Bruce felt his heart start to race when he saw Darius and James hugging each other. He could sense a thin barrier between Darius and the rest of the world, but no matter how thin it was, there was no getting past it. Now, however, things were different. Bruce smiled in relief. James was an old man who’d lost his son and daughter-in-law, but at least they’d left him with a grandson.

Unfortunately, an accident caused him and his grandson to be separated for years. Darius and James were each other’s only family left, yet they’d become strangers over the passage of time. Until a month before they’d tracked Darius down, Bruce had lost all hope of ever finding him, but reality had proven that miracles did happen. He was so moved he couldn’t even speak.

James had calmed down. He was overjoyed to see Darius, but there were more important matters at hand. He let Darius go; he was still smiling, but his eyes were serious as he said, “Come to the study with me. I have something to tell you, and