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His head jerks toward me. “Dad’s?”

“Yeah, baby. Just some military paperwork though.”

His eyes shine again. “Can I still look at them, please?”

I reach over and rub my palm down his back. “Of course, sweetheart. They’re packed with the rest of our stuff. I’ll show you later.”

“Okay.” He says it softly.

I let him sit with that for a second before moving on to the part I know will upset him for completely different reasons. “I also got your money back.”

Kamden freezes. “What?”

“The money your mother stole.”

He looks like his brain just unplugged. “What?” he repeats.

“I made her give it back.”

“All of it?”

“Yes.”

“But she spent it.”

“She had other money.”

Kamden stares at me, then his eyes narrow a fraction. “How did you make her give it back?”

Smart boy.

I scratch my beard. “That part is less important.”

“Daddy.”

“She transferred money into an account I set up for you.”

“That was not what I asked.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

His eyes go wider. “You threatened her.”

I consider lying but ultimately answer, “Yeah.”

“With a gun?”

The words hang between us. I watch his face, the way his pupils dilate slightly, the nervous flutter at the base of his throat. I can practically hear his frantic heartbeat from here.

Kamden closes his eyes. “Oh, my God, Daddy.”

“She’s alive.” The words come out flat, factual. A statement of observable reality.

His eyes snap open, blue flashing with something between horror and exasperation. “That is such a bad answer!”

“It’s an accurate one.”

“Adrien!” His voice cracks on my name, and I can’t help the rough laugh that escapes me. The sound feels strange in this quiet room.