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**Chapter 128: The Shadow Beneath**
The wind pressed against the vineyard with increasing urgency, rustling the vines in a way that felt more deliberate than natural. The roots no longer trembled with uncertainty—they pulsed, vibrating as if signaling something beneath them. The siblings stood together, their gazes locked on the earth, waiting for the moment when the unseen would finally show itself.
Elena tightened her grip on the pendant, her pulse matching its erratic rhythm. "It's calling us," she murmured. "But not just to listen—this time, it wants us to act."
Matteo crouched near the soil, pressing his hands into the earth. The hum beneath his fingers had changed—it wasn't fragile or broken anymore. It was growing. Stronger. "There's something buried beneath the vineyard," he said. "Something alive."
Isabella's sharp eyes flickered with determination. "Then we dig," she said firmly. "We've trusted the vineyard to reveal its truth. Now it's time to face whatever's waiting."
Luca scanned the shadows stretching along the horizon, his instincts attuned to every shift in the air. "It's close," he muttered. "I can feel it—like it's watching us."
Carlo remained still, the ornate box held tightly in his grasp. His silence was heavy, purposeful, as though he knew more than he was willing to say. Finally, he spoke. "If you uncover what lies beneath," he said slowly, "you must be ready to accept the past along with it."
Elena turned to Carlo, her breath steady despite the growing tension. "You knew this was coming," she said. It wasn't a question.
Carlo's expression was unreadable. "I knew the vineyard would remember," he admitted. "I just didn't know when."
The siblings exchanged wary glances, Pietro standing apart with his arms crossed tightly. He exhaled sharply. "So that's it?" he said coldly. "We unearth whatever curse is waiting for us and hope it doesn't tear everything apart?"
Elena stepped forward, resolve burning in her eyes. "We don't run from the vineyard," she said firmly. "Not from its past. Not from its future. We stand our ground."
The wind surged suddenly, carrying with it something deeper—a voice, a presence, a memory that was no longer buried. The ground trembled, and as the roots reached upward, something ancient stirred beneath them.
It was time.
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