2

Veronica

After lunch, Robyn started to unpack the ornaments while I went up to my bedroom to change clothes. They'd still made us wear our uniforms this morning, even though most of us were just going home for the holiday. I felt sorry for the few students who spent the holiday at school.

I was at the top of the stairs when I realized I'd forgotten my purse in the foyer. I went back down to grab it, mostly wanting to check my phone for messages, when I heard a low, deep male voice I didn't recognize.

"It's done, old man."

I froze at the bottom of the stairs. Old man?

"You cannot do this."

My grandfather's voice was stern, his tone angry, rattled. I'd never heard him like that before. He always spoke quietly, never raised his voice, didn't need to. In his late sixties, he was still a formidable man.

My mother had been his only surviving child, and I remembered well the night I'd met my grandfather. Our parents had never brought us here, and Robyn had been a baby when he'd come to our h