The new maid heard weeping beneath the mansion. Opening the heavy basement door, she found the missing wife, starved and chained. As gasps filled the dark room, the wife grabbed her hand, whispering, “Run before he hears you, or he’ll make you my replacement.” Suddenly, footsteps echoed on the stairs…

“I thought the frame needed…”

“I told you never to touch the veiled items!” she shrieked, losing her aristocratic composure entirely. She grabbed the canvas and threw it back over the painting, her chest heaving as if she had just run a marathon.

She turned on me, her eyes manic. “You are pushing me, Clara. You are a little rat chewing on wires you continue reading …