After dropping my wife off at the airport for her wellness retreat, my twelve-year-old granddaughter whispered….

A real, raw fear that belongs to the children who should still believe that the world is safe as long as the adults are nearby.

“Why do you say that?” I asked, feeling something inside me begin to tense up.

She hesitated, as if every word were a calculated risk.

“I overheard Grandma,” he whispered. “She was talking about money… and how to make it seem natural.”

The silence that followed was heavier than any answer.