"You won't believe what I discovered."
Claire's urgent tone pulled me back into the room as I paused in my tracks. Her face was pale with a mix of terror and excitement as she stood close to the hearth, holding an old leather-bound notebook.
"What is it?" My chest suddenly tightened, but I asked in a steady voice.
Claire pointed at the journal and said, "It's Aria's."
The worn leather was velvety under my hands when I took it after staring at it for a while. It seemed menacingly heavy, as if it held all the secrets I had been yearning to learn.
Claire paused, staring at the entrance as though she thought someone might suddenly enter. "I should not have discovered it." Victor's office was where it was concealed. All this time, he has kept it.
My breath caught. "Winner? What would make
