Chapter 1 - The Broken Earth
The dispatcher’s calm voice echoed from the dirty plastic bag like a death sentence.
My husband froze with his hands still buried in the wet soil.
The color completely drained from his face as the reality of those words hit him.
He stared at the glowing screen shining through the mud.
For a second, the only sound was the distant hum of a lawnmower and the pounding of my own heart.
Then, the porch door slammed open.
His mother marched down the wooden steps with her arms crossed over her chest.
She demanded to know what that noise was.
My husband yanked his hands out of the dirt and scrambled backward onto the grass.
He pointed a shaking finger at my buried shoulder.
He stammered that I had a phone hidden in the mud.
His mother’s eyes widened before narrowing into sharp, dangerous slits.
She did not panic like he did.
She simply walked over and stomped her heavy shoe directly onto the spot where my phone lay buried.
A sickening crunch echoed through the yard as the glass shattered beneath the soil.
The dispatcher’s voice was instantly cut off.
We were plunged back into the heavy, suffocating silence of the afternoon.
My husband dragged his hands through his hair and started pacing frantically.
He muttered that the police were already on their way and they would find me out here.
His mother told him to shut up and get the shovel.
She said they had exactly five minutes to get me out of sight.
My husband ran to the side of the shed and returned with a heavy steel spade.
He looked down at me with a terrifying mixture of fear and pure rage.
He blamed me for ruining everything.
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He raised the shovel high above his shoulders.
I closed my eyes and braced for the crushing impact.
