Chapter 48: Beneath the Veil of Secrets
The night pressed heavy against Moonshadow Ridge, a silence so thick it felt almost alive. Elena lay awake in her room, the candle by her bedside flickering as though it too sensed the tension weaving its way through the manor. Every shadow seemed to stretch longer than usual, every whisper of the wind carried an edge sharp enough to slice through her thoughts.
She could not sleep. Not after what she had seen. The glimmer in the darkness—steel catching moonlight. A pocket watch, or something far more dangerous? Her mind replayed the moment again and again, the way the figure had lingered at the edge of the forest, as though waiting, watching.
Damien had noticed it too. She had seen the tightening of his jaw, the way his hand had drifted instinctiv
