One afternoon, long before Orion went missing, Eliza was tidying the living room when her foot nudged something unexpected under the coffee table. It was a tiny shoe—a child’s shoe, scuffed and faded. The sight made her pause, sending a chill down her spine. It definitely hadn’t been there before, and the house’s previous owner never mentioned leaving anything behind.
Puzzled, she set it aside on a shelf, thinking it might be leftover clutter. But in the following days, she discovered more strange items: a small hair ribbon on the staircase, a chipped porcelain doll hand near the fireplace. Each new find sent a slight chill across her skin. Sometimes, Orion would sniff at these objects, tail puffed, as though detecting an unseen presence.