A few hours later, Adja had slept enough not to faint, but she could hear her heart beating in her ears continuously. If Léon starts annoying me, I'll kill him. She found him at the hotel restaurant after looking for Sylvana in vain: she had indeed disappeared around six in the morning. Léon was savouring his breakfast, watching her with a mocking gaze.

'So, did you sleep badly?'

'You brought Sylvana with you, yesterday night.' she replied.

Léon dropped his croissant on the tablecloth and stared at her wide-eyed. A greasy stain formed under the pastry, hypnotizing Adja.

'She was... in the hotel?'

'She was with me, stop worrying. So, hurry up, okay? We're going back to the investigation, I have better things to do than waiting for you.'

Adja turned away and left without a single glance. She couldn't believe Sylvana had thrown a jealousy tantrum about this douche! She waited for him in the car and turned the radio on as loud as possible. He tried to talk to her several times during the journey, but she ignored him royally. When they were back in front of the Maison Dormeaux, she finally heard his question.

'What did Sylvana tell you, yesterday? Did you perform Ouija?'

'I thought all of this was fake, wasn't it? Spirit box,' she finally replied, not wanting to lie to him. 'We talked for an hour, I guess. She really hates you, you should be careful.'

Adja displayed a satisfied smile when she saw Léon's face decompose. Good, be scared! She ran into the house and announced her visit.

'Sylvana, I'm here! I had to bring Léon again, unfortunately, but don't worry... I won't talk to him that much. I hope you're not angry at me for what happened tomorrow. It felt strange, all that cold but no contact.'

Not enough contact, if I'm honest, she almost added. Sylvana could read her thoughts, but Léon didn't deserve to know she had almost shared intimacy with the young woman. We listened, flabbergasted, standing in the hall.

'It sounds like you're talking to a friend. You're being very familiar!' he blamed her.

Adja sent a dark glance his way and grabbed her K-II. Sylvana was indeed here, but she made the diodes blink without interruption, out of anger or agitation.

'Would you prefer the spirit box?' she guessed.

'Yes,' the K-II responded.

Adja swapped the K-II for the spirit box and waited for a sort of salutation, but after a handful of seconds Sylvana was vociferating in entire room.

'TCHTCHTCHTCHTCH Léon, BE CURSED!!! TCHTCHTCH...'

'Is she talking to me?' Léon exclaimed, clearly more offended than shocked by Sylvana's animosity. 'Does that thing actually work?'

'TCHTCHTCHTCHTCH GET OUT!! TCHTCHTCH IT'S HER INVESTIGATION TCHTCHTCHTCH...'

'We can't hear you!' he mocked her, so angry he looked out of himself, screaming on shaky legs to the spirit box as if it were a very old man's ear. 'I can't hear any of it!'

Sylvana let out a high-pitched scream that forced Léon to cover his ears.

'Shit, she's crazy!' he shouted, teary-eyed. 'I will end up deaf!'

'Don't insult her!' Adja warned him between gritted teeth.

'I don't care! Make her shut up!'

'But how?'

All of a sudden, the ring Léon had found in the grass left his pocket and flew to the other side of the room, before turning back and hitting him right in the cheek. He screamed and cowered on the floor, protecting his face, but the ring kept on striking him ruthlessly.

'Sylvana!' Adja implored. 'Sylvana, stop!'

The ring flew in her direction. Adja raised her hands, waiting for the impact, but the piece of jewellery simply alighted on her left ring finger. Oh, Sylvana... With a heavy heart, Adja pushed on the ring to make it go down her finger. But Léon didn't let her wonder why she had accepted her present without protesting.

'She's actually flirting with you!' he said, appalled. 'She wants me to leave, she talks to you at night, she puts a ring on you, so what's next? What am I supposed to understand?'

'Shut up, Léon, it's complicated enough. You put yourself in this situation by staying here.'

I am supposed to understand something too. Sylvana Dormeaux had a crush on her. There was no other explanation. Adja could not blame her: she had looked silly using her K-II, her face had lit up to the point her subscribers had noticed it. Sylvana would have been oblivious not to deduce anything but reciprocity...

Moreover, if I'm interested... It would be a beautiful story to tell, it wouldn't kill her. She would suffer thinking about Sylvana for a few weeks, and one day everything would disappear. A quarter of a second later, the ghost started screaming in anger again.

'No, Sylvana, you don't get it!' Adja exclaimed.

'You're talking through telepathy, on top of everything!' Léon said, annoyed. 'If it's a technique to make me leave, it's going to work!'

'Okay, Léon, that's not the best mom–'

'Silence!' he interrupted her. 'I came here to investigate, and we still haven't filmed anything! We're not visiting any room, we're just listening to her lose her shit! I'm doing everything I can to stay calm, although I feel awful hearing a ghost yell and hitting me, so listen to me, Sylvana Dormeaux! If you don't shut up, I will prevent Adja from coming back here!'

