Books
Melinda Ayala

The Housekeeper's Covenant

A chilling curse. A gothic manor shrouded in secrets. A housekeeper with a deadly covenant.
Blackwood Manor, a Victorian estate nestled in the eerie quiet of Hollow Creek, is a wedding gift from David Holbrook to his new bride, Claire.  But this isn't a fairytale beginning.  It's a descent into a nightmare.  Whispers of vanished brides and a dark family legacy haunt the manor’s halls, weaving a chilling tapestry of dread around Claire.  The enigmatic housekeeper, Mrs. Hargrove, with her placid demeanor and unsettling pronouncements, seems to orchestrate the growing unease, a keeper of sinister traditions.
Claire’s initial joy transforms into suspicion as unsettling occurrences plague her—flickering lights, unexplained drafts, and the haunting portraits in a hidden room. A blood-etched inscription, “The covenant must be kept,” sets her on a desperate quest to uncover the truth.  As Claire delves deeper, she unearths a horrifying pattern of disappearances, each preceded by the arrival of a new Holbrook bride. The townsfolk, bound by fear and silence, offer cryptic warnings instead of answers, leaving Claire isolated in her terrifying pursuit.
David, her charming husband, dismisses the legends as folklore, but his evasiveness and carefully constructed denials only fuel Claire's suspicions.  Beneath his polished exterior lies a hidden layer of secrets, a potential connection to the manor’s dark past.  Is he protecting his family, or is he complicit in its sinister traditions?
An unlikely ally emerges in Elara, a descendant of a previous Holbrook bride, whose own family history is intertwined with the manor’s chilling legacy. Elara’s knowledge and a hidden journal, penned by a terrified bride, reveal the covenant’s true nature — a pact demanding a sacrifice, a ritual performed within the manor’s walls.
As a storm rages, mirroring the night of the last bride’s disappearance, Mrs. Hargrove’s mask shatters, revealing her chilling role in upholding the covenant.  David’s complicity is confirmed, his actions driven by a twisted sense of familial duty.  Trapped in a web of ancient secrets and deadly traditions, Claire must choose: succumb to the covenant or fight for her survival.  Her choice will determine not only her fate but the fate of Blackwood Manor and the broken souls trapped within its walls.
132 printed pages
Original publication
2024
Publication year
2024
Publisher
PublishDrive
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