Emma sat frozen, the diary open in her lap.
The words burned into her mind.
A pact unfinished is a promise remembered.
Her breath came shallow.
The curse wasn't random. It wasn't a haunting born of anger or death. It was a deal—a transaction made in desperation, sealed on Christmas Eve decades ago.
She read again.
Protection was offered. Survival guaranteed.
But payment was postponed.
The Harper family had begged for safety when winter nearly destroyed them—when sickness, debt, and death loomed. Whatever answered them didn't come with chains or fire.
It came with a promise.
A Christmas surprise.
One life.
Later.
They never paid.
Emma closed the diary slowly.
Her eyes lifted to her father.
He stirred lightly on the couch.
Emma stood and crossed the room quietly. She touched his shoulder. "Dad. Wake up."
He groaned softly. "Emma… what is it?"
"We need to talk. Now."
Something in her voice cut through his exhaustion.
He sat up. "What's wrong?"
"Not here," she whispered. "Come with me."
She led him down the hallway into the small storage room near the stairs—hidden, rarely used. She closed the door gently behind them.
Her father rubbed his face. "Emma, this isn't the time—"
"What happened in this house years ago?" she asked.
He froze.
"I found something," Emma continued. "A diary. It talks about a pact. A promise made on Christmas Eve."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you know anything about it?" she pressed.
He exhaled slowly. "I… I don't know much."
"That's not an answer."
Silence stretched between them.
Then his expression changed.
"There was a tape," he said quietly.
Emma's heart skipped. "A tape?"
"I found it years ago," he said. "Hidden behind the walls in the study. I never listened to it fully. It scared your mother."
Elizabeth.
Emma swallowed. "Where is it?"
His jaw tightened. "Still here."
Minutes later, they stood in the sitting room.
Emma's father woke the adults quietly, motioning them to stay calm. The children remained asleep upstairs.
"What's going on?" Audrey whispered.
"Just listen," Emma said.
Her father inserted the old cassette into the player.
The room held its breath.
Static crackled.
Then a voice emerged.
Low.
Distorted.
Unhuman.
"This message is for the house that asked for mercy."
Emma's blood ran cold.
"You begged for protection. For survival. And it was granted."
Elizabeth covered her mouth.
"But every gift demands return."
The voice grew heavier.
"You were given time."
A pause.
"You were given years."
Lucas whispered, "Oh my God…"
"The promise was never fulfilled."
The lights flickered slightly.
"Christmas remembers."
Emma clenched her fists.
"The first is taken quietly."
Audrey gasped.
"The last will not be."
Static screamed suddenly.
The tape hissed violently.
Emma leaned forward. "Wait—"
The tape stopped.
Silence slammed into the room.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The air felt thick, suffocating.
Elizabeth whispered, "What… was the last part?"
Emma stared at the dead cassette.
Whatever they had promised…
They never finished hearing it.
And now the house would.