Chapter 22 Echoes Of The Past

• The hum of Jack Harper’s desk lamp was the only sound breaking the stillness of the precinct’s archive room. Stacks of dusty files and ancient manuscripts lay scattered around him, a maze of paper and ink that whispered of secrets long buried. The flickering light cast erratic shadows on the walls, adding to the sense of urgency that had gripped Jack ever since the resurgence of the malevolent entity. Despite their victory over Seraphine, the darkness that had briefly been held at bay was creeping back into the city, and Jack was determined to uncover its origins.
• Isabella O'Connor, her brow furrowed in concentration, poured over an array of ancient texts spread across a wooden table. The air was thick with the musty scent of old parchment, mingling with the faint aroma of coffee that Jack had brought along. Maria, ever the vigilant partner, leaned against the table, her gaze alternating between Isabella’s notes and the shifting shadows outside the window.
• Jack rifled through a particularly old ledger, its leather cover cracked with age. “There has to be something here—anything that links the past to what we’re dealing with now,” he muttered to himself.