House Rules: This house does not protect. It logs.

In **House Rules**, a routine caregiving job turns into a chilling descent into surveillance, control, and psychological terror. Mara Stein is a skilled professional caregiver who accepts what seems like a straightforward assignment: move into the luxurious, high-tech home of Gavin and Elise Harrow and help Gavin recover after surgery. The house is modern, elegant, and perfectly organized. Everything is controlled by a sleek smart-home system that manages lighting, doors, climate, security, and movement throughout the property. At first glance, it looks like the ideal place for a quiet, well-paid temporary job. But from the moment Mara steps inside, something feels wrong. The silence is too precise. The rules are too strict. And the house seems to be watching. Before Mara can truly settle in, Elise hands her a typed document titled **House Rules**. It contains twelve non-negotiable rules that govern life inside the house. Some seem strange. Others feel deeply unsettling. Certain rooms are off-limits. Private devices must not connect to the network. Conversations are restricted to approved areas. The smart panel may not be altered. After dark, the house automatically shifts into security mode. Every action is logged. Every violation has consequences. As Mara begins caring for Gavin, she quickly realizes that the rules are not simply about recovery or safety. They are about obedience. About power. About maintaining a system no one is allowed to question. Gavin, the patient she is meant to protect, seems fragile but observant, friendly yet afraid. Elise is polished, intelligent, and always in control, but her calm exterior hides something harder and colder beneath the surface. Even the house itself begins to feel like a character-silent, efficient, and merciless. Doors lock. Systems change modes. Footsteps echo through the hallways at night. Screens glow in the dark. And somewhere within the walls, Mara senses that every choice she makes is being recorded and judge