The rain arrived before dawn.
Not a storm. Just a slow, steady curtain that washed across the eastern coastline of Valenridge.
Sebastian stood in his office watching droplets race down the tall windows.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he turned toward the thick file lying open on his desk.
Across its cover, someone had written three words in faded black ink. East Delta Barrier.
Below it, another stamp read:
PROJECT COMPLETED.
Sebastian closed the file.
"It was never completed." Magnus, who had been reviewing engineering reports beside him, nodded.
"No."
"It never even began."
Two hours later, the Presidential convoy headed east. Unlike the visits to Kashara, this journey felt heavier. No one chatted during the drive. Even Vivian remained unusually quiet. She had spent most of the previous night reading witness statements from families who had survived the floods.
Some of them still carried photographs.
Some no longer had photographs to carry.
