Alicia swallowed hard, eyes darting toward Adrien for a brief second before she stepped closer to her mother. Her voice faltered at first, caught between guilt and the overwhelming rush of everything unraveling too fast.
"Um—mama… this is Adrien," she said quietly, fingers fidgeting by her sides. "And yes… yes, you do know him. Well, not like—personally—but you've met him before. He was the one who… handled the case when my scooter went missing a few months ago."
Mrs. Anderson's eyebrows knit together, clearly trying to remember, trying to make sense of it all. Her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, trailing slowly over Adrien's frame—the extravagant clothes, the quiet confidence, the sharp coldness that lingered behind his composed exterior.
