It was designed to be believed.

And when Alvin went to grab his coat, he found a small slip of paper tucked into his pocket, placed there by a hand he had not felt.

He opened it in the hallway, and read, in his mother’s shaky handwriting, five words that told him the story he had just heard was a lie, and that his mother knew it, and was afraid: Don’t ask questions in front of them.

Chapter 9 — The Diner