I turned toward her so slowly I could hear my own heartbeat pounding.

“A lesson?”

Judith’s silver-gray hair was pinned perfectly into place. Her pearl earrings reflected the hallway light. She looked less like a grandmother and more like a judge who had already sentenced everyone in the room.

“She was becoming vain,” she replied. “Always touching it. Always admiring herself. A child who worships her appearance grows into a woman without character.”

I stared at the clippers in her hand. “You shaved my daughter’s head.”

“I corrected her,” Judith snapped. “Something you and Dustin were too weak to do.”

At the sound of my husband’s name, the room tilted slightly.

“What does Dustin have to do with this?”

Judith’s lips tightened, but satisfaction gleamed in her eyes. “I called him this morning. I told him Meadow needed discipline. He said I should do what I thought was best.”