Chapter 1 - THE CELLAR OF ASHES (RECAP)
Valerie Salazar lies shattered on the cold concrete floor of her Dallas estate’s cellar, suffering from internal hemorrhaging and fractured ribs after hours of brutal interrogation ordered by her husband, Edward Farrell. Edward, dining comfortably upstairs with his mistress and co-conspirator Renee Cross, refused medical care after Renee staged a fall down the stairs to frame Valerie. Before lapsing into shock, Valerie entrusts Daniel Harper, the head of security, with an old family keepsake—a silver medal destined for a mysterious tailor named Julian Mercer—along with the message: “Valerie is still alive. It’s time.” Renee descends into the gloom to gloat, revealing that Edward orchestrated the financial collapse of Salazar Industrial Group and arranged the fatal plane crash that killed Valerie’s parents. But Renee lets slip a fatal crack in the narrative: Valerie’s older brother, Andrew, was merely “supposed” to die. Suddenly, the mansion plunges into darkness, alarms blare, and Valerie’s cracked phone buzzes with two texts from an unknown number: “THE MEDAL WAS RECEIVED” and “DO NOT TRUST DANIEL.” As the cellar lock turns from the outside, Valerie realizes the nightmare has only just begun.
