The abandoned mansion stood alone on a hill overlooking miles of empty forest. Broken windows rattled in the cold night wind while darkness swallowed everything beyond the iron gates.
Inside one of the grand halls, luxury had been replaced by fear.
Crystal chandeliers still hung from the ceiling, but the marble floor below was stained with signs of violence.
In the center of the room knelt twenty-four-year-old Emily Carter.
Her wrists were tightly bound behind her back.
Her elegant evening dress was torn and stained after hours of abuse.
Every breath hurt.
Standing in front of her was Victor Hale, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.
He slowly raised a golf club in both hands.
Without hesitation, he swung it downward.
The heavy impact echoed through the room.
"One hundred ninety-nine!"
His voice rang with cruel satisfaction.
Across the room, an elegant older woman sat comfortably in a leather chair.
She wore a dark burgundy dress and calmly wrote inside a small notebook as though she were keeping score during an ordinary game.
Without even looking up, she corrected him.
"No..."
She calmly crossed out a number.
"One hundred ninety-eight."
Emily struggled to stay conscious.
Around her neck hung a beautiful sapphire pendant that had belonged to her family for generations.
A single drop of blood slowly slid across the blue gemstone before falling silently onto the marble floor.
Victor smiled.
"You still think someone is coming?"
His laughter echoed through the empty mansion.
Every minute that passed convinced him even more that Emily had been forgotten.
He couldn't have been more wrong.