Chapter 1

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:19:51 +0000

The door creaked open, not hurriedly, not with panic, but with the slow groan of rusted hinges that had carried the sound of many nights of storms. Elvira slipped inside, her movements deliberate. She did not look up. She did not glance toward the swaying shadow that hung above, nor to the rope that strained against the ceiling fan with the weight of her mother’s lifeless body.