Chapter 5: The Notebook’s Secrets

The moment Aarav stepped back into his hotel room at The Blackwood Inn, he locked the door and bolted it shut. His fingers were numb from the cold, but his mind burned with questions.

He placed Aisha’s notebook on the desk, staring at it like it might open itself.

His gut told him this was the most dangerous piece of evidence he had ever held.

Slowly, he flipped it open.

The pages were old, yellowed at the edges, but the handwriting was clear. Aisha’s words bled across the paper in hurried, urgent strokes.

At the top of the first page, three words were underlined twice:

“The Ravenshore Conspiracy.”

Aarav’s throat went dry.

Beneath the title, there was a list of names—some familiar, others unknown:

Raghav Malhotra

Commissioner R.S. Tyagi

Minister Harish Luthra

Dr. Sameer Khanna

Meera D’Souza (Deceased)

Aarav frowned. Some of these names belonged to the most powerful people in Ravenshore. A corrupt businessman, a high-ranking police official, a politician, a doctor… and a dead woman.

His fingers traced the last name.

Who was Meera D’Souza?

And more importantly, why was she the only one marked as dead?

The Murder That Started It All

Flipping through the pages, Aarav noticed detailed notes on corruption, blackmail, and threats involving Malhotra and the others.

But what caught his attention was a single paragraph in the middle of the notebook, written in a different shade of ink, as if Aisha had gone back to add it later:

"It all began with Meera D’Souza’s death. The cover-up, the lies, the threats. She knew something. And they killed her for it. If I find out what it was… I might be next."

Aarav’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.

Meera’s death wasn’t an accident.

Someone in this town killed her—and whatever she knew, Aisha had been digging into it before she vanished.

Aarav scanned further.

The next entry was more chaotic, more desperate, like Aisha had written it in a rush.

"I don’t have much time. They’re watching me. I know I’ve gotten too close. If anyone finds this, trust NO ONE. The answers are in Ravenshore’s past. In the fire. In the ashes."

Aarav stilled.

What fire? What ashes?

He quickly turned the page, but the next few pages were torn out.

He let out a frustrated breath. Someone had removed them.

Who? And why?

A Shadow in the Hallway

Aarav was still staring at the torn pages when—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His head snapped up.

The sound was coming from outside his room.

His heart pounded as he carefully stood, moving toward the door. He held his breath, listening.

Silence.