“Thank you for Christmas,” she said.

Nathaniel watched the elevator doors close.

The feeling that followed was not triumph.

It was the uncomfortable knowledge that two nights could not solve what brought them there.

PART 5
The Morning After Christmas

Nathaniel woke at six, as he did every workday, and reached automatically for his phone.

Three project emails waited.

A concrete subcontractor wanted approval and his chief financial officer had marked a budget forecast urgent.