The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind them with a concussion of sound that rattled straight through the floorboards, cutting off the howl of the coastal gale in an instant. Total, absolute darkness swallowed the space, thick and suffocating.
"Stay put," Ethan murmured, his tactical flashlight clicking on with a sharp snap.
The beam sliced through the void, revealing a cavernous entry hall dominated by sweeping double staircases of black marble, draped in decades of heavy, dust-covered sheets. Cobwebs hung like tattered lace from a vaulted ceiling lost in the shadows, and the air tasted stagnant, heavy with the metallic tang of old iron and forgotten history.
Noah gripped the hem of Bella’s jacket, his voice small in the vast quiet. "Mom, it’s cold."
Bella crouched down, smoothing his
