The car rolled to a slow stop in front of the villa, swallowed by the night's silence. The house loomed in the darkness, a silent mass that seemed to watch every movement. Malik and Dima stepped out, their footsteps heavy, the sound of their shoes scattering across the damp garden soil like broken whispers from another world.
They walked toward the front door. The air was still, but strangely heavy, as if something unseen was watching them from the shadows of the trees. Malik reached for the iron handle, and as he pulled the door open, a long creak tore through the silence, announcing their arrival. A faint scent of damp wood and old dust drifted in, as if the house had been abandoned for years, even though it was clearly inhabited.
They stepped into the hallway. A flickering light filte
