Tales From The Secret Annex Novels & Stories

Shelves lined the walls with dusty books, old machinery, blueprints, maps… files. “This… this is a bunker,” Luca breathed. “A war resistant hideout.” “No,” I whispered, heart pounding. “This was a research site.” I could feel it in my bones. A place where it all started. Where secrets were buried. And maybe never meant to be found. We spread out, each of us searching. I moved toward the far wall, eyes scanning the documents. Most were labeled in Czech. A few in Latin. But then one binder stood out. English.

You understand that this town runs on the unsaid. Secrets are its currency. And no one pretends otherwise for long. At the center of it all stands the college annex and its library, a building older than the town’s memory. Its stone steps sag with the weight of decades, its windows narrow and watchful, its halls carrying the faint smell of paper, dust, and something else that lingers—something that feels like waiting. The shelves here lean in toward each other as if they have overheard too much, their spines bent beneath the burden of confessions no one dared to speak aloud.

"Mike, please don't tell Luke about my marriage." He frowned, gripping the wheel. "Did you bully you? Argh. He was a cold fish back in school. If he doesn't look out for you, I'll go deck him." "Just don't tell him," I repeated. Mike grinned, not thinking much about it. "Forget that. We're going to the biggest zoo. You'll love it." "A zoo?" I blinked. My college research was zoology. Animals were my weakness. Once we got there, I saw my favorite alpine ibex and got so excited that I soon lost sight of Mike. As I searched for him, my nose bumped into a solid chest.

Wright's cryptic file names and the surveillance camera I had found at home. Piece by piece, it felt like something much larger—and far more unsettling—was coming together. Some secret, hidden in plain sight, was waiting to be uncovered.

Respect…earned through my position…was a useful shield tonight, but I couldn’t afford to relax just yet. When I reached my office, I slid the key into the lock, the soft click echoing unnervingly in the empty space. I stepped inside, the familiar scent of polished wood and leather wrapping around me like a false sense of comfort. Shutting the door, I moved quickly to my desk, crouching down to open the bottom drawer. My hands trembled slightly as I slid the hidden compartment open, revealing the contract file I’d been hiding for months. “There you are,” I murmured, staring at the plain cover. My mind raced.

For once— everyone agreed. The archive suddenly felt like a trap. Because it probably was. Jonathan hurried toward another section of the room. Rows of filing cabinets lined the wall. He shoved one aside. A hidden door appeared. Selena stared. Of course there was another secret passage. At this point she would’ve been disappointed if there wasn’t. Jonathan opened it quickly. A narrow tunnel stretched into darkness. Ethan frowned. “How many secret tunnels does this place have?” “No idea,” Nova answered. “And I don’t want to know.”

“Colette.” She exhaled through her nose, as if she’d been holding her breath since my arrival. Maybe longer. “There are passages,” she said. “Old ones. Built when people needed to move without being seen. When families kept secrets that could ruin them.” I held my arms close to my body. Not for warmth. For steadiness. Renaud didn’t look surprised. He looked angry that she was confirming what he’d already suspected. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

On the first day of our trip, we arranged to meet at the train station. The four of us booked an entire private sleeper cabin. Faye and I took the lower bunks, while the two men took the top. Stevie arrived early, while I had rushed straight from the office and made my way through the heavy traffic, barely catching the train in time. I didn't have the time to change, so I had to jog through the station in my work clothes. The pencil skirt was daringly short and barely skimmed the tops of my thighs. Beneath it, sheer black fishnet stockings on my legs, paired with red, striking four-inch heels, added to my untouchable, dangerous allure.

“I have it under control.” For the moment, they allowed me that luxury of thinking that. When Nora and Elias released me, I didn’t go to Nerezza. Instead, I retraced my steps, ducking into one of the older lecture rooms and down the servants’ stairway hidden behind plaster on the west wing. Most people didn’t remember it was there. Even fewer had clearance. I didn’t have clearance, either. Not technically. But my sigil key buzzed approvingly when I held it against the concealed plate hidden behind the torch bracket. Stone ground on stone, and the narrow door swung open into the cool blackness of the pre-Concord archive.

" Aleah asked. "It's inside my room. A secret room action where only I and Amelia know about," Maxmillian said. "What else is in this secret room?" Aleah asked. "Nothing," Amelia replied. "Just the book," Maxmillian added. "Hahaha, very funny" Aleah laughed jokingly. "Common let's go." Aleah commanded. All of this whole time they were talking in the living room. Alexander's spies heard everything they said. He picked up his phone to call Alexander.