Chapter 2

I cut her off. “It’s fine. I accept the decision.”

Then, I hung up.

Shortly afterward, Morgan walked into the CEO’s office with a young man.

He wore an ill-fitting suit with a name badge pinned to his chest.

It said, [Ryan Hayden].

Apparently, he was Morgan’s cousin and had just returned from abroad.

Morgan nudged him forward.

“Ryan’s taking over as Duncan’s assistant. Hand everything over to him.”

I glanced at him.

Ryan looked rather excited.

“Ms. Ziegler, I hope you’ll show me the ropes.”

I smiled. “I’ve resigned, actually.”

Morgan snorted. “Oh, please. You still have to hand over your work.”

“Of course.”

I handed him the form to transfer access to the CEO’s office systems.

Ryan frowned as he read it.

“I’m getting access to all these systems?”

“Yes.”

“Even the alerts for the overseas accounts?”

“Ms. Eddy said to give you everything.”

“The admin access of the group chat for the Tohn family as well?”

I turned to Morgan. “Should I give that to him?”

Morgan waved impatiently. “Yes, yes, all of it. I don’t want you to use any of this as an excuse to contact Duncan again once you’re gone.”

Several colleagues in the CEO’s office lowered their heads.

I did not bother explaining.

For three years, I had been the one who remembered Duncan’s jacket size, where his stomach medication was kept, and the dates of his grandfather George Tohn’s monthly checkups.

I even remembered which board member hated having meetings rescheduled at the last minute.

None of those details seemed to count for much.

However, if I let even one slip, someone would lose their mind.

The person who handled all that had always been me.

It was finally someone else’s turn.

That evening, I took my suitcase and headed for the airport.

By the time my flight landed in Frostvik, it was well past midnight back home.

I switched off my phone and checked into a room at a small seaside inn.

There were no meeting minutes to write, no relentless phone calls, no one asking what Duncan would eat tomorrow, what he would wear, or who he was meeting.

I took a hot bath and slept until I woke up naturally.

When I opened my eyes, snow stretched as far as I could see outside the window.

I lay in bed for a long time and just stared into space.

After all, I had forgotten how good it felt to sleep that well.

I did not switch my phone back on until my third day in Frostvik.

Notifications flooded the screen.

I had twenty-seven missed calls and over ninety-nine unread WhatsApp messages. My email inbox was overflowing, too.

Lauren’s message was the first one I read.

[Natalie, Ms. Eddy sent someone to collect the handover files from your computer. She said Ryan had started and wanted you to send them over.]

A photo followed.

In it, Ryan was standing beside my desk and impatiently leafing through a stack of documents.

I sent Lauren a reply.

[Everything’s on the company’s shared drive.]

She replied almost immediately.

[He can’t find it.]

I laughed.

Of course, he could not.

The shared drive was packed with files. Duncan’s schedule alone was spread across seven folders.

They had access to all of it—public engagements, confidential appointments, tentative plans, family commitments, visits from overseas guests, business trips, and records of last-minute changes.

It was just that making sense of it took time.

Unfortunately, time was exactly what they did not have.

Half an hour later, Ryan added me on WhatsApp.

His first message was, [Ms. Ziegler, please send me Mr. Tohn’s schedule.]

I replied, [Which one?]

That seemed to throw him.

[There’s more than one?]

[Yes.]

I sent him a list.

It contained Duncan’s upcoming appointments, his schedule for the next three months, invitations awaiting confirmation, board meetings, personal engagements, family arrangements, medical contacts, and a time zone reference sheet for overseas travel.

Ryan took a long time to reply.

Then, he wrote, [Just put everything in a folder and send it over.]

[Sure.]

I opened my laptop and began sorting through the files one by one.

I went through reference materials, meeting trackers, project timelines, business contacts, flight and hotel bookings, driver schedules, and the housekeeper’s contact details.

Then, I even listed the medications Duncan always took on business trips, his dislike of cilantro, and his insistence on drinking only warm water during flights.

In the end, I added one more document.

It was called [Easily Overlooked Matters.]

It was a list of reminders.

[Last year, Duncan promised to send his business partner Mr. Fuller’s mother a birthday gift. Her birthday is next Wednesday.]

[The gift for his business partner Mr. Doose’s newborn daughter has been ordered. The delivery address is in the notes.]

[George’s personal physician is Dr. Finn McCrae. His history of drug allergies is attached.]

[The charity dinner Morgan committed Duncan to last month without checking conflicts with his private meeting with Nardini Group. Please resolve this as soon as possible.]

None of these tasks was particularly demanding on its own.

Together, though, they could leave someone barely able to catch their breath.

I sent Ryan the zip file.

At the end of the email, I added a line.

[All files have been handed over. Please confirm receipt. If you find anything missing, please contact the company’s current person in charge.]

Ryan replied almost immediately.

[Received.]

I saved a screenshot.

That evening, people in the CEO’s office group chat kept tagging me.

[Ms. Ziegler, has Mr. Tohn’s suit been sent to the dry cleaners’?]

[Ms. Ziegler, Mr. George’s doctor has rescheduled his appointment. What should we do?]

I opened each message.

Then, I gave them all the same reply.

[I no longer work for the company. Please contact Mr. Hayden or Ms. Eddy.]

Sitting by the hotel window, I looked out at the distant snow-covered mountains and booked a flight to Mapleward.

I had seen the northern lights in Frostvik.

Next, I wanted to spend a few days in Mapleward.