جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

For several moments, no one moved. The abandoned manor stood across the lake in solemn silence, its grey stone walls softened by ivy and years of neglect. From their vantage point beneath the ash tree, it seemed less like a house than a forgotten monument, preserved by time and hidden from the world. If Thomas had not spoken its name, Marcus might have dismissed it as the remains of an old country estate.Instead, it had become the centre of every question they now carried."We need a closer look," Marcus said quietly.Thomas did not answer at once. His eyes remained fixed on the distant building, where memories long buried were beginning to surface."When I first joined Ashcroft," he said at last, "Ravenshollow belonged to the estate. It had been empty for years, and most of the staff avoided it. There were stories that the roof had become unstable after a fire, but I never saw any evidence of one."Richard frowned. "So someone wanted people to believe it no longer existed."Thomas n

The sound echoed through Ravenshollow with startling clarity. For several seconds, no one moved. The heavy front door had closed with unmistakable force, followed immediately by the metallic click of a key turning in the lock. The silence that followed was almost more unsettling than the noise itself.Marcus looked toward the corridor. "Stay together."His voice remained calm, but everyone understood the urgency behind it.Richard stepped closer to the doorway and listened."I didn't hear anyone come upstairs.""They may not have," Marcus replied. "If someone locked the front door, they're still on the ground floor."Lena slipped a small flashlight from her pocket. "Or they want us to think that."Marcus gave a slight nod. It was a possibility he could not dismiss. Every encounter since discovering Daniel's first cache had reinforced one lesson: their unseen opponent relied as much on misdirection as concealment.He placed the visitors' register inside his satchel and motioned for th

The third impact against the front door reverberated through the entrance hall, sending dust drifting from the ceiling. Marcus counted the interval between each blow.Whoever stood outside was not attempting to force the door in a panic. The strikes were measured, suggesting trained professionals working methodically."They're using a breaching ram," Lena said quietly.Samuel Ashcroft nodded. "They've done this before."Another heavy thud echoed through the manor. Marcus looked toward the elderly caretaker."You mentioned another way out.""I did."Samuel turned without haste and crossed the hall toward the sweeping staircase. Rather than climbing it, he slipped through a narrow doorway concealed beneath the first flight of steps. It opened into what had once been a servant's passage, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side."Follow me," he said.The corridor descended gradually beneath the house, its stone walls worn smooth by generations of use. Brass lamps hung at re

The first crack across the oak door widened with the next impact, sending splinters of ancient wood onto the stone floor. Dust drifted from the archway above as the iron bands groaned under the strain. Whoever stood on the other side had abandoned caution. They knew they had found something worth protecting.Marcus stepped away from the entrance and turned to Samuel."How long will it hold?"The old caretaker examined the reinforced hinges with the eye of someone who had maintained the archive for decades."Five minutes if we're fortunate. Less if they brought proper equipment."Lena looked around the chamber. "Is there another exit?"Samuel hesitated before nodding. "There is, but it cannot be opened from here."Richard frowned. "Then what's the point of it?""It was designed as an entrance for the next custodian, not as an escape."Marcus filed that away. Daniel had always planned for successors rather than survivors. Another blow landed against the door. This time, one of the iron

The hidden archway narrowed almost immediately, forcing the group to proceed in single file.Marcus led the way, his flashlight cutting through the darkness ahead while Lena remained at the rear, listening for any sign that the pursuit had already entered the passage. Behind them, the muffled crash of collapsing stone echoed through the archive before fading into silence. Whether the barrier still stood or Samuel Ashcroft had been forced to retreat, none of them could tell.The uncertainty weighed heavily on every step. The tunnel itself was unlike the servant's passage beneath Ravenshollow. Its walls were older, fashioned from carefully dressed limestone blocks blackened by time. Small alcoves appeared at regular intervals, each containing the rusted remains of oil lamps that had long since burned dry.Richard traced his hand along the wall as they walked."These stones are centuries old."Samuel's words echoed in Marcus's mind. The first Ashcroft house was built above an older found