Chapter 4 — The Hidden Library

Anna

The silence of the monastery deepened as night settled over the stone walls, broken only by the faint creak of wooden beams and the occasional distant cough of a monk. Anna lay on the narrow cot in her quarters, her eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling above. The day’s events replayed in her mind, each detail etched with sharp clarity—the discovery of the hidden seam, Brother René’s warning, and the currents of curiosity and fear that now churned within her chest.