As the days turned into weeks after the "Echoes of the Past" event, the vibrant energy that had filled the community center lingered, but beneath it lay an undercurrent of curiosity and unease. Ella, Lydia, Alexander, and the man in the feathered mask found themselves increasingly aware of the stories left untold—the darker, more complicated aspects of Blackwood's history that had remained buried, overshadowed by the more comforting narratives of resilience and unity.

One rainy afternoon, as Ella was organizing her notes and feedback from the last gathering, she stumbled across an old newspaper clipping tucked away in the back of a dusty file. The headline read, "Mysterious Disappearance Shakes Blackwood: Young Girl Vanishes Without a Trace." Ella’s heart raced as she read through the article, detailing the 1940s disappearance of a local girl named Clara Hastings. The piece recounted how Clara had gone missing on a stormy night, leaving her family and the town searching in vain for clues. Despite extensive searches, Clara was never found, and the case eventually went cold.