Run: 2026-05-27-01KSMFBB77EWQANZ57TJMQQ0XE

It was a dark and stormy night at the grand Appleton Mansion. Hobbs, the butler, noticed something amiss in Mrs. Appleton’s study. The door was slightly ajar, but usually it was locked tight. When he entered the room, he saw it: Mrs. Appleton’s lifeless body near the fireplace, a dagger stuck in her heart. The room was eerily silent, except for the ticking clock in the corner. The fire crackled, casting eerie shadows and painting the scene. A crystal decanter and half-filled brandy glass sat on the nearby table. On the floor lay a scattering of photographs, as if disturbed. Pieces of a shattered vase were scattered beneath a large, absent portrait. Around the body, blood splattered in a haphazard puddle. At first glance, it looked like a desperate, flailing struggle. But what else was there? Hobbs, grinding his teeth, forced himself to investigate more. The window to the veranda had been left wide open, letting heavy rain stream in and splash the lace curtains. Clamoring towards him, two more gruesome details emerged from the shadows. The dagger may have killed her, but the body showed a hint of strangulation, relying on Brown’s scars to fill the gaps.