Elias did not sleep.<\/p>
By midnight, the rain had become heavy. By one, the river had risen over the lowest steps near the eastern pier. By two, the entire town was dark except for a few candles burning behind windows.<\/p>
His grandmother refused to explain anything.<\/p>
Instead, she sat at the kitchen table and stared at the map.<\/p>
"There is a place on this map that does not exist anymore," she said.<\/p>
"Where?"<\/p>
"The old observatory."<\/p>
Elias spread the map across the table.<\/p>
It showed Bellmere as it had apparently looked more than a hundred years earlier. The river was narrower. The eastern forest was larger. A railway line crossed the southern fields.<\/p>
And beyond the forest, on top of a hill, was a circular building marked with a star.<\/p>
The observatory.<\/p>
"It isn't there," Elias said.<\/p>
"It was destroyed."<\/p>
"When?"<\/p>
"Forty-three years ago."<\/p>
"What happened?"<\/p>
His grandmother looked toward the window.<\/p>
"Your grandfather went there."<\/p>
Elias felt a coldness in his stomach.<\/p>
"You said he didn't die here."<\/p>
"He disappeared."<\/p>
"That's not the same thing."<\/p>
"No," she said. "It is worse."<\/p>
She pointed to the brass key.<\/p>
"He left this behind."<\/p>
Elias picked it up.<\/p>
It was heavier than it looked. A tiny number had been engraved near the bow.<\/p>
17.<\/p>
"Seventeen?"<\/p>","content_type":"text","word_count":250,"is_visible":1,"notes":null,"created_at":"2026-09-07 10:20:03","updated_at":"2026-09-07 10:20:03","chapter_title":"THE MAP BENEATH THE FLOOR \/ CHAPTER TWO"},"has_next":true,"has_prev":true,"page_num":4,"total":15}