But looking at her now, standing tall in her oversized cardigan, demanding the truth not with anger, but with absolute dignity, he knew he couldn't use the script. She deserved the same raw honesty she was offering him.
"You already know Maya," he started, his voice steady. "There's Amelia. Mia, too, you met her briefly back in Velaris. There's Sarah, Xenia, and Vivian. And... there are four other streamers I'm not personally involved with in that way, but who fall under my household's strict protection obligations."
Sophie looked at him. She blinked once, processing the roster.
She didn't appear surprised. If anything, a faint look of vindication flashed across her features.
That, more than the telepathy, caught him off guard. He tilted his head slightly, a rare crack of confusion showing through his stoicism.
"...You knew?"
"I strongly suspected."
"Since when?"
