He gestured, and two men brought Linus out of a dark back office.

My boy was pale and worn thin, but he walked out on his own, upright, with a dignity that undid me — and when his eyes found mine he gave me the smallest nod, the one that said hold steady, we’re not done. It took everything I had not to run to him.

“Are you okay, baby?” I called, as gently as I could.

“I’m fine, Mom,” he said, clear and steady, and I heard in it that he was managing his own terror the same way I was managing mine, and that we were, even now, even here, a team.

Lachlan slammed his palm flat on the table.

“What a touching moment.