Run: 2026-02-25-01KJ94XDD7D6HHAE4166XDPW26

The old manor house stood silhouetted against the bruised, twilight sky, its imposing structure concealing dark secrets. Rain began to lash against the tall gothic windows, each drop a mournful whisper through the silent chambers. Inside, a solitary lamp cast long, dancing shadows across the opulent library, illuminating dust motes in the stagnant air. Lord Ashworth’s favorite armchair was overturned near the grand fireplace, its mahogany legs starkly visible against the Persian rug. A faint, metallic tang hung in the air, a sickening aroma suggesting something terrible had occurred within these walls. Detective Miles Corbin, summoned by a frantic butler, stepped cautiously through the heavy oak doors, his gaze sharp and searching. He noted the unnatural stillness pervading the room, a silence far too profound for any typical evening’s quietude. A single, expensive letter opener lay carelessly discarded beside a pool of dark, viscous liquid seeping into the wood. The faint scent of expensive brandy mingled strangely with the sharper, more unsettling odor of spilled and irreversible death. Corbin’s experienced eyes scanned the room, seeking an answer to the unspoken question hanging heavy in the oppressive atmosphere.