BEYOND THE BOARDROOM

CHAPTER FIVE

Elena thought deeply about the discovery in the conservatory with the light from the morning sun streaming in through Ravenwood's windows. The single word etched into the stone pedestal—Trust—felt like both a command and a warning. The house had already started its trial and she could not escape the sensation that every step forward would just usher in new trials.

She found Daniel in the library, sorting through a stack of faded books. His face still held its impenetrable mask, but Elena had spoken more forthrightly about him.

“I found something else, she said, walking in without a preamble.

Daniel glanced up, his brow furrowing slightly. “What is it this time?”

Trust. What does it mean?”

For a moment, Daniel said nothing. He simply stared at her, his jaw tightening. At last, he put the book down and rested against the desk.

It’s the estate who is watching you, he said, in a low voice.

Elena crossed her arms. “Watching me? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It’s not about comfort,” Daniel replied. “Ravenwood has always been more than a house. It is strongly dependent on the inhabitants of the box, especially on the persons linked to the family of the box. Your granny knew and she wanted you to know, too.

“Why me?” Elena demanded. And what about my own mother or anyone else in the family?

“Because you’re the only one who came back, Daniel said simply.

His phrases weighed upon her, but she could not reply until the library door creaked open and Mrs. Hawthorne, the maid, entered.

Miss Elena, she replied, in a sharp but friendly voice, “You have received a letter. It was left on the doorstep this morning.”

Elena reached for the envelope and noted the absence of a return address. The lettering on the front of the building was odd, though disconcerting and the back of her neck prickled with chill.

Having bitten into the envelope, she found a single sheet of paper with a typed note:

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Leave Ravenwood before it’s too late.”

Her fingers shook ever so slightly as she passed the note to Daniel. He read it, his expression darkening.

“Someone knows you’re here,” he said. “This isn’t a coincidence.”

Elena felt a surge of anger. “I’m not running away just because someone wants to scare me. If anything, this proves I’m getting closer to something they don’t want me to find.

Daniel’s gaze softened slightly, a hint of admiration flickering in his eyes. “If you’re staying, we need to be prepared. Whoever sent this won’t stop at letters.”

That afternoon, however, Daniel brought Elena to a floor of the estate that she'd never been to, a cellar concealed under the east wing. The steep staircase led down into the black, and with each step, it became colder.

“What is this place? Elena asked, her voice echoing slightly.

“A safe room,” Daniel replied. “Your grandmother had it built decades ago, though few people know it exists. If anything happens, this is where you go.”

The basement room at the base of the stairs was cramped by comfortable means with reinforcing walls and a stock of shelves of provisions. There, a desk in the corner held a map of the house and a pile of handwritten notes in her grandmother's script.

Elena traced her fingers across the map and remarked on the missing markings in the one she'd pulled from the chest floor. These symbols. Are they also the estate's secret?

Daniel nodded. [T] hey are key places where your grandma preserved pieces of the history of the property. Each one holds a clue to the bigger picture.”

But the pedestal in the conservatory was only the start," Elena said, more to herself than to Daniel.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “But every clue you uncover will bring more attention. The people after Ravenwood’s secrets won’t sit idly by.”

Elena straightened, her resolve hardening. Oh, we'll have to stay one step ahead of them," etc.

Later that evening, Elena sat in the study with her grandmother’s journal. The words on the page seemed to take on new meaning after everything she’d learned:.

“Ravenwood’s legacy is not for the faint of heart. It is only the brave who are willing to confront its challenges will reveal their true intention. Trust yourself, and trust those who prove themselves worthy.”

Elena looked at Daniel who was sitting at the other end of the room. He was surrounded by a mass of scaled building plans with his head buried in them as he intently focused on the objective. Despite his guarded demeanor, she had to admit he’d been her anchor since she arrived at Ravenwood.

“Daniel,” she said, breaking the silence.

He looked up, his eyes meeting hers.

“Why are you still here?” she asked. [Y]ou could have left after my grandmother died, but you stayed. Why?”

Daniel hesitated as if weighing how much to reveal. “Your grandmother trusted me with Ravenwood’s secrets. She believed in me when no one else did. I have that attachment to her, and now I have that obligation to you.

Elena's heart tingled at his, however, there was still a part of her questioning what he kept to himself.

The other day, to bed with Elena, her dreams were interrupted by images of Ravenwood—the halls twisting together, the pedestal shining, the ominous figure in the back, a mile away, in the hall's corner.

She jumped up in alarm, the sound of something crashing against her window making her sit up. She ran to the window and, gasping, desperately, looked into the night (where she saw nothing but the abyss of oblivion).

Another knock at her door startled her again, and Daniel's voice filled the room. “Elena, are you okay?”

She opened the door, her pulse racing. “I heard something outside.”

Daniel nodded grimly. “I did too. Stay here—I’ll check it out.”

“No,” Elena said firmly. “I’m coming with you.”

He started to protest, but the look in her eyes stopped him. Collectively, they got out into the cold night air biting into their flesh.

But, a few hidden footstep marks are departing back from the manor.

Daniel crouched to examine them, his jaw tightening. “Whoever it was, they weren’t just passing through. They wanted us to know they were here.”

Elena’s heart pounded. The threats, the letter, the hidden secrets—it was all

building to something bigger.

But she was determined to reveal the truth no matter the cost.