Elliot Carter stood at the edge of the town, staring down the fog-filled road that led into Harrison Creek. The winding hills of the Appalachian Mountains loomed in the distance, their outlines barely visible through the mist. His chest tightened with every breath, the air heavy with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. The place was familiar and foreign all at once—nothing had changed, yet everything felt different. He had left Harrison Creek behind years ago, escaping to New York City, pursuing a career that had kept him busy and distracted. He had tried to move on, tried to forget the past, the painful memories of his mother’s tragic death and Lily Rose’s haunting disappearance. But now, his sick father ,the one he had been dreading for years—had drawn him back. Dr. Robert Carter, a revered surgeon and pillar of the town, was dying. The weight of those words hung in the air, heavy as the mist. Elliot hadn’t spoken to his father in years, not since he’d left for the ci

The fog had a weight to it, pressing down on Harrison Creek like a suffocating shroud. Elliot Carter felt as if the very air was conspiring to keep the town’s secrets locked away. He had returned to the town with one purpose in mind: to uncover the truth about Lily Rose’s disappearance, and, if possible, to understand the dark threads of his father’s involvement. The past had a way of resurfacing, and Elliot was determined to confront it head-on.The old mill loomed before him as he walked towards the edge of the creek, its outline barely visible through the thick fog. The structure was in ruins now, an eerie reminder of the once-thriving town that had relied on its machinery for years. The broken windows seemed like eyes that had seen too much, yet refused to blink. The doors hung loosely on their hinges, creaking with the wind, as though the building itself was mourning the loss of its own life.Elliot had come here so many times as a boy, drawn by the allure of adventure and th

The rain had begun to fall heavily, the sound of it hammering against the roof of Sheriff Will Baker’s house, creating a constant rhythm in the otherwise quiet evening. Inside, the air smelled of coffee and old wood, the scent of familiarity to Vera, who had lived in this house for years. She had grown up here after her parents’ death, and even now, it felt like a place of both refuge and prison. The shadows seemed to cling to the walls as if they held memories she couldn’t escape.She had always known her uncle Sheriff Will Baker as a man of few words—especially when it came to the past. He was the town’s protector, its pillar of strength. But tonight, something had shifted. His words, the cryptic promise he’d made, had hit her like a slap in the face. She couldn’t let it go.She sat at the kitchen table, the hot mug of coffee in front of her growing cold as she waited for him to return from his patrol. The quiet creaking of the old house seemed amplified in the stillness, but her

Elliot Carter and Vera Larkin sat in the dusty back room of the old library in Harrison Creek, a town that once felt like home but now seemed more like a prison of secrets. The air was thick with the scent of mildew and age-old paper, the quiet sound of their breath the only thing breaking the heavy silence. It had been weeks since they first began their search into Lily Rose’s disappearance, and each piece of the puzzle they uncovered led them further down a path they weren’t sure they wanted to follow.Tonight was different. Tonight, they were on the brink of uncovering the truth. But the truth, as they were beginning to understand, was darker than either of them had ever imagined.Elliot’s hands trembled slightly as he flipped through a medical journal he had taken from his father’s office, its yellowed pages revealing far more than he had ever hoped to find. Robert Carter, his father, had been hiding something. Something big. And the more Elliot read, the more horrifying it becam

The office of Dr. Mark was eerily calm. A large, polished wooden desk stood in the center of the room, papers neatly stacked, and medical books lining the shelves. The soft hum of the fluorescent lights above was the only sound breaking the stillness. Dr. Mark’s office was a sanctuary of order,a stark contrast to the chaos of what Elliot had just witnessed. Vera sat quietly across from Elliot, her hand resting gently on his shoulder. Her presence was a steadying force, but she could see that Elliot was struggling to hold it all together. The silence between them was thick, filled with unspoken questions, but neither of them knew how to begin unraveling the truth that was just out of reach. Elliot had been silent since they left Robert’s room, his mind racing with the horror of what he had learned and the flood of emotions that came with it. His father’s terror, his outburst of anger, and the truth he had uncovered in the journal,it was all too much to process. “Elliot,” Vera’