Game over.
I say, smiling.
As I leave the school, a faint shiver of excitement runs through me. The twins are clever, sharper than most adults would ever guess, but that’s perfect. It means the game is worth playing. When the time comes to take them, to use them as leverage, the challenge will be real. I have always thrived on challenges. I light another cigar as I step back into the car, letting the smoke curl lazily toward the sky, savouring the calm before the storm. For now, they are cautious, suspicious, alert, but not yet aware of the danger that lurks beneath the smile, beneath the grandfatherly words, beneath the gifts. Soon, they will learn, but by then, it will be too late.