was nine years old, on the last afternoon he remembered her well.

He kept his voice completely level. It took everything he had.

“Where did you find this, Sophie?”

She kicked her feet against the chair leg, entirely unbothered. “In Mommy’s box.”

Aleandro did not answer her right away. He gathered the silk into his hand as if it might dissolve.

“You have done nothing wrong,” he said. “Go and find your mother. Tell her I will keep this safe.”

Sophie kissed his cheek before she left and did not