Sinister Inheritance

Prologue

The age old saying goes, "Blood is thicker than water," I never quite grasped the meaning of the phrase. However, on that fateful night, as the storm raged and thunder clapped, I began to understand that sometimes, bonds we think unbreakable can shatter in an instant.
It was in the dim glow of lightning that shadows danced menacingly upon the walls of our ancient manor.
The air was suffused with a sense of foreboding, as if the very stones of the house whispered secrets too terrible to speak aloud.
At first I buried myself under my comforter like a child afraid of the dark, but curiosity clawed at my mind like a ravenous beast.
I picked up the candelabra next to my bed and crept toward the door, its warm light casting trembling shadows in my wake.
The wooden floor creaked beneath my bare feet, each sound echoing through the deserted hall like whispers of a secret forgotten.
The air was thick with the musk of old memories and dust, a testament to the ages this house had seen.
I knew there were people in the house, but in that moment I felt completely alone. The hallway stretched before me, a tunnel of darkness winding deeper into the belly of the manor.
My heartbeat a relentless drum in my ears, urging me either forward or back, I stepped deeper into the shadows.
The candelabra trembled in my shaking hands as I approached the grand staircase. Each step was a creak against the silence, a countdown to whatever waited in the depths below.
A cold draft skittered up the staircase, and with it, the faintest whisper of a name—a name I hadn't heard in years yet echoed.
hauntingly in my ears. "Edwin..."
Chills skittered down my spine, each one an icy finger tracing the vertebrae of my fear.
The name reverberated in the stillness, pulling me deeper into the abyss of forgotten memories.
A horrific image flashed before my eyes—the pale face of my brother, his eyes wide with unspeakable terror.
"No," I whispered to myself, refusing to succumb to the spectral echo of the past.
Yet the draw was irresistible, an ethereal thread binding me to a promise left unfulfilled.
With a steely resolve, I tightened my grip on the candelabra and continued my descent, each step a hesitant dance with fate.
The stairs creaked beneath my weight, a haunting melody that seemed to mock my trepidation.

Helen... my name was carried on the wind like an eerie chant, coaxing me further into the darkness—a siren's call I could not ignore.