For a moment, Daphne thought she has suddenly gone blind, though she couldn't imagine how. The space she stood in was so dark, she couldn't have told the difference if her eyes were closed. It was cold as well. Daphne shivered as she was hit by an overpowering jet of cold, musty air. She put out a trembling hand in front of her face but, despite the fact that her skin was naturally pearly, it was barely visible in the darkness. She called out, hoping to get an answer but the only one she caught was that of her own voice as it echoed back at her. She turned around and tried pushing on the bookshelves behind her to try and get them open but they wouldn't budge. Great. How was she supposed to get out of here now?

That's when she remembered her phone. Fumbling in her pockets, Daphne prayed she had it on her and sighed disappointedly when she found both of her pockets were empty. She must've left her phone in her room. She would just have to find a way out. If there was one.

Stretching both arms out before her to avoid bumping into anything, Daphne made her way slowly into the darkness. After feeling around on the walls at her sides for a short while, she was able to navigate her way through what appeared to be a long passageway. The passage eventually ended at a large wall of wood in front of her. Upon further inspection, Daphne discovered it was actually a door. When this information processed in her brain, she decided to try her luck and pushed on it with both of her hands. To her delight, it swung open and Daphne eagerly rushed forward but, when she entered the room that the door led into, her heart sank.

The first thing that caught Daphne's eye was Seamus sitting in a corner of the room, bound and gagged. She stood there, staring at him for roughly one second before she ran to Seamus and untied him. "Seamus, what happened? How did you get in here?" she enquired as she gazed around at the room they were in.

The room, although fairly large, was dank and dim. The only source of illumination came from the few candles. The walls were bare, grey, mould-covered stone and cobwebs infested every corner of the ceiling. The place was twice as cold as the passageway, as if it had recently been used as an ice house. There were several shelves hanging on the walls, containing books with interesting titles: How to communicate with spirits, The art of hypnosis and Vampire folklore. There was also a small round table with two chairs and on it was a small painting of Sophie Kavanagh and a pocket watch on a long chain. The room gave off a very unnerving vibe that made Daphne want to turn around and run straight back into that dark, spooky passageway. But she couldn't leave Seamus here.

As Daphne untied Seamus and removed his gag, he gasped for air and said quickly "What are ye doin' here, lass? It's not safe! Ye need te get out of here, now!"

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

"There's no time te explain" Seamus replied, his voice urgent. "I'm serious! Ye need te go!"

Daphne shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving without..." She didn't get to finish her sentence as she suddenly felt something heavy hit her on the head. Then she blacked out.

Daphne woke up an hour later, still in the same room. The first thing she noticed was that she was tied to a chair at the table and that Seamus was now gone. He must have gotten away. A figure in a hooded cloak was sitting across from her. The sight of the figure instantly gave Daphne a feeling of unease and she struggled furiously against her bonds. "Who are you?!" she demanded. "What do you want with me?!"

The figure lifted the hood of its cloak to reveal the face of the person wearing it and Daphne couldn't believe who it was.

"Ruth?"

Her cousin nodded. "Hello, Daphne. I daresay yer surprised."

Surprised was an understatement. Daphne could barely speak. "Ruth, what's going on? What is this place? Is it yours? What is it even doing here?"

"So many questions" Ruth sighed, shaking her head. "If I were you, I'd save me breath. Although, I guess ye have a right te know. First of all, yes, this room is mine. I discovered it a while ago. There's a way te access it through a secret tunnel hidden in the library, but I guess ye already know that. I've been using this place for me own investigation purposes."

"W-what do you mean investigation."

"Well, I guess ye wouldn't really call it that but I don't think there's any appropriate name for it. The point is, I had te keep it a secret. That's why I tied up Seamus and kept him imprisoned here; I couldn't have him blabbing te ye and yer friends."

Daphne could hardly believe her ears. "But...but why?"

"I don't really know how te tell ye this, Daphne." Ruth paused. "I guess there's no other way te say it. I'll just be straight with ye. Ye see, I thought opening this castle as a hotel would be a great money-making scheme. Of course, I didn't find out about the vampire until after it was opened te the public. Guests would flee in the night, claiming they had seen a vampire in their rooms. So I decided te take matters inte me own hands. I learnt how te contact the dead and used me skills te contact the vampire that was haunting the place. I found out it was Emmet O'Reilly, looking for his long-lost Sophie. I made a deal with him. I said if I could reunite him with Sophie, he had te leave. I also told him that until I found his Sophie, he would have te stay in the graveyard. He was stubborn at first but he eventually relented. As more guests started coming here, I used the picture of Sophie te which women be possible victims. I studied hypnosis and used it te make them go out te the graveyard where Emmet would be waiting. Unfortunately, Emmet didn't like any of the women I sent his way and killed them."

"What have I got to do with any of this?" Daphne asked.

"Remember when ye and Velma found that other picture of Sophie and how ye and her happened te look alike? Well, it turns out Emmet has also found this out and he wants ye te...basically be Sophie."

A horrible feeling curled up in Daphne's gut. "Are you saying I'm going to...be sacrificed to a vampire?"

Ruth nodded solemnly. "Pretty much."

Daphne thought she was going to pass out from fear. "If this is a joke, it's not funny!"

"I only wish it was, Daphne."

"Ruth, please, you can't do this! The others will wonder where I am!"

Ruth rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Ye forget, Daphne. I know about hypnosis. I need only hypnotise them inte forgetting ye and it'll be like ye never existed for them. Believe me Daphne, I'm no more happy about this than ye are but needs must when ye have a business te run."

Daphne felt as if she was going to throw up. Ruth, her own cousin, was going to sacrifice her to a vampire and then erase her existence! In a few hours, she would be dead and gone and nobody would even remember her.