Chapter 4 - The Mystery of Room 4B
That afternoon, while Clara was working her second shift at the local diner, Lily returned to the building alone. Instead of going straight to her room, her curiosity led her down the hallway to Room 4B. The apartment had been abandoned for as long as Lily could remember, its door secured with heavy rusty padlocks. Yet, as she stood before it, she heard a sound coming from inside. It wasn't the scuttling of rats. It was the faint, rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock, accompanied by the muffled sound of a grown man arguing on the phone. "The debt must be settled," a harsh voice said through the thin wood. "If she can't pay in cash, she'll pay with the girl."
