Lu Jin's heart raced as he climbed the stairs to the attic. A heavy sense of dread weighed on him. He hoped he would not witness the same heartbreaking scene he had seen years before. He steeled himself, his fists clenched tight and moved toward the door of the small attic room—an area that held the darkest secrets of his sister's troubled heart.
As he drew closer, muffled whispers cries, and curses seeped through the nearly closed door. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he hurried his pace. The door was ajar, the lock broken, with chains hanging uselessly to the ground. The key he had hidden remained lodged in the lock, and a flickering light illuminated the empty hallway.
