Where the Avenue Ends in Fire

Previously

…The encounter had confirmed her suspicions. Elias Thorne was not just a concerned citizen; he was a guardian of secrets, and he was watching her. The journal wasn’t just a historical document; it was a dangerous key, and she had just turned it in the lock. The silence of Oakhaven was no longer a sanctuary; it was a carefully constructed facade, and Anya was beginning to see the cracks. The unwritten pages of Eleanor Vance’s story were drawing her in, and she knew, with a chilling certainty, that the path ahead would be fraught with peril. The shadows Mrs. Gable had warned her about were indeed deep and cold, and Anya had just taken her first tentative step into their embrace.