THE HOUSE OF BRONZE LOCKS: SECRETS BENEATH THE FLOORBOARDS OF BLACKWOOD ESTATE

Victoria pressed her shoulder against the heavy, iron-reinforced black oak door, her muscles straining as she fought to keep it shut. Inside the dark, windowless panic room, a faint, rhythmic scratching sound scraped against the timber, accompanied by a pathetic, choked gasp for air. Victoria clutched a heavy bunch of vintage gold keys tightly in her damp palm, her white silk shirt sticking to her skin beneath the glaring hallway lights. Her chest heaved with shallow breaths, her face flushed from the exertion of locking away a child who had dared to rebel against her ironclad household rules.

"Give me the key!" Clara shrieked, throwing her weight against Victoria’s side with desperate fury.

Clara’s dark maid uniform was torn at the shoulder, her messy bun completely unraveled, and a fresh, ugly purple bruise throbbed violently on her pale forehead.

"She can't breathe, stay out of this!" Clara screamed, clawing at Victoria’s wrists to force the keys from her clenched fingers.

Victoria wrenched her arm back, her voice dropping into a sharp, venomous hiss.

"She was having a tantrum, she needed to calm down, she was wheezing, attacked me!" Victoria snapped back, refusing to yield an inch of ground.

Before Clara could lunge again, heavy, measured footsteps echoed up the grand mahogany staircase. Julian stepped onto the landing, his tall frame cutting an imposing figure in his black coat over a black shirt. His dark eyes swept the scene with terrifying coldness, immediately locking onto the trembling maid.

"Where is my daughter?" Julian demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that commanded absolute silence.

Clara scrambled backward, coweing against the ornate wallpapered door frame as she held up a small blue asthma inhaler with shaking, blood-stained fingers.

"Lily dropped it when Victoria grabbed her," Clara sobbed, pointing a trembling finger straight at the frozen blonde woman.

Victoria gasped in extreme shock, her eyes widening to impossible limits and her jaw dropping slack as Julian stepped past her and snatched the gold keys from her paralyzed hand. He slid the antique skeleton key into the heavy brass deadbolt, turning it with a deafening, metallic click that echoed through the quiet mansion.