Run: 2026-03-12-01KKFQXCVQYS2NGMCRW3DD7E1Z

Rain lashed against the gothic spires of Blackwood Manor, each drop a cold accusation against the ancient stone. Inside the grand library, a body lay sprawled before the fireplace, a pool of crimson expanding slowly. The clock on the mantle struck midnight, its chimes echoing through the silent house like a funeral dirge. Detective Alistair Vance knelt beside the victim, his gloved hand hovering over the frozen expression of eternal surprise. The fire had died to embers, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to mock the stillness of death. A single white feather lay atop the victim's chest, its pristine condition a stark contrast to the violent scene. Vance noted the open window, the torn curtain fluttering in the storm, a deliberate breach in the home's fortress. The housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, stood trembling in the doorway, her whisper cutting through the storm's roar: "He never left." The victim's right hand was clenched tightly around a tarnished silver locket, its chain broken and dangling precariously. Vance's partner, Inspector Reed, entered quietly, his footsteps muffled by the thick Persian rug already stained with the night's events. "The victim is Lord Alistair Blackwood," Reed stated, his voice low. "His own party, and he's the one found dead." The storm intensified, rattling the windowpanes as if trying to shake loose the secrets trapped within the manor's cold walls.