Ledger of Secrets.Silas laid the manufacturing paperwork on the wooden table in the safe house, the weak light flickering and creating lengthy shadows across the room. With her fingers tracing over the pages containing strange symbols and figures, Eleanor sat beside him, her face taut with concentration. Silent and oppressive, the weight of what they had discovered rested between them.Leaning closer, Silas let out a breath. "It’s coded," he said, tapping his fingers over a row of digits. "These aren't merely shipments, even if each entry appears to be a transaction. Look, these initials, these names. They are human.Eleanor tensed. "Human trafficking," she said in a voice that was just audible above breath.He gave a sad nod. "Hartwell does more than merely smuggle narcotics and guns. People are being moved by him. selling them.Her stomach churned. Scanning the numbers, she put a palm to her temple. "These initials... By themselves, they don't make sense. However, if we compare the

Lost Evidence.Silas walked, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides, the severe angles of his jaw hardly softened by the dim light of the hideaway. With her head in her hands, Eleanor sat on the shabby sofa. The oppressive quiet between them was laced with blame and unspoken words. Then Silas turned, his voice low and sharp, like a broken wire."Eleanor, you lost the pictures." His breath was unsteady as he ran a hand over his unkempt hair. "We no longer have the only leverage we had."Eleanor's blue eyes flashed defiantly as she looked up. "They were not lost by me. We were almost shot by Jasper Crowe! I apologize for putting my life before clinging to a lousy bag.With his rage hardly contained, Silas let out a breath through his nostrils. "Do you not understand? That served as our evidence…"I understand, Silas!" Refusing to back down, she sprang to her feet and stood with him chest to chest. What are you expecting me to do, though? Ask Crowe to return my luggage as you

Safe House Sabotage.Tucked down in the forest, a forgotten artifact concealed by ivy and darkness, was the safe home. The weight of secret pressed in from all sides, and the air inside was heavy with the smell of damp earth and old timber.As though a single bolt could stop the mayhem, Silas pushed the heavy door shut behind them. Eleanor sank onto the frayed couch next to him, wincing as she pressed a hand to her side, and his pulse continued to thunder from the escape. Her fingers were coated with blood. Too much.Silas crouched next to her, his adrenaline now tinged with anxiety, murmured, "You should be lying down."With a short exhale, Eleanor's lips curled into a smirk that hardly extended past her eyes. "That is not something we have time for."He clenched his jaw. obstinate woman. "Eleanor, you were shot."She gave a shrug. "But here I am nonetheless."A figure moved from the doorway, a presence honed by time and tempered by the furnace of battle. Prescott, Violet. Her pierci

A Deadly Plan.As Silas walked, his jaw clinched, his mind racing, the weak illumination of a streetlamp created lengthy shadows on the walls of the safe home. Like a vice, the weight of what Eleanor had heard at the banquet weighed down on him. Eleanor was leaning on the edge of a wooden table across the room, her arms folded and her face inscrutable. Like a live wire, the tension between them crackled."He passes away tomorrow evening," she said again in a hushed voice. "Everything we've worked for will be for nothing if we don't stop Hartwell from planning an assassination."Silas let out a loud sigh. "And how can we prevent it without making ourselves targets?" His blue eyes searched hers for something, caution, reason, anything other than the reckless resolve for which she was known.Eleanor's black locks fell over her shoulder as she cocked her head. "We don't have to physically stop them. All we have to do is let the senator know that he is being pursued. He will take safeguard

The Estate’s Secrets.Before them, a hideous silhouette against the black sky, the estate loomed. The imposing building was surrounded by thick walls that were covered with thorns and ivy, forming an impenetrable stronghold. The smell of moist earth permeated the air, blending with the subtle notes of cigar smoke coming from a balcony far away.With excitement pumping through his veins, Silas knelt next to Eleanor, his breathing steady. "We remain low. "Don't make any abrupt movements," he said, looking around for any guards.Eleanor nodded and stepped closer, putting a gloved palm on the chilly stone wall. Their shapes blended in perfectly with the darkness as the shadows engulfed them.With his gun hung languidly over his shoulder, a guard walked along the eastern hallway. Curling his fingers over the grip of his sword, Silas held his breath. After lingering for a while and saying something to himself, the guy vanished into the courtyard.Boots hardly making a sound against the grav