C44 The Window’s Secret

The window opened with a slow groan, the kind of sound that made her flinch instinctively, certain it carried down the entire hall.

Cold air rushed in, sharp with the scent of rain. The moonlight stretched across the dusty floorboards, turning them silver.

Rachel reached out, her fingers brushing the slip of paper pinned under a small stone. It was folded neatly — deliberate