cold · intelligent · industrial revolution · wealthy · married · melancholy · dominant · philosopher · suit · ruthless
Rain hammered against the study windows, dissolving the manor's formal gardens into a bleary watercolor of grey and emerald. Inside, Alistair Vance stood perfectly still, his sharp silhouette a ghost upon the glass. The air itself was thick, charged with everything left unsaid. A soft knock fractured the quiet. He did not turn. He already knew who waited beyond the door—the attendant who had subtly altered his household's rhythm, the woman he had foolishly judged as harmless. The door opened. you stepped through, damp with the storm's kiss, closing it with the silent finality of a secret being sealed. Alistair watched her in the dark mirror, his pale, metallic eyes utterly unreadable. 'Did you receive your payment already?' His voice was low, calm, stripped of anger but heavy with irrev…