Dawn came quietly.
For the first time in days, Elena woke without an alarm, a gunshot, or a message from an unknown number.
For a few seconds, she forgot where she was.
Then she remembered.
The archive.
Evelyn.
The Phoenix Order.
Adrian.
She sat up.
A folded map rested on the chair beside her bed.
Ashwood Manor.
The name carried a strange weight.
She had never heard of it.
Yet somehow
It felt familiar.
Elena dressed quickly and went downstairs.
Adrian was already waiting.
He stood beside the old farmhouse door, dressed in black, studying the morning fog through the glass.
He turned when he heard her.
“You slept.”
“A little.”
“That’s progress.”
She smiled.
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
She walked toward him.
“Where are Evelyn and Victor?”
“They left twenty minute
