Chapter 45 - The Book Without an Author
While officers documented the observatory, one crime-scene technician discovered a loose stone beneath the central staircase.
Hidden underneath rested a thick hardcover book wrapped in waxed cloth.
Unlike every previous document, it bore no title.
No initials.
No publication date.
Only blank leather.
Inside, each chapter described important events from the history of the Eight Promises.
Flood rescues.
Bridge collapses.
Factory explosions.
Community relief operations.
Yet something disturbed Elena immediately.
The final chapters described events from the current investigation.
Harold's assault.
Arthur's disappearance.
The discovery of Archive East.
Even the visit to the observatory.
The final page ended only minutes before their arrival.
At the bottom, fresh ink still glistened.
> They have finally found this place.
No one had written inside the room since the team entered.
The ink should have been impossible.
Elena immediately ordered fingerprints, DNA sampling, and ink analysis.
The technician carefully examined the page.
"It's still drying."
Harold slowly closed the book.
"Whoever wrote this..."
"...expected us today."
Outside, one officer ran toward the observatory entrance.
"Detective!"
Elena looked up.
"What happened?"
"We found another vehicle."
"Whose is it?"
"No registration."
"Anyone inside?"
The officer shook his head.
"But there's something on the driver's seat."
Harold already knew the answer before anyone opened the door.
Another silver emblem rested in the center of the seat.
This one carried a newly engraved inscription that none of them had seen before:
"The Chronicle Has Begun."
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For the first time since the investigation started, Harold felt the story was no longer about uncovering the past.
Someone else had begun writing the future—and they wanted every member of the investigation to become part of it.
