What to say to 4 yr old who's hurt.

[Eekay]

DD left abusive partner around 8 months ago, taking GC age 4.
They're both doing so well now in every way.
ExP vanished after my DD requested mediation prior to getting a parenting order at Court. She had many very valid concerns re GC's safety when visiting ExP.
ExP has not been heard of for 4 months.
My question is what do we tell GC when he asks about his father? GC is almost five and initially would cry and scream and not want to visit his father. Then ExP stopped contacting him and GC seemed very peaceful although DD was obviously on the lookout for a reaction.
Last night he slept at my place and started asking me about a father at daycare. Lots of questions and I steered the topic away eventually.
I had an absent father as a child and the situation was very poorly handled.
I imagine at some point GC's also going to ask why his father doesn't want to see him.
What did you say to your child if your ExP is either absent or flaky?
I want to be prepared as IME kids' tricky questions always come out of the blue.

Personally I think the best path is to be honest without sharing too much information. Something along the lines of it seems that he has decided to not see GC but mummy/nanny etc don't know why. But its okay because they have you and you will be there for them and not leave them.

@Itsybitsydooda thankyou, I usually operate"age appropriate" honesty when dealing with kids' questions, so you're probably right. I'm just dreading it.

Its not easy to do. My OH has moved out for his own MH and us not getting along at home. We are being as honest as we can be with our 7 and 5 year old. It's helped loads.

@Itsybitsydooda that's very tough for you. You must be trying to balance the kids' feelings and dealing with your own in your situation. I hope you're coping ok.