VALERIA

I immediately moved to the side, watching the ground creak open like an old, rusty machine.

In the depths of the earth, a dark passage revealed itself, descending through ancient stairs to what seemed like a basement beneath the greenhouse.

"What was that noise, Miss Valeria? Are you alright?" Edward's voice reached me, and I leaned out to see him right where I had left him, sitting in his wheelchair with a worried expression.

"Yes, I'm fine. It was a stuck window I tried to open, and i