Notes what the future holds (4)
I believe the answer is:
fate
'what the future holds' is the definition.
(someone's fate is their destiny or future)
'notes' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'notes' could be 'fa' and 'fa' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'te' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
(Other definitions for fate that I've seen before include "Lot -- doom" , "Fortune" , "Predetermined end" , "Inevitable destiny" , "Predestination" .)