Thunder rumbled above the manor’s slate roof as lightning flashed, revealing crimson footprints leading across the wide polished marble foyer. Detective Ellis arrived, tightening his raincoat collar against the wind, surveying each ominous stain, calculating motives hidden in silent shadows. A single pearl earring lay beside her lifeless hand, its lustrous orb stained with dewdrops and dark drying glistening blood. Outside, the wind-whipped hedges creaked like warning whispers while distant footsteps echoed, betraying an unseen furtive intruder’s secret midnight investigation. Inside the dimly lit library, a hidden envelope lay wedged under ancient volumes, promising revelations that would shatter this household.