The tension in the room was palpable as Jake took a seat at the dining table, the light from the lamp casting a warm glow over his serious expression. Lily watched him closely, her mind racing with questions. What secrets could he possibly hold about her grandmother, a woman she barely knew? The weight of his presence felt like a challenge to the fragile understanding she had begun to form.

“I didn’t come here to frighten you,” Jake said, sensing her apprehension. “I knew your grandmother years ago when she was still part of the community. There were things she confided in me that she never shared with anyone else. Things that haunted her.”