Ava felt the cold breeze seep through the cracks in the old mansion as she stood beside Jasper, her mind still racing from the previous confrontation with Noah. The locket, now heavy in her pocket, seemed to burn with a truth she wasn't sure she was ready to face. Noah's silence haunted her, and the weight of his unspoken words seemed to linger in the air, thick with tension.
"What is it, Jasper?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jasper didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to her with a quiet but firm expression.
"What's this?" Ava asked, her eyes narrowing as she examined the paper. It was old, faded, the edges worn as though it had been handled countless times.
"Something you need to see," Jasper replied, his voice tense.
Ava unfolded the paper, revealing a series of cryptic symbols and a name written in elegant, flowing script: Dorian Hale. Her heart stopped. The name alone was enough to send a chill through her veins.
"This… this doesn't make sense," Ava muttered, her fingers trembling as she traced the name. "What does he have to do with this?"
Jasper's gaze darkened. "Everything."
The realization hit her like a wave, and she staggered back, trying to process the sudden flood of information. Dorian Hale was more than just a name from the past. He was the key to everything—the locket, Noah's secretive behavior, and her own search for answers.