It began with a smell — faint, sour, and fleeting — drifting through the hallway like a whisper. At first, Tom Fisher, a 42-year-old homeowner in the suburbs, didn’t think much of it. He assumed it was something simple: a forgotten onion, old food in the trash, or maybe a spill behind the stove. He scrubbed the kitchen spotless, aired out the house, and went to bed thinking he’d solved it.
By morning, the smell was back.
At first, it was subtle enough to ignore. The odor would appear suddenly, then fade before Tom could track it down. But as days passed, it deepened — sharp and foul, like rotting meat tinged with mildew. He checked the fridge, the garbage disposal, even the crawl space. Nothing.
Neighbors suggested everything from mold to a dead animal in the walls. Tom hired an exterminator, who found no pests but mentioned the scent reminded him of …
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