It was a warm summer afternoon, and Naughty Neighbor Sage was feeling restless. Her husband was off golfing with his buddies, leaving her alone with the house and her thoughts. She had already cleaned the house from top to bottom…

The sun was dipping low, casting amber streaks across the horizon, when Maddie received the invitation. She was reclined on a striped lounge chair beside the inn’s saltwater pool, legs glistening from tanning oil, sunglasses perched high, lost in the…

Maddie returned that evening to the seaside suite. Wine glasses were chilled, rose petals scattered across the bedspread, soft music vibrating through the walls. Liana and Mark looked different now—expectant, a tiny tremor of anticipation in their stance. She chose…

A light rain had started to fall as Evelyn pulled onto the winding gravel road leading to Jack Johnson’s cabin. The rhythmic hiss of the tires on wet stone mirrored the unease in her chest. She hadn’t planned on coming…

The morning air was sharp with citrus and damp from early sprinklers. Somewhere outside, the garden was being trimmed, the hum of distant clippers blending with birdsong. But inside Maddie’s room… there was only silence. And the aftermath. The sheets were…