Chapter 9

Violet waved as her sister Vera’s face popped up on her phone for their monthly video chat. Someone yelled and then there was a crash, but Vera just shrugged.

“Ethan has a new soccer ball and I told him”—she looked over her shoulder—“not to play with it inside. Ethan Lucas, if you break another vase I’m going to put you up for adoption!”

“Yeah right!” Ethan called from the background.

Vera rolled her eyes. Two years older than Violet, Vera didn’t look like her sister at all. She was shorter, with dark brown hair and eyes, although she and Violet had a similar smile. Vera had married a decade ago and had two children, Isabella and Ethan, who were eight and six, respectively. Violet hadn’t really understood her sister’s attraction to the staid and quiet Jim, but as far as Violet knew, their marriage had been relatively happy.

“So, what’s new with you?” asked Vera. “How’s the business going?”

Violet had told her sister about the business’s financial issues, although now she didn’t kn