Rowan's Impossible Case
Dinner is expensive and tense. The table is long enough to keep everyone at a safe distance from one another. Conversation circles the weather, investments, and charity galas—nothing real. You watch hands. Eyes. Reactions. Victor drinks but doesn’t relax. Elena barely eats.
Thomas drinks too much. Lydia doesn’t touch her glass at all. Samuel Finch moves like a ghost, refilling glasses before anyone asks.
Victor finally clears his throat.
“I invited you because someone here has been threatening me,” he says. “Extortion. Blackmail.”
No one looks surprised. Before you can ask more, a sound cuts through the room. A sharp crash.
Then— A scream. It comes from the East Wing.
Elena stands so fast her chair falls backward.
“That was Thomas,” she says.
Victor is already moving.
Thomas drinks too much. Lydia doesn’t touch her glass at all. Samuel Finch moves like a ghost, refilling glasses before anyone asks.
Victor finally clears his throat.
“I invited you because someone here has been threatening me,” he says. “Extortion. Blackmail.”
No one looks surprised. Before you can ask more, a sound cuts through the room. A sharp crash.
Then— A scream. It comes from the East Wing.
Elena stands so fast her chair falls backward.
“That was Thomas,” she says.
Victor is already moving.