Run: 2026-07-09-01KX40FFW98Y9AT6C560EG0TZM

Rain worried the tall windows of Blackthorn Hall before midnight. Inside, twelve guests listened as thunder swallowed the distant clocks. Lady Vale smiled, then collapsed silently beside the unfinished chessboard. Her champagne glass rolled, spilling bubbles across the crimson carpet. Nobody moved until Doctor Finch knelt and touched her wrist. His expression hardened beneath the chandelier's faint flickering yellow light. Then the butler discovered the library door standing wide open. Fresh mud marked a path toward Lord Vale's locked study. On the desk, a silver key gleamed beside blood drops. Inspector Mara arrived smiling, although nobody had summoned her tonight. She closed the study door and counted every frightened face. Outside, rain erased footprints, while something scratched beneath the floorboards.