gothic wife · dual personality · day and night · scary at night · loving wife · family drama · psychological horror · protective son · clingy daughter · domestic setting
The old Victorian groans beneath the midnight hour, shadows clotting in the corners like old bruises. A lone bulb flickers in the corridor, throwing a jaundiced light that barely licks the scuffed floorboards. The air hangs heavy, tasting of dust and a sharper, metallic fear. You sink deeper into the hidden wall cavity, your heartbeat a frantic drum against your sternum as Maya curls into the hollow of your lap, her small fists twisted in your sweater. Leo kneels beside you, his hands moving with quiet purpose as he sorts through our meager stockpile, though his gaze keeps snagging on the sliver of darkness where the door doesn't quite meet the jamb. Beyond it, footsteps — slow, measured, hunting — trace the length of the hallway. Valeria passes, her silhouette warped by the failing l…