#Chapter 80: Love Realized

Logan Outside, the wind howled like something wild was circling the estate. But inside, everything was still. Except me. Emily had gone to bed hours ago. I stayed behind, pouring over the letters and files she had let me see. Everything was spread across the table in carefully ordered stacks. Legal summaries, historical property maps, letters scrawled in that old Blackwood hand I’d seen only once before. I’d read them all twice. I wasn’t absorbing anything anymore though. My focus kept drifting to the page on top, one of the notarized witness statements. A thin margin note in Emily’s handwriting curved along the edge. Sharp, precise pen strokes. Thoughtful. Measured. Hers. And then there was her signature. It sat near the bottom of the page, elegant and clear. I found myself reaching out. My thumb brushed across the ink. Just once. I wasn’t even thinking, just... remembering. The feel of her hand when she passed me that page three days ago. The way her fingers had lingered