I looked at my sweet, brave boy, wishing with all my heart I had an answer that didn’t make the grown-ups in his family look like monsters.

“I’m going to go back downstairs and find that out right now,” I told him, kissing his forehead before slowly getting up from the bed.

As I turned toward the door, I spotted a corner of blue cardboard sticking out of the open pocket of his school backpack.

“What’s that in your bag, Austin?” I asked, nodding toward the desk chair.

He lunged forward with a startled gasp, grabbed the backpack off the chair and held it behind his back like a guilty shoplifter.