Run: 2026-10-27-01M5YEAA108MSC0ZFYC40CDER6

Rain battered windows when the first scream split Blackthorn Manor. Detective Mara Vale found the host sprawled beneath his portrait. His blood darkened the carpet, but his expression seemed amused. An antique dagger protruded from the center of his chest. Beside him lay a chess piece and a broken watch. The watch had stopped precisely at eleven minutes past nine. Yet the grandfather clock was still striking the eighth hour. Four guests gathered behind Mara, each wearing the same expression. Fear, she thought, could disguise almost anything except guilty pleasure. Then the dead man’s portrait swung open, revealing a staircase. Somewhere below, footsteps began climbing toward the room of witnesses.