Chapter 2: Tension Builds

For a moment, no one moved.

Vivienne Ashworth sat slumped in her wheelchair, skeletal fingers draped over the armrests. She looked impossibly old, as if she’d crumble into dust at the slightest gust of wind. But her eyes—those pale, piercing eyes—moved over the group with disconcerting sharpness, as if she could see straight into their thoughts.

“You’ve been brought here,” she said, her voice trembling but deliberate, “because the past always finds a way to surface. Even when we bury it, deep as we dare.”

Elliot’s stomach twisted. He was good at spotting performance—an occupational hazard of chasing down stories for years—but there was something about Vivienne that didn’t feel staged. It felt raw. Real.

Before anyone could respond, she motioned toward the butler, who handed her a small black box. Vivienne opened it, revealing seven folded pieces of paper.

“One for each of you,” she said, her voice rasping like dry leaves. “Your past follows you here.”

She extended a trembling hand, holding the box out toward the group. No one moved to take the papers at first, until the impatient man in the tailored coat stepped forward.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered, snatching his paper. “What is this, some sort of game?”

“Take yours,” Vivienne whispered, her eyes narrowing. “You’ll understand.”

Elliot hesitated, then reached for one of the slips. The paper felt coarse under his fingers, almost brittle. He unfolded it carefully and read the words inside:

The weight of what you didn’t see will destroy you.

His heart thudded in his chest. He glanced around at the others. No one spoke, but their faces had shifted, their expressions tight with unease. Whatever was written on those papers, it was affecting all of them.

“What the hell is this?” the impatient man barked, crumpling his note. “You drag us all the way out here for… cryptic riddles?”

“It isn’t a riddle,” Vivienne said softly. Her eyes flicked toward Elliot. “It’s a reminder.”

Before anyone could press her further, her body lurched forward. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as her head lolled to the side.

“Vivienne?” the butler said, rushing to her side.

She didn’t respond. Her frail frame sagged in the wheelchair, and Elliot saw her fingers tremble before going completely still.

“Is she…?” the woman with dark eyes whispered.

“She’s unconscious,” the butler replied curtly, though his face betrayed a flicker of uncertainty. “Please, everyone, remain calm. I’ll summon the doctor immediately.”

The butler pushed her out of the room, leaving the seven strangers alone.

The silence that followed was oppressive.

Elliot looked around the table, taking in the faces of the others. The woman with dark eyes was staring down at her paper, her lips pressed into a tight line. The tailored-coat man stood with his arms crossed, glaring at the door Vivienne had disappeared through.

Finally, someone broke the silence. “Does anyone actually know why we’re here?” The speaker was a petite woman with auburn curls and a nervous edge to her voice. “I mean, besides all this cryptic… stuff.”

“We’re all here for different reasons,” the impatient man said, his tone sharp. “That much is obvious.”

“And yet, we all got the same invitation,” Elliot pointed out. “So maybe our reasons aren’t as different as they seem.”

The man smirked. “What are you, a detective?”

“I’m a journalist,” Elliot said evenly.

“That explains the cynicism.”

Elliot ignored him. He was more focused on the growing knot in his chest. Something about this place—the damp air, the darkened hallways visible beyond the dining room—it felt heavy, suffocating.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that coming here was a mistake.

That night, the storm rolled in.

The wind howled against the walls of Wintercroft Hall, and rain lashed against the windows like an angry drumbeat. Elliot sat in the guest room he’d been assigned, staring at the note Vivienne had given him. The weight of what you didn’t see will destroy you.

He had no idea what it meant. Or maybe he did, but his mind was refusing to go there.

The past was something he didn’t touch—not since what happened to his brother.

A sudden sound snapped him out of his thoughts. Footsteps, faint but distinct, in the hallway outside his door.

He froze, listening.

The footsteps stopped, then resumed, closer this time. A shadow passed under the crack in the door.

“Hello?” he called out, his voice hoarse.

No answer.

The doorknob rattled.

Elliot jumped to his feet, his heart pounding. He grabbed the closest thing he could find—a heavy brass candlestick—and moved toward the door.

When he yanked it open, the hallway was empty.

But something caught his eye: a new note, folded neatly and placed on the floor.

With shaking hands, he picked it up and unfolded it.

The message was short, written in the same precise handwriting as the invitation:

Don’t trust the butler.

Thunder cracked, shaking the windows, as Elliot stared at the note. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a scream.