Horrific Label

The taxi's headlights sliced through the night, casting long shadows on the streets as we made our way to the Park Hyatt Sydney Hotel. I was lost in thought, contemplating the fresh start awaiting me in this new city, when the impulse to reach out to Allison struck me. Maybe it was the need for a familiar voice or maybe just the nerves of a new beginning, but I found my fingers tapping out a message on my phone's glowing screen.

"How are you doing now?" I typed, hoping for a light conversation to ease my thoughts.

I watched the city lights blur past as the taxi driver drove along the streets, the hum of the engine a steady background to my anxious wait for a reply. Moments ticked by, each one stretching longer than the last, until my phone finally buzzed with a response.

I opened the message, and Allison's words sent a jolt through me: "I haven't been feeling well; even when I gave you that job to do, I was in the hospital. I got into a domestic accident."

My heart sank. The message c