It was well past midnight. One of the floors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation building was almost completely swallowed by darkness, with only a few dim lights spilling out from scattered offices. One of those lights came from the lamp on Grace Ashcroft’s desk.

The computer screen cast a pale blue glow across her face, making the faint exhaustion beneath her eyes more noticeable. Her desk was covered in files: autopsy reports, witness statements, crime scene photographs…

They all had one thing in common. Wrenwood Hotel.

The place where her mother, Alyssa Ashcroft, had lost her life eight years ago. And now… new infection cases. Unexplained deaths. An entire floor placed under quarantine.

The official reports stated “suspected food poisoning,” but Grace knew it wasn’t that simple. Her instincts kept snagging on the small inconsistencies buried in the files. The blood values weren’t normal. The symptoms had progressed rapidly. And the security cameras going offline due to a “technical malfunction” at the exact hours of the incident… That could no longer be a coincidence.

She pressed her fingers to her temples. “Hm… how boring…” she muttered, her voice echoing softly through the empty office. Grace assumed there was no one else around.