She looks a little like that woman when she’s solemn.

Sensing her father’s gaze, Kira looked up at him, baffled. Instantly, she spotted his injured lips,– and she pointed at them with a look of confusion.

It was easy to understand what she meant. She was asking him how he had gotten hurt.

Stephen held her hand and replied, “It’s fine. A wild kitty bit me.”

A wild kitty?

Kira became even more confounded. She grabbed the pencil and paper on the coffee table and wrote: Where did the cat come from?

Stephen’s eyes darkened a little. “From overseas.”

That was all he was willing to say. He was afraid...