Chapter 1818

The front door was still open.

Behind Layla, the interior was unusually dark.

He could see the large wooden table.

The chairs.

The fireplace.

And something else.

A second door stood at the far end of the room.

It was made of dark timber.

It had a brass handle.

And a small rectangular window.

The same door they had seen beneath the mountain.

Jude’s breath caught.

Layla followed his gaze.

Then she slowly turned towards the house.

For the first time, her smile became wider than it should have been.

"Jude," she said softly.

"Come inside."

Behind her, the second door opened by itself.

A cold blue light spilled across the floor.

And from somewhere inside the house, a woman’s voice whispered:

"That’s not Layla."

"That’s not Layla."

The whisper came from inside the house.

Jude didn’t move.

Neither did the woman standing before him.

For a moment, the entire village seemed to fall silent. Even the birds in the trees stopped singing. The breeze that had been moving through the gardens disappeared, leaving the leaves motionless.

Layla slowly turned her head towards the open doorway.

"Who said that?"

Nobody answered.

Jude looked past her.

The second door inside the house was still open. Blue light spilled across the wooden floor, stretching towards the entrance like a long, pale river.

Then the whisper came again.

"Jude... don’t let her see you."

This time, he recognised the voice.

It was Layla.

Not the woman standing in front of him.

The real Layla.

"Where are you?" Jude called.

The woman before him suddenly smiled.

"I’m right here."

Jude stepped backwards.

"Everyone, move away from the house."

Susan frowned.

"What is happening?"

"Just do it."

Rose looked between Jude and Layla.

"Why are you speaking like that?"

"Because something is wrong."

Layla tilted her head.

"Jude, you’re frightening everyone."

Her voice was perfectly normal. Her expression was gentle. She looked exactly as she always had.

That was what frightened him most.

Serena moved towards the others.

"Everyone, come here."

Layla’s eyes followed her.

"Serena, please. Don’t make this difficult."

Serena stopped.

"What did you say?"

"I said don’t make this difficult."

A faint smile crossed Layla’s face.

Then she looked at Jude again.

"You’ve been gone for three days. You’ve been wandering around the mountain, frightening yourselves with old stories, and now you’ve returned with a child who appeared out of nowhere."

Her gaze shifted to Sol.

"Perhaps you should all rest."

Sol’s fingers tightened around Jude’s shirt.

"She’s not supposed to be here," he whispered.

Layla heard him.

Her smile disappeared.

"Sol."

The boy lowered his head.

"Come here."

He didn’t move.

"Sol," she repeated.

Her voice had changed slightly.

It was still Layla’s voice, but something beneath it sounded much older.

"Come here."

Jude stepped between them.

"Don’t speak to him."

Layla looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

For a few seconds, she simply stared.

Then she laughed softly.

It was the familiar laugh Jude remembered from their afternoons in the garden.

But it lasted too long.

Much too long.

The sound continued after her lips had stopped moving.

The women behind Jude exchanged frightened glances.

Stella whispered, "What is happening to her?"

Layla suddenly stopped laughing.

She looked at Stella.

"You shouldn’t ask questions you already know the answers to."

Stella went pale.

"What?"

Layla turned away from Jude and walked towards the house.

"Come inside. All of you. Dinner is ready."

She stepped through the doorway.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the blue light vanished.

The second door closed.

The house returned to normal.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Scarlet stepped forward.

"I’m going to say something, and I hope nobody gets offended."

Nobody looked at her.

"That woman is not Layla."

Jude nodded.

"I know."

"But she looks like Layla."

"I know."

"She sounds like Layla."

"I know."

Scarlet glanced at the house.

"Then what exactly are we dealing with?"

Jude looked towards Sol.

The boy was still staring at the doorway.

"I don’t know," Jude answered.

Sol finally spoke.

"She isn’t pretending."

Jude looked down.

"What?"

"She really thinks she’s Layla."

The boy lifted his face.

"That’s why she’s dangerous."

A cold silence settled over the group.

Susan stepped closer.

"Can someone explain what’s happening? We haven’t seen you for three days. Layla returned yesterday morning, and now you’re telling us she isn’t Layla."

Jude looked at the women.

He wanted to tell them everything.

About the cave.

The enormous chamber.

The fourteen doors.

The wooden house beneath the tree.

The woman in the pale dress.

The voice behind the stone.

And the moment Layla’s hand slipped from his.

But before he could speak, a bell rang from inside the shared house.

One slow ring.

Susan turned towards it.

"That’s the dinner bell."

"No," Jude said.

He looked at the house.

"That’s not our bell."

Another ring.

The women began looking towards the doorway.

A third ring.

Then the front door opened wider.

Warm golden light spilled across the path.

A table was visible inside.

Plates were arranged for thirteen people.

Jude counted them.

Thirteen.

But there were twelve wives and himself.

Sol was a child, and there was no place for him.

Yet one chair stood at the far end of the table.

Its back was taller than the others.

A pale cloth had been placed over it.

And on the seat lay a small wooden key.

Jude reached into his pocket.

The key he had found beneath the mountain was still there.

He slowly took it out.

The two keys were identical.

Serena noticed.

"Where did that come from?"

"Inside the mountain."

She stared at the key in his hand.

"Then why is there another one?"

Sol answered.

"Because one opens the house."

He looked towards the chair.

"The other opens what’s inside it."

Jude studied the doorway.

"Which one do we need?"

Sol pointed towards the key in Jude’s hand.

"Neither."

The boy took a small step forward.

"The house opens when everyone remembers."