KAEL’S POV
I watched Riley carefully, noting the way her fingers curled around her fork, her entire body stiffening at my question. She was sharp—too sharp to miss the weight behind my words. Her reaction was immediate, but not in the way I expected. There was no flicker of recognition, no subtle shift in her expression that suggested guilt. Just pure, unfiltered confusion.
Interesting.
I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on the table. “Your father is safe,” I said evenly, gauging her reaction. “He didn’t even notice his house was being raided. He was sound asleep… with your stepmother.”
Her grip tightened on the fork, knuckles whitening as her lips parted slightly.
Ah. There it was—that slight widening of her eyes, the barely perceptible hitch in her breath. That wasn’t the
