“But you knew Simon,” I pointed out.
“I knew he cared very deeply about Leo,” Denise clarified gently.
“As his father?” I asked directly.
Denise’s expression tightened with genuine uncertainty. “I can’t answer that question for you.”
“Because you are legally not allowed to?” I pressed further.
“Because I honestly do not know the answer,” Denise stated clearly.
I stared back at Leo, who was happily rolling a blue train along the tracks. I thought I was finally close to reaching the absolute truth, but what I learned next changed the entire story completely.
I stepped into the hallway, pulled out my phone, and called Nora back. “She knows everything.”
“Who knows what?” Nora asked over the phone.
“Mrs. Callahan,” I said, already looking up the phone number in Simon’s old contacts list. “She knows who Leo really is.”
Mrs. Callahan answered the call on the fourth ring.
