In the depths of a cursed reflection, truth and deception blur into one.

Vivian Sinclair never believed in the supernatural—until the day she moved into Blackthorn Manor, an old estate shrouded in unsettling whispers and forgotten secrets. A long-forgotten mirror hidden within the greenhouse awakens something inside her, something that shouldn’t exist beyond the glass. A shadow of herself stares back, watching, waiting.

At first, the visions are subtle—flickers of movement when no one else is there, a whisper of her name in the dead of night. But as the days pass, the haunting presence becomes undeniable. Her reflection begins to move on its own, revealing memories she never lived, secrets she never uncovered, and a version of herself she doesn’t recognize.

Sebastian Graves, a scholar obsessed with the manor’s dark past, warns her that some mirrors do more than reflect—they remember. And the one in Blackthorn Manor doesn’t just hold history; it holds something alive. Something that wants out.

As the lines between reality and illusion fracture, Vivian realizes she isn't just being haunted—she is being rewritten. The more she resists, the stronger the presence grows, feeding off her fears, her doubts… and her lies.

Because the darkest truths aren’t the ones buried in the past. They’re the ones we tell ourselves.

And in the end, the mirror never lies.

But Vivian might.

The air in Blackthorn Manor was different now. Lighter, though the weight of the past still lingered in the corners, like a ghost reluctant to leave.


Vivian stood in front of the shattered remains of the mirror, its once-imposing frame now nothing more than splinters of wood and fragments of dark glass. The pieces reflected nothing—just empty, jagged edges.


Sebastian hovered beside her, watching her carefully, as if afraid she might disappear along with the mirror. "How do you feel?"


Vivian exhaled slowly. How did she feel? Free? Uncertain? Or something in between?


"I don't know," she admitted, her voice quiet. "Lighter, maybe. But… changed."


Because she was changed. She wasn't the same person who had first stepped into this house, unsure of her own existence. She had faced her truth. She had survived it.


Sebastian nodded, his gaze flicking to the glass shards. "What do we do with this?"


Vivian knelt, picking up a piece. It was cold against her skin, lifeless. Whatever power the mirror once held was gone. Destroyed.


Her grip tightened around the shard. "We burn it."


Sebastian arched a brow. "Glass doesn't burn."


He hesitated before nodding. "Alright."


Together, they gathered the fragments, placing them into an old wooden box. With every piece they collected, the house seemed to exhale, the oppressive weight that had loomed for so long finally beginning to lift.


When the last shard was gone, Vivian turned one final time to the empty space where the mirror had once stood.


A part of her expected to see Elara's reflection staring back.


Sebastian touched her shoulder. "Come on. Let's finish this."


She followed him outside, stepping into the cold night air. The garden was silent, the wind carrying the scent of damp earth.


They dug a hole beneath the oldest tree in the courtyard, its gnarled roots curling like protective fingers over the soil. One by one, they dropped the shards into the earth, letting the past sink into the darkness where it belonged.


Vivian pressed her palm against the fresh soil, whispering a name she had never spoken aloud before.


The wind stirred, a final whisper through the trees.


Sebastian wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "It's over now."


Vivian leaned into him, closing her eyes.


For the first time in a long time, she believed him.


Chapter 24 - Ashes