CHAPTER 6: A Word No One Could Unhear

Isadora laughed once, too bright and too late.
"Children repeat nonsense, Elliot. He has been emotional all week. The school warned us."
Elliot looked at his son. "Did your school warn me, Leo?"
Leo wiped his nose with the back of his hand, then remembered Isadora hated that and lowered it quickly. The small movement did more damage than any accusation could have.
"I was good," he whispered. "I tried."
Mira closed her eyes for half a second.
Elliot noticed. He had built hotels by noticing what men tried to hide across tables. He had bought newspapers, dissolved partnerships, and ended careers because he understood the pause before a lie. Somehow, inside his own house, he had stopped reading the people who mattered most.
"Mira," he said. "Tell me why he is afraid."
Isadora stepped forward. "You will not question staff in front of guests."
Elliot did not look at her.
"I am questioning the only adult my son ran toward."