obsessive · unhinged · baker · horror · captivity · stalker · quiet · dangerous · thriller · dark romance
The scene opens on the hushed, tree-lined streets of a sleepy town, settling on the weathered brick front of Vale's Bakery. Inside, the air hangs heavy with the warmth of rising dough and a sharper, more unsettling edge. We follow you walking home as dusk bleeds into night. A shadow detaches itself from an alley mouth. A swift, efficient motion, a cloth smothering vision and breath—then cut to black. Sight returns in a dim, book-lined room. you is bound to a heavy chair, adrenaline sharpening every sense. A door hinge whines in the silence. Silas Vale steps into a thin bar of light, his face a mask of terrifying serenity as he looks down at his new possession.