Upon reaching the suggested area, I noticed the antiquity of the place. Signs of past fire were evident, with abandoned houses nearby covered in graffiti. One house stood out – a humble abode, a single-story structure with a worn-out facade.

"𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘁," I murmured to himself, noting the absence of a second floor.

Manang Clara said the Farrado’s house didn’t have any other floors. The other abandoned houses had one but this one does not.

Entering the desolate dwelling, I was met with emptiness and a cold air. The vandalized interior told tales of neglect. I inspected each corner, envisioning the life that once existed before my father’s death.

I walked more and my footsteps echoed through the hollow ground, a stark contrast to the vibrant memories he imagined.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴? 𝘐𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘢 – 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢’𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 – 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵?’

The thought of that hurt. I have grown to love Mama and Jena as my own family. I’m very thankful they adopted me to become a Farrado. Thinking that all of that only happened because someone died was bitter yet sweet to me.

As I contemplated, I noticed something weird on the right corner wall. A box shape is shining on the corner wall only at certain angles. The whole other wall was matte and didn’t reflect light on them – only the right corner wall. One can miss it if they are not looking closely.

I was ready to touch it when a scream shattered the silence, startling me. I rushed towards the source. From one abandoned house to another, the screams kept echoing. Moving farther and deeper to the deserted part of Marwood, the scream was getting louder.

"𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼? 𝗜𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?" I called out. One last scream reached my left ear and I decided to move towards it. On my left, a black house covered with vines stood.

I walked in and found nothing on the first floor. When I went up, however, a gruesome sight greeted me – a lifeless body sprawled on the ground.

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨?’

I examined the body on the ground but did not touch it. I don’t want to leave my fingerprints on anything. I don’t want headaches.

The dead man’s eyes were wide open. He was sleeping on the pool of his own blood. He had cuts and bruises everywhere. Looking closely, his abdomen was slightly exposed. A symbol was peeping – like the one earlier! The mark looked like it was freshly engraved. It was a fresh burn scar.

After having enough look, I called the police to tell the murder that happened just n