Chapter 1 – The Call
Rhi was halfway through a spreadsheet when her phone rang.
She ignored it.
The number was unfamiliar, and she had trained herself well. Unknown numbers meant interruptions, and interruptions were inefficient. She finished the line she was checking, saved the file, and only then reached for the phone.
“Rhiannon Stirling,” she said, already opening her email with her free hand.
There was a pause on the other end. Short. Controlled.
“Ms Stirling, this is South Wales Fire and Rescue.”
She stopped typing.
“Yes,” she said, immediately. Not hello. Not speaking. Yes was quicker.
“There’s been an incident at your premises on Wellfield Road.”
Incident. Not accident. Not emergency.
Her mind moved ahead of the voice, slotting possibilities into place with practiced ease. Electrical fault. Adjacent property. Contained. Insurance would want timelines.
“I’m listening,” she said.
Another pause. Longer this time.
“There was a fire overnight. The building has been secured, but—”
“Is anyone hurt?” she interrupted.
“No.”
“Good.” Relief arrived, brief and functional. “Was it structural or contained to—”
“Ms Stirling,” the voice said gently now. “The shop itself has sustained significant damage.”
Rhi swivelled in her chair, eyes already scanning the wall where her insurance folder sat, alphabetised and colour-coded. Significant damage was vague. Vague could be managed.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll need the report number, the attending officer’s name, and confirmation of the cause once it’s determined.”
Silence.
Then: “I’m very sorry.”
That was the moment something shifted - not in her chest, not in her breathing, but somewhere behind her eyes, like a misfiled document she would come back to later.
“I’ll be there within the hour,” she said. “Please make sure no one removes anything before the adjuster arrives.”
She ended the call before the man could say anything else.
Only then did she look at the time. Only then did she notice her hands were shaking.
Rhi pressed them flat against the desk until they stopped.
Fire was a problem.
Problems had solutions.
She reached for her coat and her keys, already thinking about contingencies, already drafting emails in her head.
There would be forms. There would be meetings. There would be a way forward.
There always was.
