A deep click followed, then another. The marble tile beside the island shuddered. Fine dust rose along a nearly invisible seam.
Julian backed away.
“What is that?”
Adrian removed his coat.
Beneath it, he wore a dark suit and an old brass key on a chain around his neck.
He looked at me with an emotion I could not yet name.
“Your grandmother kept her promise,” he said.
Then the kitchen floor began to open.
PART 4 — THE VAULT BENEATH THE MARBLE
The island moved first.
Not sideways, as I expected, but upward by less than an inch. Hidden locks released beneath the marble with a chain of heavy metallic snaps. A rectangular section of flooring slid back, revealing narrow stone stairs descending into darkness.
Cold air drifted up from below.
