ight in the center, winding its way up to the second floor like something out of a gothic painting. The banisters were carved with intricate designs, delicate sp

urtains. They draped from the chandelier overhead-an enormous piece with countless crystals that should have sparkled but we

skin. Portraits hung crookedly on the walls-stern faces, cold and lifeless, staring down at me as if they were judging our intrusio

e vast space as he ran his fingers along a dusty table.

walls, the chandeliers, trying to take it all in. The mansion was beautiful in its own way, but it wa

at the ceiling's edge. Some of the webs were so thick they seemed almost intentional, like someone had spun them to trap

in the vast emptiness. There was a chill in the air, deeper than the cold outside, as if the house itself wa

and imposing, his eyes piercing and sharp, though his face held a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes

he stood beside me, staring up at the grand chandelier. "Ca

secrets. Every inch of it seemed to whisper of something long

oor stretched out above us in dark, endless hallways, with closed do

I finally said, my v

w more steps forward. "Come on

back. But Liam was already heading for the staircase, his excitement pulling him forwar

as watching us. Not just the portraits on the walls, but something... else. Something t

nister, running my hand along the carved wood that was slick with dust, trying to ground myself. The air was even co

ors stretched before us, lined with closed doors that seemed to go on forever. The wo

, peering into one of the open doorways. "C

long eaten away by time. An enormous four-poster bed stood in the center, draped with what remained of moth-eaten curtains. The bed i

of it-a rat, a bird, maybe even a ghost. But there was nothing, just the eerie stillness that clung to eve

walked over to the wardrobe and pulled it open wider. It creaked, a long