The Secret of the Locked Door

Previously

…A faint tremor ran through the room, a subtle vibration that Alex felt more in their bones than heard. The lamplight flickered, casting dancing shadows that seemed to writhe with a life of their own. Alex’s heart hammered against their ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence. This was it. The strange occurrences, the unsettling atmosphere that had clung to them since finding the path, it was all leading to this moment. Alex’s gaze fell on a small, leather-bound journal tucked away in the corner of the desk, a relic from their grandmother. It was filled with pressed flowers and cryptic observations, a private world Alex had rarely delved into. Fli