SOFIA
I didn’t leave the room.
Not right away.
The file stayed on the desk where I had placed it, but the weight of it didn’t. That stayed with me, settling somewhere deep inside where I couldn’t ignore it or pretend it was something else.
He planned this.
The words hadn’t shifted since I said them out loud. They hadn’t softened or changed into a better version of the truth. They stayed exactly where they were, clear, intentional, and impossible to avoid.
I turned back to him.
“You knew,” I said.
I didn’t say it like a question. I said it because I already knew the answer.
“Yes.”
He answered without any hesitation at all.
That should have made me feel more grounded, but it didn't. It only made the air in the room feel thinner.
“You knew what he was doing,” I continued, my voice
