8. Ophelia

Ophelia meets Alex in the library to work on their psychology report despite a chaotic party happening around them. Their tense collaboration is interrupted when Ophelia begins experiencing severe dizziness and disturbing hallucinations, culminating in a terrifying vision of Achlys—the woman from the painting—before she flees to her room.

Ophelia receives a terse email from Alex directing her to the library at eight o'clock. She heads downstairs from her room, already feeling lightheaded and nauseous after only one glass of wine. The mansion's lower floors are overrun with a raucous party; the library, contrary to Alex's expectations, is equally chaotic with students drinking, dancing, and making out among the books. Ophelia finds Alex sitting calmly at a corner desk wearing reading glasses, working productively despite the mayhem. They begin collaborating on their psychology report on conformity and obedience. After about twenty minutes, as her headache worsens, Ophelia attempts an awkward conversational probe about persuasion and corporate wrongdoing—ostensibly academic but clearly fishing for information about Alex's father's company. Alex dismisses her clumsy approach as "horrible" and returns to his phone, which infuriates her. Her dizziness escalates; the world tilts, letters blur, and a ringing fills her ears. Growing alarmed, she accuses Alex of phone addiction, grabs his phone from his hand, and storms out. As she pushes through the crowded foyer toward the stairs, her vision clouds further. She sees Vincenzo with a shadowy figure beside him and realizes with horror that it is Achlys—the ghostly woman from the painting and stained-glass window in the mansion. Achlys appears waterlogged and decomposed, her cheek rotting away, her grin chilling despite her sobs. No one else reacts to the apparition. Ophelia staggers backward through the crowd, unable to look away from Achlys's lifeless eyes. She flees up the stairs to her bedroom, where she collapses as she hears Achlys's bony fingers turning her door handle.