Jenny ran the tap for a full minute. The water flowed fast and free. She leaned down, sniffed the drain—no sour death-stench. Just a faint, almost pleasant whiff of vinegar and minerals.

The water sat in the sink like a dark, oily mirror. It hadn’t moved for three hours. Jenny poked at it with a spoon, and a foul belch of old food and grease bubbled up.

The foam bubbled over the rim and slid lazily down the sink’s side. Jenny let it work for a full ten minutes, then poured the kettle—boiling hot—straight into the chaos.

For a second, nothing.