After a pause, he said there was something he had been afraid to tell.

I called Patricia back rather than asking a stream of questions.

Noah said Victor had told him I would get blamed because I gave him medicine for everything.

“I didn’t want them to take you away,” he said.

I put my hand beside his on the blanket, leaving him the choice to take it.

“You didn’t cause this,” I told him.

“Adults are responsible for checking what happened.