Harriet’s office was filled with the glow of lamps before sunrise.
The team gathered around a freeze-frame from the security footage. The message was unmistakable: “Find the Ash Ledger before they do.”
Harriet wrote two headings on her investigation board:
Group One: Protect the Promise.
Group Two: Find the Ash Ledger.
For the first time, the mystery had more than one active player. The question was no longer who was helping Lydia? It was why two different groups were racing toward the same document.
The Watcher quietly studied the board but said nothing. Harriet noticed. “You know something.” After a long silence, he admitted, “I know why the Ash Ledger terrifies people.”
Everyone had assumed the Ash Ledger was another diary or journal. The Watcher corrected them. It wasn’t. The As
