“Yes?”

“Do bad people ever say good things just to trick people?”

Samuel and Sasha both stared at him.

Nathan shrugged. “Because the snake in the garden talked nice at first.”

Sasha let out a soft breath that was almost a laugh.

Samuel felt something like gratitude pass through him. Sometimes a child’s simple observation reached the exact place an adult’s complicated thoughts had been circling.

Still, he knew this was not a moment for smug certainty or overstatement. His role was not to make Sasha feel foolish for having felt unsettled. It was to help her steady her footing with kindness.