A full minute passed before a second bubble appeared. “You are a good father, Caleb.”

I read the six words over and over until the letters blurred. I set the phone down and walked quietly into Lily’s room. She was sprawled under a blanket covered in glow-in-the-dark constellations, snoring softly, one hand gripping the pink-sweatered rabbit my mother had brought.

Mia drifted in a moment later, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and resting her chin on my shoulder.

“What is it?” she whispered, sensing the shift in me.

I didn’t speak. I just handed her the phone. She read the glowing screen in the dark, let out a shaky breath, and squeezed me tighter.

I hadn’t shed a tear when millions of strangers online called me a hero. I hadn’t cried when the news stations begged for interviews, or when the view count ticked past fifteen million.