Beneath the Shadow's Gaze

a looked up from behind the counter, her heart fluttering with anticipation. But instead of a famili

keep her voice steady despite the uneas

h suspicion. “You need t stop looking for the miss

inous warning. “Who are you?” she de

er like a knife. “You have no idea what you’re getting yoursel

d and vanished into the shadows, leavin

ed to stop her from uncovering the truth about the missing heirloom? She knew she should be scared, but instead, a spark of defi

ts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from beh

,” he said, his voice

n his tone. “What is it?” she asked,

words. “There’s something you need to know about me,” he began,

inue. What could possibly be so terrible that Lucas felt the ne

ctivities,” Lucas confessed, his eyes fill

at kind of activities? And how did

r voice barely a whisper. “What do

fession. “The truth is, I knew about the missing heirloom befor

unravel the mystery of the stolen book. But now, faced with the revelation of hi

oner?” she demanded, her v

fraid,” he confessed. “Afraid that if you knew the tru

. She had let herself trust Lucas, had allowed herself to believe that he was on her side. But now

” she said, her voice barel

he made her way home, Ava couldn’t shake the feeling of uncertainty that gnawed at her insides. How could she trust Lucas

n between Lucas’s past and the missing heirloom was more dangerous than she had ever imagined. And as she drifted off to sleep, haunted