Seven-year-old Lily curled into a tiny ball on the polished marble floor of the grand entrance hallway, her small knees pulled against her chest as cold shivers ran through her arms.

Her stepmother, Victoria, stood towering above her in a tailored burgundy sleeveless dress, her eyes cold, narrow, and furious.

Victoria: You keep quiet if you know what is good for you.

Lily: I heard her, Victoria. I swear I heard tapping.

Victoria: Dead girls don't reveal family secrets!

Lily pressed her trembling hands over her ears, tears streaming down her pale cheeks onto the cold stone.

Lily: Please stop yelling at me. I just want my mommy.

Victoria: Your mother walked out on this family two years ago and left you with nothing. Get that through your thick head.

Sixteen-year-old Tyler rushed down the winding staircase two steps at a time, his sneakers squeaking sharply against the clean floor.

Tyler: Step away from my little sister right now!

Victoria didn't flinch, turning her head slowly to glare at him with utter disgust.

Victoria: Mind your own business, Tyler. Go back to your room.

Tyler: Don't talk to her like that. She's seven years old!

Victoria: She is filling her head with sick fairy tales to ruin my marriage with your father.

Tyler: You're the one who ruined everything the day you walked into this estate.

Victoria: I saved this estate from foreclosure when your precious mother vanished into thin air.

Tyler: She didn't abandon us. You did something to her.

Victoria: Touch her again? How dare you accuse me in my own home!

Tyler stepped between them, his jaw clenched tight and his fists shaking with pure adrenaline.

Tyler: Touch her again and everyone will know what you buried!

Victoria's expression turned feral as she lunged forward, her sharp red nails sinking right into the fabric of his grey hoodie.

Victoria: You think you're clever, boy? You'll be buried beside her!

Lily gasped from the floor, her wide blue eyes fixed in absolute terror on the floral wallpaper running along the long corridor behind them.