Daniel crossed the foyer in quick strides, taking in the scene with rapid, confused assessment — his grandmother kneeling on the marble floor, tears streaming down her weathered face, and Isabel crouched beside her, equally distressed, while Vivian stood over them both with an expression that shifted, the moment she registered his presence, from something cold and threatening into practiced, warm delight.
"Daniel, darling, you're home early," Vivian said, her voice honeyed and welcoming, the feather duster lowering smoothly as though it had simply been an innocent household tool all along. "What a lovely surprise."
Daniel's eyes moved past her immediately, focusing instead on his grandmother, who remained kneeling, her hands clasped together in an unmistakably pleading gesture, tears streaming freely down her face as she looked up at him.
"Grandma," he said, crouching quickly beside her, "what happened? Are you hurt?"