Stepping out of the elevator, Noah caught sight of the newcomer and greeted him with a friendly grin. “Morning, Henry.”
Henry waved his little hand in protest. “Uncle, you can’t just say ‘morning’~”
Andre burst out laughing at his son’s antics. “Say ‘good morning’ to Noah.”
Henry tried his best to imitate his dad’s voice and mumbled a shy, “Good morning,” to Noah.
They’d barely settled into the office when a series of loud bangs echoed from the hallway.
Andre’s breathing grew a bit heavier, tension filling the air.
Over at Chade Inc., Wayne was hanging out in his grandma’s office. Every now and then, he’d spot the door cracked open and would toddle over, poking his tiny fingers in the gap, determined to wedge it open.
Once he managed to get it wide enough, he squeezed through with all the determination of a toddler, using his little body to push the door the rest of the way.
It only took a minute for Coleen to notice her grandson was missing. She stood up, scanning the now-empty office—no sign of him on his little wooden horse, either. “Sweetie?”
Down the hall, Molly happened to look down and found her soft little boy pressed up against her side. “Sweetie, how’d you get out here?” she exclaimed, delighted, and scooped him up into her arms. “Were you looking for Mommy?”
Wayne grabbed at his mom’s blouse, his little voice piping up, “Mommy!”
Just then, Coleen popped out of her office in search of her grandson, only to see her daughter holding Wayne. “The door wasn’t shut, so Wayne managed to sneak out and find you himself. What a clever boy,” Coleen said, tapping his cheek affectionately.
Wayne grinned, looking more and more like his dad every day.
Molly grabbed a pile of documents from the desk and handed them to her mom. “Mom, here’s the proposal I just finished. Take a look when you have time. Wayne’s been cooped up in the office for too long, so I’m going to take him downstairs for a stroll and grab a milk tea. Want anything?”
A gentle breeze sent the fallen leaves swirling across the pavement, as if they were dancing just for them before settling down quietly.
Molly carried Wayne over to the curb and set him up for a picture. “Hold still, sweetie. Mommy wants a photo.”
By the time half an hour had passed, Molly’s phone was filled with dozens of photos of her son.
It wasn’t until Coleen called to remind her it was lunchtime that she scooped Wayne back up and headed inside.
Meanwhile, at noon, Chad was having lunch with the team when his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
Donnie glanced over, smirking. “Boss, that’s definitely your wife blowing up your phone again, isn’t it?” Donnie was flying solo these days—his wife was away, his house was too quiet, and he basically lived at the station. Lately, he was the most energized guy on the team, breaking records and solving cases left and right.
Chad scrolled through the family group chat, a big smile spreading across his face as he looked at each photo. “Yeah, it’s her. She’s sending more pictures of Wayne.”

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