Chapter 270 I'm Sorry
ELIJAH
There was no question about who the father of the day was.
Leo had graduated at the top of his class. He was first in military strategy, highest marks in leadership assessment, commendation from the commanding officer that the school apparently gave out approximately once a decade. When they read his name and his distinctions, I heard the sound that came from the row where his classmates were sitting and understood that he’d earned it with them, not just on paper.
I sat in the front row with Adriana beside me and Lorain between us, the twins flanking us on either side with the specific contained energy of boys who had been given clear behavioral expectations and were taking them seriously because they understood that today was not about them. Adriana had Lana in her arms for most of the ceremony, though Lana’s interest in the formal proceedings was limited to tracking any movement near the front of the room and occasionally grabbing whatever was within reach.
Leo found us with his eyes about three times during the ceremony. Each time he did, something in his expression shifted, the composure of a graduating cadet briefly giving way to something younger and simpler and much more honest.
My son, who had run an investigation with his mother while I was unconscious, who had sat up at two in the morning talking through justice and loss and what it meant to hold authority when everything was uncertain, who had come to my bedside before I was fully awake and told me what was happening with the calm efficiency of someone who had decided there was no time for anything less. He was fifteen years old and he was looking at me from the front of that room with the specific look of a boy who had just needed his father to show up.
I was here. That was the whole thing. And it made my eyes burn with unshed tears. I was really fucking proud of him.
Afterward he brought his friends over in groups of two and three, and I shook hands and said the appropriate things and watched Leo’s face while I did it. The pride he was working to keep at a reasonable volume but couldn’t entirely contain. His commanding officer came over and told me things about Leo that I committed to memory immediately and intended to repeat to him later when he wasn’t standing right there.
Adriana stepped forward to give the address when it was time. She stood at the podium in the courtyard with ease. The ease of someone who had learned through difficult circumstances that she had authority and had made peace with using it and spoke about the graduating class with the specific warmth and precision that made everyone in the room feel included.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to witness this moment. These young people have put in extraordinary work to stand where they stand today and we are proud of every single one of them. This is not the end of anything. This is the beginning of everything.”
Afterward, when the formal parts were concluding and groups were dispersing into the courtyard for the informal reception, Leo appeared at my elbow with Lana already transferred to his arms.
“Can I take her to meet some people?”
I looked at Adriana. She looked at me.
“She stays visible,” I said. “And if she starts fussing, you bring her back immediately.”
“Obviously.” He was already moving.
“If she gets hungry—” Adriana started.
“I’ll bring her straight back,” he called without turning around.
We watched him go, showing her off with the complete confidence of someone who understood that she was an excellent conversational asset and also someone he genuinely loved.
Adriana leaned slightly against my arm. “She’s going to remember none of this.”
“He will,” I said. “That is the important part.” she chuckled. “And she gets to hear this story when she’s older.”
“I love the bond they all share.”
“It’s all because of you.” I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close.
We stayed for another hour, moving through the space, speaking to the families of Leo’s classmates, accepting congratulations on both Leo’s results and my recovery with equal grace. Adriana managed both threads simultaneously without appearing to be doing anything other than enjoying the afternoon.
Eventually she needed to leave to oversee the final preparations for the party. I walked her to the car and helped get the twins settled. They had reached the end of their behavioral reserves and were communicating this through increasing volume. Lorain climbed in beside them with the expression of someone choosing her battles.
“I’ll bring Leo and Lana,” I said. “Give us twenty minutes.”
“Send me a message when you’re leaving.” She looked up at me. “Don’t overdo it. You’ve been standing for three hours.”
“I feel fine.”
“I’ll remember you said that when the doctor comes tomorrow.”
She got in the car and I watched it pull away and then went to find Leo.
I sent two guards first. They came back without him, which I found unreasonable given that the venue was not large and Leo was wearing a distinctive dress uniform. I sent two more in a different direction. I started moving through the crowd myself.
I found the second pair of guards standing at the edge of the courtyard looking at each other with the expressions of men who had encountered an unexpected problem.
“Where is he?” I said. Trying to keep my anxiety at bay.
“My King.” The taller one straightened. “We can’t locate the Prince. Or the Princess.”
“Search again. Both of you, different directions. Go.”
They went. I kept moving, checking the main hall, the side rooms, the area behind the refreshment tables. I found a group of boys from Leo’s year around the back corner of the building, which was not where I expected to find them and explained the smell immediately.
“Have you seen the Prince?” I said to their backs.
“Go away,” one of them said. “We’re busy.”
I waited.
“Turn around,” I said.
They turned. I watched the sequence of recognition move through each face at slightly different speeds.
“My King. I'm so sorr—” The one who had told me to go away looked like he was trying to decide whether the ground might open if he waited long enough.
“Have you seen Leo?” I said. “The Prince.”
“He was here earlier,” another one offered quickly. “With the baby. He said he couldn’t stay because he was holding her. I don’t know where he went after.”
“Did you see who he spoke to before he left?”
They looked at each other. Nobody had.
I left them with a brief comment about the drinking that sent three of them in different directions, and then I kept searching, and then I did the obvious thing I should have done first and called Leo’s phone.
It rang. Then again. Then it went to voicemail.
I called again. This time it went straight to voicemail.
The particular cold that moved through me when I understood that Leo wasn’t answering was different from ordinary concern. I kept it out of my face because the guards were watching and the guests were nearby.
I sent a guard to intercept Adriana’s car before it reached home.
Then Leo called me back.
“Dad.” His voice was wrong. “I don’t know how it happened. I’m sorry.”
He was crying. I hadn’t heard Leo cry in years.