The phone screen began to dim.

I tapped it to keep the light active.

I needed to find another way out.

I walked back down the steps, using the phone’s flashlight to guide me.

The vault was small, perhaps ten feet by twelve.

There were no windows, no vents, and no other doors.

I looked at the iron chest where the deed had been hidden.

My mother had known about this place.

She had spent hours down here before she died, cataloging the family archives.

I pulled out the letter she had left for me, the one I had kept hidden in my lining.

My hands shook as I unfolded the worn paper.

Under the pale light of the phone, I read her elegant handwriting.

My eyes skipped down to the passage about the dress.

*”The Celestia gown holds the truth, Vivian, but the truth is only the key.”*

*”The door is in the stones of Aster Hall itself.”*

*”If they ever try to trap you, remember the old service corridor.”*

*”The key is where the water meets the stone.”*

I lowered the letter, my mind racing.