Chapter 5 – The Rules

• The lights flickered once, then again—faster this time—before plunging the hallway into a low, humming darkness.
• Alina froze.
• The ornate chandelier overhead dimmed to a faint amber glow, casting long shadows on the marble floor. The portrait of her mother loomed above her, still and silent, but now hauntingly alive under the amber light. Her painted eyes seemed to follow Alina, as if warning her. Protecting her. Or maybe accusing her for standing here at all.