'What?'

'Physically!'

Léon crossed his arms, and in spite of his coat, Adja could notice thick biceps and muscular hands that could easily put her away. He doesn't look that frightening, but he really could send me home by force... Adja cleared her voice.

'I want to stay here with you, Sylvana, but you need to calm down, as you did yesterday, alright?'

'Tchtchtchtch... yesterday... I left... tchtchtchtch...'

'Uh... I was talking about our dicussions with the Ouija and the K-II, not our evening... When I told you to rest, did you leave? I just thought you didn't want to answer anymore.'

'Tchtchtchtch... can't hear this... tchtchtchtchtch...'

Adja frowned. What did she mean? Maybe Sylvana hated that people gave her orders or treated her like a child who needed to go to bed. She decided not to ask more questions and took her devices out of her bag. At least, Léon would film something interesting..

Not going back to the head of the household's room, they visited the other bedrooms. Adja didn't say anything and let Léon narrate their investigation.

'This room looks very nice, apart from the rotten wood stuffed in the corned. All the wardrobes are locked tight, like in the bedroom Adja already searched. Isn't that right?' he added, turning to Adja with a big smile.

'...'

'Will Sylvana help us open these locks?'

Absolutely nothing happened. Adja felt amused by the whole situation, despite her angry mood. Sylvana was seeking revenge in her own way. After a series of prayers, Léon seemed to understand it was hopeless.

'Adja, ask her to help me.'

'You'll have to manage it yourself, Léon Hunting,' she replied, circling the bedroom.

Something told her it was Sylvana's bedroom, but she still hesitated. Two rooms were more colorful than the others, even if the wallpaper had aged. Adja moved away from Léon and plugged her headphones on the spirit box, in hopes of obtaining some explanations. She didn't have to wait for a reaction, clearer than usual. Sylvana's voice was assured, with a hint of temper.

'Tchtchtchtchtchtch... my bedroom, indeed, with the planks that barred the... tchtchtchtchtch... door.'

Adja focused so she wouldn't have to ask questions aloud. Are there interesting things in the wardrobes?

'Tchtchtch... yes... tchtchtchtch... I will open it when he won't be there anym– tchtchtchtchtch...'

I can't wait to come back to Toulon. I will make my way into this house in the middle of the night, but alone. Léon was making her waste time, even if he had been slightly useful at some point. Without him and his unawareness, she wouldn't have spent the night with Sylvana. It's something, even if nothing weirder has ever happened to me. It was good! she suddenly thought not to anger Sylvana. Good, but weird.

Adja took her second camera and slipped away from the bedroom, letting Léon hit the lock with his bare hands. She entered the second most colorful room. Is it the room of the fifty-year-old woman I saw on the photograph?

'Tchtchtchtchtch... yes... tchtch... Elisa... tchtchtch...'

Adja nodded. Elisa Dormeaux, alright. She promised herself she would narrate these shots when she would be back at the hotel, since her spirit box was not recorded by the camera. I only have a few seconds, Sylvana... Can you open this wardrobe's lock? I'm asking a lot, I know. She placed her hand under the lock so it wouldn't fall loudly on the floor.

'Tchtchtchtch... will come back tonight if I'm strong enough... tchtchtchtch... goodbye.'

Adja felt a twinge of regret. Sylvana was saluting her before sacrificing her conscience for her. I'm sorry, Sylvana. Thank you, once again.

'Tchtchtchtch... the only one who deserves... tchtchtchtchtch... haven't talked to anyone since I died... tchtchtchtch...'

Adja felt tears roll down her cheeks. Sylvana... She didn't know how to thank her besides discovering everything about her story and telling the whole world. I can never love her, never talk to her without a spirit box, never hold her in my arms to give her comfort. This is the only thing I can do. She caught the lock and put it gently on the floor. Sylvana?

'Tchtchtchtch... leaving... tchtchtch...'

'Sylvana?' she whispered. 'Am I in danger?'

'Tchtchtchtch... I'm leaving... tchtchtchtchtch...'

Adja swallowed hard and nodded in silence. She tried to stay with me for a few seconds. There was enough emotion onscreen to add sad music in the editing and double her views, but Adja wanted to keep intact the power of Sylvana's sacrifice. I need to hurry, otherwise she will have done all of this for nothing! She opened the wardrobe and grabbed the photo album and the box that she found inside. I guess they all have boxes. She ignored the piles of clothes, even if they were extremely intriguing. Priorities. She tossed the album and the box in her bag, aware that she would never have enough time to go through them, and replaced the lock on the wardrobe. She had just reached the door when Léon appeared in front of her.