#fadetoblackrpg

Alright, Lead Characters. Pull up a chair. The rain's been coming down all night, washing the grime off the streets, but never quite washing away the sin. In Chicago, every alley holds a secret, and every shadow hides a story. 🕵️‍♀️

Tonight, the air hangs heavy with the scent of stale whiskey and desperation from the bar across the street. 🥃 A lone saxophone wails from a smoky club down the block, its mournful notes dripping with a sorrow that could break a stone. 🎷 Overhead, the elevated train screeches past, a metallic beast on a relentless march, shaking the very foundations of your rundown office. 🚂

You're nursing a lukewarm cup of joe, the kind that tastes more like regret than coffee. ☕ On your desk, a crumpled newspaper headline screams about another "unsolved disappearance." 📰 But it's the small, smudged photograph tucked beneath your empty glass that truly holds your attention: a woman's face, beautiful and haunted, with eyes that seem to plead for answers. 💔

Her name was Eleanor Vance. The society pages called her a "socialite," but you knew better. She had a fire in her eyes, a spark that hinted at secrets deeper than any headline could capture. You'd been digging into her disappearance for days, and every lead seemed to vanish into the city's murky depths like smoke. The cops had already filed it away as a runaway, but you knew a dame like Eleanor didn't just run. Not without a damn good reason, and usually, a trail of broken hearts and empty promises.

A single, insistent knock echoes from your door, sharp against the city's ceaseless hum. 🚪 Too polite for a thug, too late for a client. The kind of knock that promises trouble, or maybe, just maybe, the first thread of a truth you've been waiting for. Your hand instinctively drifts towards the worn .38 tucked into your shoulder holster. 🔫