Shadows in the Darkness

Celeste Moretti thought she had left her past behind in Florence — her lectures, her family, her carefully built life. But when a letter arrives from the Seychelles, summoning her to La Digue, she can no longer ignore the shadows of her bloodline. Her aunt Marceline, a woman shunned and whispered about, has died. The house she left behind is more than wood and stone; it hums with memories, secrets, and spirits that will not rest. From the moment Celeste steps onto the island, old habits of greeting and gossip stir to life around her. Some villagers welcome her, others watch her with fear, muttering that the blood has returned, that the house has chosen. As dreams of fire and banyan trees blur into waking visions, Celeste discovers the truth hidden in Marceline's book — that the house demands three souls to bind its master. With each death on the island, the whispers grow louder: priest, fisherman… who is next? Torn between protecting her husband and daughters and confronting the legacy left to her, Celeste must decide whether to run from the curse or face it head-on. The island remembers, and blood cannot escape blood. A tale of folklore, family, and the thin line between protection and possession, Shadows in the Darkness is a haunting story of inheritance — and the price of breaking free.