Chapter Thirty

In the gym, Sonya and Trey endure a surge of paranormal harassment: bells clamor, screens bleed, weights fly, and doors slam. Worried for Cleo upstairs, they fight through resisting doors and cacophony. In Cleo’s room, after a sudden silence, they find her winded and freezing. Cleo describes being levitated as Dobbs’s raven came through the open window; she hurled her labradorite crystal ball, which passed through the bird before it poofed to smoke, leaving foul residue. Trey retrieves the ooze-smeared ball without touching it directly.

As they regroup, Sonya wrestles with what-ifs until she’s visited by a “reflection” of her father, who urges belief. Buoyed, she joins Trey and Owen; Trey then proposes in the kitchen. Sonya accepts, and a warm, hopeful aura spreads through the house, signaling a strengthening of their bond and resolve.

Toward midnight, they finalize roles: Sonya and Owen will enter the mirror to recover rings; Trey and Cleo will protect the house. As the clock strikes, Sonya and Owen pass through on the main staircase. They witness Johanna, radiant on her wedding day; time freezes, Sonya takes Johanna’s ring, and they jump back as Dobbs approaches.

Next, they go to the bedroom for Clover’s childbirth. Sonya gently interacts with an exhausted but aware Clover, takes Clover’s ring with her blessing, and returns. In the ballroom, amid Lisbeth’s joyous reception, Sonya removes Lisbeth’s ring as Dobbs glides in. A second ballroom visit finds Agatha waltzing; despite dizziness, Sonya seizes Agatha’s ring and they lurch back as the house’s chandeliers sway and walls crack.

With hauntings escalating—fires roaring, blood seeping, fog and bells—Cleo and Trey hold the line with protections and sage. For the fifth ring, Sonya and Owen enter Marianne’s childbirth scene, where Marianne recognizes Poole-green eyes. Sonya promises the twins will live well, takes the ring, and returns. Sonya now bears five rings; she and Owen are drained but determined, with two rings yet to claim.