which is?"
Max looked back at the mansion.
"It wants me too."
Aiden went silent.
Chloe opened her mouth — closed it — then whispered:
"Okay. Then we'll go."
But her fingers didn't let go of Max's sleeve until he gently pried them off.
---
Kyron moved like a commander mobilizing a small army.
Cars arrived.
Security teams spread out.
Chloe and Aiden packed essentials in minutes.
Max didn't step inside again.
He stood in the driveway, waiting.
Watching the mansion.
Measuring every flicker of air.
When Chloe hugged him, it was tight — desperate — as if she feared it was the last time.
"Call if anything happens," she whispered.
"It won't," Max lied smoothly.
"I'll handle everything before you're back."
Aiden hugged him too, whispering:
"Bro… don't die. Or I'll kill you."
Max allowed a rare, small smile.
"I'm not planning to."
They left in a three-car convoy heading to the restaurant in the city — safe, crowded, brightly lit, with no shadows deep enough for anything supernatural to hide.
Kyron watched the cars disappear before turning to Max.
"They're safe," he said. "At least for now."
"Good."
Max's eyes hardened.
"Because now I can stop holding back."
Kyron hesitated. "Sir… about calling a priest…"
Max exhaled sharply, thinking.
The entity was old.
Older than the house.
Older than his family.
Older than any story Adrian whispered.
They needed help.
Real help.
"Do it," Max said.
No pride in the decision.
Only purpose.
Kyron nodded. "I know someone. Trustworthy. Not a random priest. Someone who's dealt with these shadows."
Max looked at the mansion, jaw firm.
"Call him."
Kyron pulled out his phone.
Max didn't turn around.
He stayed facing the mansion — the place where his father died for him, the place where his mother was attacked, the place where the entity waited now, silent and watching.
Max whispered:
"Round two."
His shadow stretched across the stone steps as the sun dipped behind a cloud, bathing the mansion in cold shade.
And the silence inside the house…
shifted.
Like something had just smiled.
---