The grandfather clock struck midnight as Detective Sarah Chen entered the Victorian mansion through its heavy oak front door. Blood pooled beneath the chandelier where Marcus Wellington lay motionless, his expensive suit ruined by a single bullet wound. The butler stood frozen near the marble staircase, his white gloves trembling as he clutched a silver serving tray. Chen noticed the study door was ajar, revealing scattered papers and an overturned chair suggesting a violent struggle inside. Mrs. Wellington sat sobbing in the parlor, her pearl necklace catching the light as her shoulders shook with grief. The detective heard footsteps upstairs despite the butler's insistence that all family members were accounted for in the parlor. A champagne flute lay shattered near the victim's hand, its contents mixing with blood on the Persian rug below. Chen pulled on latex gloves and approached the body, noting the peculiar angle of the wound and powder burns. The storm outside intensified, rattling windows and casting eerie shadows across the crime scene as lightning illuminated the room. Someone in this house was a murderer, and Chen would not leave until she discovered who pulled the trigger.