Right after my husband left for his business trip, my six-year-old gripped my hand and quietly said, “Mom… we can’t go back home. This morning I heard Dad on the phone, talking about something that involves us and it didn’t sound right.” So we didn’t go back.

Another time, he mentioned hearing his father talking about fixing things for good. I had told him that grown up business was not for children to worry about.

Now he was shaking in front of me and begging for his life. I took a deep breath and tried to steady my voice.

“Okay, tell me exactly what you heard this morning,” I said.

He leaned close until his lips brushed my ear. “I woke up early to get water and Dad was in his office on the phone,” he whispered.

“He said tonight something bad was going to happen while we were sleeping,” Toby continued.

“He said he needed to be far away so he would not be in the way anymore,” the boy finished.

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. I pulled back and searched his face for any sign of a lie.

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” I asked.

He nodded frantically. “He said people were going to take care of it and his voice sounded scary,” Toby added.

My first instinct was still denial. I wanted to tell myself it was a misunderstanding about a home renovation or a work project.

But memories surfaced uninvited like ghosts. I remembered Dominic insisting that the house and the accounts stay in his name only.