Chapter 5
The Hidden Door Beneath The Library
My heart hammered against my ribs as we pressed our backs against the cold brick wall of the servant stairwell, waiting for them to pass.
Once their voices faded into the west wing, Clara motioned for me to follow her down into the vast, cavernous library.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the walls, filled with thousands of leather-bound volumes that smelled of ancient paper and ozone.
At the far end of the room hung a massive, oil-painted portrait of Silas Vance, the founding patriarch of the family line.
I helped Clara lift the heavy gilded frame, revealing a solid steel vault door embedded directly into the damp stone wall.
In the center of the steel door was an intricate, Victorian-era keyhole cast in weathered bronze.
May you like
Clara raised her trembling hand, inserting the blood-soaked brass key into the lock and turning it three times to the left.
A loud, mechanical thud echoed through the silent library as heavy iron bolts retracted from the stone frame.
