Chapter 1 - The Broken Music Box
At exactly 6:46 on Christmas Eve, Hadley Rowan dropped to her knees on the floor of the corner executive office, her heart pounding with sheer, paralyzing terror.
The brass plate on the door read Jude Tolbert, CEO.
On the carpet in front of her lay a shattered walnut music box. Her ten-month-old daughter, Mae, who was supposed to be asleep in her secondhand stroller, had managed to crawl out from beneath her fleece blanket and pull the delicate box off the bottom shelf. The tiny brass hinge had completely snapped.
Hadley’s hands were shaking violently as she tried to press the hinge back into place. It wouldn’t hold.
She was a night cleaner at the Tolbert candy warehouse. She lived paycheck to paycheck. Missing work tonight meant losing her holiday bonus and earning her third absence point, which meant automatic termination. She had begged her backup daycare, but Mrs. Penland had broken her wrist, and no one else would take the baby on Christmas Eve. So, desperate and terrified, Hadley had smuggled Mae into the building.
The music box had been covered in dust, hidden behind old reports. Hadley could have easily pushed it back onto the shelf with the broken side facing the wall. No one would have noticed for weeks.
But Hadley looked at Mae’s wide, innocent eyes watching her.
With trembling fingers, Hadley tore a work sheet from her cleaning folder and wrote in large, clear letters: I broke this. My daughter knocked it down. I am very sorry. I will pay for it or repair it, whichever you prefer. Hadley Rowan, night staff.
She added her phone number, propped the note against the broken box, and placed it back on the shelf. It felt like signing her own termination papers.
Suddenly, Mae coughed.
It wasn't a normal baby cough. It was sharp and hollow, like the bark of a seal. Then came a thin, high whistle every time she breathed in.
Hadley snatched the baby up in a panic. Mae’s chest pulled inward violently with every breath.
"Okay, baby. Mama's here," Hadley whispered, frantically fumbling for her phone.
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Behind her, the door to the dark, glass-walled conference room slowly opened.
👉 Who has been watching Hadley the entire time, and what will he do?
