Violet had just stepped out of the apartment building, planning to walk to a nearby shop—barely a ten-minute trip, close enough that she didn’t bother use the driver.
She’d barely gone two steps when two figures suddenly jumped out from behind a parked van, scaring the life out of her.
It took her a second to register who they were—and then her breath caught. One of them had a swollen black-and-blue face, the kind that made him look like he’d lost a bar fight.
“Aunt Polly? Uncle Benny? What happened to your face?”
Polly and Benny froze for half a heartbeat, then their eyes lit up. They’d gotten an anonymous text the day before saying Violet would be here today. They hadn’t been sure if it was real, but they’d waited outside all morning anyway—just in case.
And now, unbelievably, ther
