The mansion felt colder that night—colder than it had in days. I stood in the library, my fingers tracing the spines of the books I had searched through for what felt like weeks, trying to piece together the truth of the curse that had haunted the Vancourts for generations. It had been a slow, painful process, but I had finally found it—the answer I'd been searching for.
The curse wasn't just a dark force—it was a binding, a tether that linked the Vancourt family to something ancient and malevolent. The Vancourts had gained their wealth, their power, through blood. Through sacrifices. And the price had always been the same: as long as the Vancourts thrived, the curse would remain in place, spreading its poison to each new generation.
I had always known this family was twisted, but now, the full extent of their evil was clearer than ever. The Vancourts hadn't just inherited this curse—they had fueled it, feeding it with rituals and blood. And that blood would always be paid, one way or another.
But there was a way to break it. A way to sever the family's ties to the curse. To free my children. To free myself.
But it came with a price.
The ritual, I discovered, required a sacrifice. A soul. The Vancourt curse could only be broken if someone powerful enough, someone tied to the family bloodline, willingly gave their life. And that someone, it turned out, was me.
My hands shook as I read the ancient text, the words burned into my mind, each sentence more damning than the last. To sever the curse, to free my children from the hell that the Vancourt family had sentenced them to, I would have to die. My life would have to be given in exchange for their freedom.
I felt like I was suffocating as the gravity of it sank in. Could I really do it? Could I give up my life for them? For my children?
The thought of leaving Kaius and Amari alone—without me—made my heart ache in a way I couldn't explain. But then I thought of the curse, of the toll it had already taken on Kaius. His strange drawings, his unsettling behavior—it was happening. The curse had begun to claim him. And Amari... she was too young to understand the weight of what was happening to us. They were both too young to face the darkness that the Vancourts had brought into our lives.
I wasn't going to let them suffer any longer.
I had spent too much time trying to protect them, trying to fight back against a force that was older and more powerful than anything I could comprehend. But now, I realized, I couldn't protect them by running or hiding. I couldn't protect them by continuing this endless cycle of fear. The only way to save them, to give them a future free from this curse, was to break it once and for all. Even if that meant sacrificing my own life.
It was the hardest decision I had ever made.
I paced the room, the weight of the decision pressing on my chest. I thought about Sage—how he had tried to break the curse, tried to protect us, but had failed. He had been willing to sacrifice himself, but he had been too late. He hadn't known what I knew now.
The ritual had to be done at the heart of the Vancourt estate, in the very place where the curse had begun. The family's bloodline had been tied to the supernatural forces that cursed them for centuries, and to sever that tie, the ritual needed to be performed on the land itself.
But there was another catch.
The ritual didn't just require a life—it required the willing sacrifice of a loved one. The curse wasn't just about a physical offering; it was about a bond. It had to be someone who cared deeply about the ones they were leaving behind. Someone who would feel the weight of the loss, even as they gave their life.
I closed my eyes, my mind reeling.
What if I didn't survive? What if my children were left with nothing, no one to care for them, to guide them? They would be orphans, alone in a world that was already too dark and dangerous.
But then, I thought about the alternative.
The curse would continue. Kaius would suffer. Amari would grow up in the shadow of something that could destroy her. The Vancourts would win.
I couldn't let that happen.
I knew what I had to do.
In the days that followed, I prepared. I gathered everything I needed for the ritual—candles, ancient relics, herbs, symbols—all the tools that would anchor the curse and sever its hold on the family. I knew it wouldn't be easy. It would be a battle—not just with the forces of the curse, but with my own fear, my own doubts.
I had come to the Vancourt estate with one goal in mind: to save my children. But now, as the day of the ritual approached, I realized that my path to saving them was paved with the most impossible of choices.
Would I be able to go through with it? Would I be strong enough to face the curse and take that final step—one that would either bring salvation or cost me everything?
I didn't know. But I knew that I had no choice.
This was my fight.
And I would give everything I had to win it.