Callan blinked as the name dropped into his ears like a stone falling into a deep well.
Ryan Harris.
His fork slid out of his hand and clattered against the plate. His lips parted, but no sound came out.
Then, slowly, his eyes widened as all of Jamal's words about Ryan Harris rushed back to him.
He wanted to deny it and say they were mistaken and that his mother had worked for Ryan Harris but he remembered what Jamal had said a few minutes ago about Karen not being his mother and to hear the truth from his parents.
His chest tightened and his breath came in shallow gasps. "No," he whispered, shaking his head as he looked from his father to his mom.
His voice was thin, almost like a child's. "Please, no. No… you don't mean… him. You can't."
Tears gathered in his mother's eyes, and her grip on his hand tightened. "Calm down, Cal," she said softly, but he couldn't hear her.
