Chapter 1 - The Man Behind the Glass
“Jingle bells, jingle bells…”
Hannah Mercer sang so quietly that even she could barely hear herself.
She pushed the vacuum across the dark hardwood floor of Ethan Whitmore’s office while Ellie stared up at the Christmas lights reflected in the glass wall.
The baby smiled.
Hannah smiled back.
For three seconds, everything felt almost normal.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
“Who is that?”
Hannah froze.
The vacuum stopped.
Ellie stopped chewing her rabbit.
Hannah slowly turned.
Ethan Whitmore stood in the doorway.
She recognized him instantly.
Every employee did.
He wasn't wearing the tailored suit she had seen in company photographs. Tonight he wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and dark trousers. His tie was missing.
He looked less like a CEO and more like a tired man who had forgotten what time it was.
His eyes moved from Hannah to the stroller.
Then to Ellie.
Then back to Hannah.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “I know she isn't supposed to be here.”
Ethan said nothing.
Hannah's heart pounded.
“I couldn't find anyone to watch her. My babysitter fell. I already have two attendance strikes, and I—”
“I didn't ask for an explanation.”
Hannah lowered her eyes.
“Right.”
Ethan walked into the office.
His gaze remained on Ellie.
The baby looked back.
For a strange moment, neither moved.
Then Ellie lifted her stuffed rabbit.
Ethan's face changed.
Only slightly.
But Hannah noticed.
“What's her name?”
“Ellie.”
“How old?”
“Ten months.”
Ethan swallowed.
“Ten months.”
“Yes.”
He looked away.
Hannah had no idea why.
She reached for the vacuum.
“I'll finish quickly.”
“You can stop.”
Her head snapped up.
“I'm sorry?”
“I said you can stop.”
“But the office isn't finished.”
“It's Christmas Eve.”
“I know.”
“You have a baby.”
“I know.”
“Go home.”
Hannah stared at him.
If this was kindness, she couldn't afford it.
“Mr. Whitmore, I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I need the hours.”
His expression hardened.
“Money?”
She nodded.
“How much?”
Hannah stiffened.
“I'm not asking you for money.”
“I didn't say you were.”
“I just need to finish my shift.”
Ethan studied her.
Then Ellie made a soft noise.
“Da…”
Hannah looked down.
“She's trying to say dog.”
Ethan's eyes flickered.
“Dog.”
Ellie smiled.
Hannah picked up the stuffed rabbit.
“See? Rabbit.”
Ellie immediately dropped it.
Ethan almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he turned away.
“Finish.”
Hannah blinked.
“You just told me to go home.”
“I changed my mind.”
He walked toward the dark conference room.
At the doorway, he stopped.
“And don't use the industrial cleaner on the wooden desk.”
“I wasn't.”
“Good.”
He disappeared behind the glass.
Hannah exhaled.
She didn't know why the man's presence made the entire room feel colder.
She didn't know why he kept looking at Ellie.
And she certainly didn't know why Ethan Whitmore had just broken the one rule he had never broken before.
He had allowed a child inside his office.
Across the hallway, Ethan closed the conference-room door.
He pressed both hands against the table.
His breathing had become uneven.
Ten months.
The exact age his daughter, Claire, had been when she died.
Four years ago.
Christmas Eve.
He closed his eyes.
And suddenly he could hear another baby's laugh.
Claire's laugh.
He had been in this same building that night.
Working.
Always working.
He had ignored three calls from his wife.
By the time he answered the fourth, Claire was already gone.
A fever.
A seizure.
An ambulance stuck behind an accident.
Twenty-three minutes.
Twenty-three minutes had changed his entire life.
His wife had never forgiven him.
Neither had he.
Ethan opened his eyes.
Through the glass, Hannah was kneeling beside Ellie.
The baby reached for her mother's face.
Hannah kissed her forehead.
Something inside Ethan cracked.
He looked down at his phone.
There was one message from his mother.
Come home, Ethan. Please. It's been four years.
He deleted it.
Then another message appeared.
From his security director.
We need to discuss something unusual on the executive floor.
Ethan frowned.
He typed back.
What?
The response arrived immediately.
Someone accessed your office last night after midnight.
Ethan looked toward the door.
His blood went cold.
Because nobody should have been able to access his office.
Not without his keycard.
Not without security seeing it.
And whoever had entered had left something behind.
A small white envelope.
May you like
With his daughter's name written across it.
CLAIRE.
