"By midnight…”

Already a terrible start to any sentence.

“…Jake, Mia, and Aria were crouched behind Redwood Town Archives—”

“…because, of course, breaking and entering was the perfect way to spend a Tuesday night.”

Aria whispered:

“Reminder… this is technically illegal.”

Jake grinned immediately.

“It’s illegal with a purpose.”

Sir.

That is NOT how laws work.

Mia said exactly that.

“Jake, that’s not how laws work. This is literally how people end up in prison.”

Jake shrugged while climbing toward the window like a raccoon with confidence.

“Adventure trespassing. Totally different.”

Inside—

the archive basement smelled like—

“old paper and poor life choices.”

INCREDIBLE description.

Rows of dusty files stretched endlessly.

Like a librarian’s final boss level.

Mia eyed the room suspiciously.

“If this all ends with us getting a history lecture from a ghost…”

“…I’m quitting the detective business.”

Jake smirked instantly.

“Ghosts are just history’s way of saying…”

“…I really wanted better security.”

Aria found the dusty map pinned to the wall.

“Look at this.”

“Every time this town built something new…”

“…it pointed toward the council building.”

Jake tapped the map dramatically.

“And guess who probably has a secret tunnel under his office?”

Mia raised an eyebrow.

“Let me guess.”

“Sheriff Lucas Hayes?”

Jake smirked slowly.

“We’re just getting started.”

And somewhere—

dramatic Netflix music started playing.