Author name: Hauda.A

Emma spent three days in a beach motel that smelled like salt and regret. Three days of walking the shore. […]

Dr. Morrison arrived at the mansion three days later. Not for a session—Alexander had been going to her office twice

The police took the video. Added it to their evidence. Detective Chen’s expression was unreadable as she watched Isobel’s final

Alexander took the news about the panic room better than Emma expected. Which is to say, he didn’t break down.

The police came three hours later. Not with sirens and handcuffs like Emma had expected, but with detectives and questions

Emma woke to shouting. She bolted upright, heart racing, trying to orient herself. The clock read 3:47 AM. The voices

Isla moved in the next day with two suitcases and a promise to make their lives “uncomfortable but honest.” She

They talked until dawn. Isla told them everything—how she and Isobel had grown up in a chaotic household with an

The police station smelled like burnt coffee and desperation. Emma sat in an interview room that could have been lifted

They got back to the mansion just as the sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of blood and