genius

At seven, my father returned with his mistress and my half-brother, who was only a few weeks older than me. Under my mother's grief-stricken and despairing eyes, my father ruthlessly kicked us out. I always knew that my father wanted a supernaturally awakened and talented heir, however, I didn't fit the bill because I couldn't awaken any special talents and didn't show outstanding academic abilities. Moreover, my uncles and aunts were eyeing my father's position, eager to overthrow him and take his place. Competitors also harbored ill intentions towards our family, watching my father like a hawk. In this treacherous situation, my father rekindled his relationship with his mistress, the second daughter of a noble family from the Royal City. Finally, my father no longer concealed his pre-marital affair. After making it public, he brought his mistress and her talented son back home to replace my mother and me. To survive, my mother had no choice but to take me into hiding, changing our identities and fleeing to a remote town to escape their grasp and settle down. What my father didn't know was that I didn't lack talent; my talent was simply too strong, requiring an immense amount of energy to awaken, energy that my weak seven-year-old self couldn't handle. Eleven years later, I had grown up and finally awakened my superlative talent, becoming a renowned genius in the remote town. I never thought about going back to confront my father or seeking revenge on his mistress because they weren't worth my mother's and my time! My mother and I are doing well now. I believe with my talent and effort, our lives will only get better. However, I overestimated the goodness in people, and underestimated their malice!

Black Hollow is a town built on secrets, where the past lingers like smoke and whispers of the dead weave through the wind. When Evelyn Drake, a 32-year-old trauma psychologist, inherits her estranged grandmother's abandoned estate, she plans to sell it and never look back. But the house, once ravaged by an unexplained fire, holds a history as twisted as the town itself. Evelyn soon discovers that her grandmother, Vivienne Hale, was a Soul Keeper, a guardian of spirits trapped between life and death. Her return stirs something ancient and angry. The spirits of Black Hollow awaken, their vengeance unresolved. When burned corpses begin appearing, each victim bearing the same eerie mark, Evelyn realizes she’s entangled in a crime that refuses to stay buried. Teaming up with Detective Ethan Calloway, a hardened cop haunted by his own past, Evelyn must uncover a decades-old conspiracy, a forgotten fire, and the true purpose of the Soul Keeper’s legacy. But not every ghost seeks peace. Some crave revenge. And in the ashes of the past, a killer still walks among the living.