Count Down at Raven Hill Manor

De: Darlene Zagata

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Fifteen Years Before

The wind carried the scent of rain across the city that October night. Evelyn Corbin stood in the corridor outside the Ashford Foundation's executive offices, her hands trembling as she held the ledger. The sheets were damning—falsified donations, phantom charities, money diverted to shell accounts. Millions had disappeared.

She was supposed to go to the police tomorrow. Tonight, she'd made one final visit to gather evidence, to ensure there was no doubt.

The hallway was supposed to be empty.

Evelyn never heard the footsteps. She never saw the face of the person who came around the corner. She only felt the sudden, violent shove that sent her sprawling down the marble stairs.

Her body tumbled end over end. Her skull cracked against the unforgiving edges. The ledger flew from her hands, pages scattering like accusations across the floor.

When she came to rest at the bottom, Evelyn Corbin couldn't move. She couldn't cry out. She could only stare up at the shadow standing at the top of the stairs, backlit and featureless.

"I'm sorry," the voice said—soft, almost apologetic. "But you shouldn't have looked."

The shadow descended. Evelyn tried to speak, but blood filled her mouth.

The next morning, the police ruled it an accident. A tragic fall. Poor Evelyn, they said, always so clumsy, always so stressed. The Foundation issued a statement of grief and moved forward.

No one asked why the executive offices had been ransacked. No one wondered about the missing ledger.

And no one noticed the person watching from the shadows of the investigation—taking notes, remembering faces, counting names.

The countdown would begin fifteen years later. At Raven Hill Manor.