By noon the next afternoon, the mansion was unusually quiet, save for the occasional omega quietly cleaning a room and a gardener tending to the lush greenery in the compound. The sun was high, casting bright rays across the property, but there was no sign of human activity.
The workers who were still in the house moved about like shadows, their faces betraying barely concealed grins as they finished their tasks. Right when the clock struck twelve, every one of them slipped out of the mansion, sneaking away like mischievous children after pulling off a prank.
An hour later, as the house lay in deceptive silence, the first signs of life began to stir. A thin line of sunlight filtered through a narrow slit in the curtains of the grandest guest room, landing squarely on Isabel’s face.
I
