This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

The letter arrived on a Tuesday morning, its cream-colored envelope bearing an unfamiliar seal pressed in midnight blue wax. Evelyn Hartwell turned it over in her hands, studying the elegant script that spelled her name in flowing curves. She had been expecting correspondence from her publisher, perhaps news about her latest manuscript, but this bore no return address save for a single initial: "M."

Rain pelted the windows of her modest London flat as she broke the seal with careful fingers. The paper within was thick and expensive, the kind that whispered of old money and older secrets. The message was brief but compelling:

Miss Hartwell,

Your reputation as a researcher of Gothic literature precedes you. I find myself in possession of a collection that may interest you greatly—manuscripts, first editions, and documents dating back three centuries. I extend an invitation to Ravenshollow Manor to examine these treasures at your leisure. The manor has been in my family for generations, though I confess it has seen better days.

Should you accept, I shall arrange for your transportation and accommodation. I ask only that you come alone, as the manor's current state makes it unsuitable for larger parties.

I await your response with great anticipation.

Sincerely, M. Ashford

Evelyn read the letter twice, her scholarly instincts warring with a peculiar sense of unease. She had built her career on the study of Gothic romance and supernatural literature, earning a modest reputation for her papers on the intersection of love and terror in 18th and 19th-century fiction. The opportunity to examine an untouched private collection was beyond tempting—it was the chance of a lifetime.