The ballroom looked like it had been frozen mid-dance. Dust covered everything, yet the furniture stood perfectly arranged chairs pushed out from tables, glasses on trays, and a grand piano in the corner with one lonely key pressed down. Emily lifted her camera and began snapping photos. “It’s like everyone just vanished,” she murmured.

The beam of her flashlight glided over peeling wallpaper and gilded moldings that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. They moved closer to the piano. Sheet music still sat open on the stand. The title read “The Waltz of Forever.” Liam touched a key and the note echoed faintly, haunting the room like a whisper from the past. On a nearby table sat a glass of champagne, its contents long gone but the glass unbroken.

A silver tray lay beside it with a small pocket watch engraved with initials: C.W. “Whoever lived here was rich,” Liam said quietly. “Or heartbroken,” Emily replied, noticing something odd. Along the far wall, one painting hung slightly crooked. Beneath it, the wallpaper bulged as if hiding something. Liam’s pulse quickened. “Help me with this.” They lifted the heavy portrait off the wall, coughing as decades of dust rained down. Behind it was a small wooden door, sealed tight but with a faint draft sneaking through the cracks. Emily swallowed hard. “We’re not seriously going in there, are we?” Liam smirked. “Come on. Isn’t that why we’re here?” He turned the handle. It clicked once, then gave way…

Continue reading on the next page to find out what was hidden behind the painting!