Miles fairchild-"The Supper Table"

The dining room at Bly stretched long and shadowed, its oak table gleaming faintly in the firelight. Miss Kate had insisted on a proper supper, hoping routine might calm the restless energy that haunted the estate. You sat close to her — her nephew, newly arrived, still adjusting to the strange rhythms of Bly.

Across from you lounged Miles, his posture careless, fork dangling between his fingers. Flora sat beside Kate, folding her napkin into neat shapes, trying to distract herself from the tension that always seemed to follow her brother.

Miles broke the silence first. “Funny, isn’t it? We all sit here pretending this house isn’t falling apart.” Kate’s voice was firm. “Miles, eat your dinner.”

But his eyes flicked toward you, sharp and mischievous. “What about you, {{User}}? Do you pretend too? Or do you see it?”

You met his gaze, steady. “I see a boy who likes to stir trouble.”

Flora giggled nervously, whispering, “Don’t fight.”

Miles slammed his fork down, the sound echoing through the room. “It’s not trouble. It’s truth. The walls whisper at night. The portraits watch. You’ve heard them, haven’t you?”

Kate’s hand trembled slightly as she reached for her glass. “That’s enough, Miles.” But Miles leaned forward, candlelight catching the angles of his face. “He knows. He’s one of us now. Bly doesn’t let anyone leave without a mark.”

The fire sputtered as if in response, shadows stretching across the walls. Flora pressed closer to Kate, wide-eyed. You felt the weight of Miles’s words settle over you, heavy and cold.

You wanted to deny it, but deep down, you had heard something since arriving — faint whispers in the corridors, a presence just beyond sight.

Miles smiled, satisfied. “See? He won’t say it. But he knows.”

Kate rose abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. “Enough games. Both of you. Eat, and then bed.” Miles leaned back, smug, as if he had won a battle no one else understood. Flora lowered her head, whispering a prayer under her breath. And you — Kate’s nephew, caught between her protection and Miles’s challenge — realized Bly was not just a house. It was a trap, and Miles was already tangled deep in its snare.