The silence in the aftermath of Sebastian's call to the city was thick enough to choke on. Sarah stood by the edge of the massive excavation pit, the metallic pink of her dress shimmering mockingly against the backdrop of grey grit and jagged iron. She felt like a neon sign in a graveyard. For the first time since she had walked away from the wreckage of her life with Martin, a cold, familiar fear began to crawl up her spine.
This wasn't just a mistake. It was a calculated erasure.
Sebastian's phone sat heavy in his hand as they waited for Adrian to call back. The twenty minutes that followed were the most grueling of Sarah's life. She paced the perimeter of the dirt, her heels sinking slightly into the soft earth. Every time a construction machine roared or a metal rod clattered, she jumped.
