0:00 The dust was the first thing she noticed.0:03 Every morning, the same fine grey film over everything.0:08 Like a shroud.0:09 Just like in our story last week, you soon learn the smallest details are the ones that carry the most weight.0:19 She wiped it from the glass of the picture frame on the mantel.0:25 There they were.0:27 Her and Liam.0:28 Squinting into the Spanish sun, his arm tight around her.0:33 She smiled, setting the frame down.0:36 Perfectly straight.0:38 Everything had to be perfect.0:40 He was coming home today.0:43 The house was quiet.0:44 A deep, humming silence that felt heavier than it should.0:50 She moved through the rooms, a ghost in her own home.0:54 In the kitchen, she turned the brass tap.0:58 A hollow groan echoed from the pipes, but no water came out.1:04 She flicked the light switch by the door.1:07 Nothing.1:08 He must have forgotten the utilities again.1:12 His head was always somewhere else before a long trip.1:17 It was one of the things she loved about him.1:21 She drifted into the bedroom.1:23 The air was thick with the scent of lavender and old paper.1:29 From the cedar chest, she pulled his favorite grey sweater.1:34 Cashmere.1:35 She laid it carefully across the neatly made bed, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from the sleeve.1:44 She remembered the day he bought it, how he’d complained about the price and then wore it for a week straight.1:54 She leaned down, expecting his scent—sandalwood and soap.1:59 But there was nothing.2:01 Just the faint, dry smell of dust.2:04 She took her place at the front window.2:07 Her post.2:08 How long had she been waiting?2:11 The sun seemed stuck in the same patch of sky.2:15 Time felt… syrupy.2:17 Slow.2:17 Then, finally, a car turned onto their lane.2:21 But it wasn't Liam's familiar blue sedan.2:25 This was a silver SUV.2:27 Sleek and unfamiliar.2:29 It crunched to a halt on the gravel drive.2:33 And Liam got out.2:34 He looked older.2:36 Thinner.2:36 There were lines around his eyes she didn't recognize.2:41 And he was not alone.2:43 A woman with bright blonde hair emerged from the passenger side.2:49 She took his hand.2:51 Elara felt a cold knot form in her stomach.2:54 Who was this woman?2:56 Why was she holding his hand?2:59 They walked up the path, their feet crunching on fallen leaves.3:04 Liam’s steps were heavy.3:07 The woman pointed to the rose bushes, now a dead tangle of thorns.3:13 Liam just nodded, his face a mask of sorrow.3:17 He reached the front door and pulled a key from his pocket.3:22 Not the old brass one with the lion's head.3:26 This was small.3:27 Silver.3:28 It slid into the lock with a clean, sharp click that echoed in the silent hall.3:35 Elara stood just on the other side of the door, her own hands clenched into fists.3:42 She was ready.3:44 Ready to ask.3:45 Ready to scream.3:46 The door swung inward.3:48 Liam and the woman stepped across the threshold.3:53 They moved right through the space where Elara was standing, and a sudden, icy chill passed through her entire being.4:03 The woman wrapped her arms around herself.4:07 "Oh," she said.4:08 "It's freezing in here." Liam didn't seem to notice the cold.4:14 His eyes went straight to the mantelpiece.4:18 Straight to the photo.4:20 He walked over, his footsteps loud on the bare wood floors.4:25 He picked up the frame.4:27 He ran his thumb over the glass.4:30 "It's clean," he murmured, a strange, confused look on his face.4:36 He turned to the woman.4:38 "The agent SWORE no one had been inside for a year." From the back of the house, the woman’s voice floated out.4:48 "Liam?4:48 Did you leave a sweater out on the bed?" Liam froze.4:53 He hadn't touched a single thing in this house.4:57 Not since the accident.
