I closed my eyes for a second, inhaling the scent of paper and stale coffee in my office.

“Is everything okay?” Derek asked.

“No,” I said, looking up. “But we have to keep moving. Go home, change your clothes, and buy some steel-toed boots. You’ll need them.”

Derek stood up, his posture straighter than it had been when he walked in. “Thank you, Sarah.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said. “You haven’t survived a day in the dirt.”

He gave me a brief, tight nod and walked out of the office.

I sat alone for a few minutes, staring at the empty doorway.

Priya walked in a moment later, holding a tablet and a stack of printed folders.

“The Richmond team is replacing the lock now,” she said, sitting in the chair Derek had just vacated. “They are reviewing the security footage, but the camera near the gate was obscured by a delivery truck earlier today.”

“Convenient,” I said.

“Too convenient,” Priya agreed. “And what about your brother? Is he really going to the Valley?”

“Yes,” I said. “I put him on the installation crew.”