Evelyn was the first and only child of Michael Blake and his late wife, Anna. After Anna's sudden death when Evelyn was eleven, Michael eventually remarried—a woman named Clara Whitmore, a charming, elegant woman with a young son from a previous relationship: Lucas, who was just three years old at the time.
Clara always smiled. She baked cookies, hosted family dinners, took Evelyn school shopping, and never raised her voice. She was, by all appearances, a loving stepmother. And Evelyn tried to love her back—even helped care for little Lucas, who quickly grew attached to her.
But behind the domestic calm, something darker brewed.
Over the years, Evelyn began to notice strange behavior from Clara: hushed phone calls, locked drawers, and subtle digs about "how different things will be soon." Clara became more possessive of Lucas and more controlling over Evelyn's freedom—limiting who she could see, where she could go. Her father, busy running his construction business, didn't seem to notice the shift.
By the time Evelyn turned 18, things had grown tense. Evelyn planned to move out for university, but Clara insisted she take a gap year and "stay close to family." When Evelyn refused, Clara seemed calm—too calm. She said she understood.
That night, Evelyn vanished.
Everyone assumed she had run away. Her phone was found near a forest outside of town. Search efforts faded after a few weeks. Her father was devastated.