Alexander’s POV

“Will you join us for Christmas this year, darling? Please?” My mother’s voice carried a hopeful lilt as she stood in my office, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. She was inviting me to spend the holidays with her and my grandmother at their grand estate in Chicago.

I kept my focus on my computer screen, my fingers poised over the keyboard. “I’ll probably be buried in work, Mom. Don’t count on me,” I said, my voice flat, betraying little emotion.

She ...