Run: 2026-03-18-01KM0ANBCNJPZ2EF1DK5A1YV12

Rain stitched the manor windows shut, while Inspector Vale climbed the marble steps, already sensing the house was holding breath. Inside, candles trembled over portraits, and Lady Merritt’s guests clustered silently, each avoiding the still figure beside the grand piano. The dead man wore a silver cufflink shaped like a raven, and his open eyes reflected a clock stopped at midnight. Vale knelt, noting the bloodless wound, the missing weapon, and the faint scent of lavender drifting from somewhere upstairs. No one spoke until the butler whispered that every door had been locked from within, moments before the scream. Vale looked around the room, studying trembling hands, composed faces, and one empty champagne glass with a lipstick mark.