Chapter 56 – The Storm Before Dawn
The sky above Moonshadow Ridge was the color of bruised violets, a quiet prelude to a storm waiting to break. The wind swept across the ridge, carrying with it the scent of pine, damp soil, and something else—something metallic, like blood and memory.
Elena stood at the balcony of the old manor, her hand gripping the rusted railing as she stared into the horizon. The events of the past few days had left her shaken—her heart torn between what she knew to be right and what her soul longed for. The letter she had found beneath her pillow the night before still burned in her mind, its ink smudged as though the writer had wept while writing it.
“By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. But know that every lie I told was to keep you safe.
— Adrian.”
She ha
