The two girls exchanged a look and took the ID card. "Sophia Everhart? I guess that is a girl's name."
Still, a name alone wasn't enough to completely erase their doubts.
Sophia thought for a second. "You know Preston Everhart, right? I'm his younger sister."
"Oh?"
The girls looked at her in shock. "You're Preston's sister?"
Seeing that the name dropped properly, Sophia let out a massive sigh of relief. "Yes. Now that we've cleared this up, can I go?"
If she really was part of the Everhart family, even if she was a pervert, they wouldn't dare mess with her.
The girls offered awkward, apologetic smiles. "Sorry about that. Looks like we made a mistake." They quickly stepped aside.
"It's fine," Sophia shook her head, adjusting her backpack and hurrying out.
But just as she stepped out of the Fine Arts Pavilion, she realized she had left her uniform tie in the stall. After a moment of hesitation, she turned back.
As she approached, the two girls were just walking out of the locker room. Unsure of why she did it, Sophia instinctively ducked into the shadows of the corridor.
Completely unaware, the girls kept complaining.
Girl A: "What terrible luck. We walked all the way out here and still ran into a freak."
Girl B: "But we checked the room, and there weren't any cameras or anything. And I have heard Preston Everhart has a sister."
Girl A: "Who knows where she hid it? Besides, she's clearly a girl, but she goes out of her way to look like that. Half-man, half-woman. Total freak show. She probably has some sick fetish. If you're so sure she's innocent, why didn't you change your clothes in there?"
Girl B looked sheepish. "I was creeped out, okay? That's why we came all the way out here in the first place. These rich kids come up with a new twisted game every day. We're here to study, but they're just here for kicks. Anyone who trusts them is asking for it!"
The two gossiped back and forth, entirely oblivious to Sophia standing rigid in the corner.
"Yikes. That's harsh."
Around the corner of the flowerbed outside the Pavilion, Vivienne casually licked a matcha ice cream cone, lazily observing Sophia from afar.
Only after the two girls were long gone did she step out from her hiding spot.
Vivienne raised her ice cream cone, aiming it like a viewfinder at the floating tag above Sophia's head.
Just moments ago, when Sophia heard herself being called a freak and half-man, half-woman, the insecurity tag floating above her had doubled in size.
Vivienne had always found it strange. The Everhart family was incredibly wealthy, and the Everhart patriarch adored Sophia. Why would she be so insecure?
Now, she finally had her answer.
She had resonated with Bianca's genuine loyalty, Aurelia's toxic romantic obsession, and just now, she had felt a brief spark of empathy for Sophia's suffocating insecurity. That was the missing link.
Of course... this was all just a working theory. She still needed to test it out. A quick trial run with Mina Blackthorne would confirm everything.
[Would you like to bind the current target: Sophia Everhart?]
Vivienne continued eating her ice cream. "Bind."
*
Inside the girls' locker room.
Sophia walked straight toward the stall she had used earlier. When she pushed the door open, her usually stoic face cracked in shock.
Her uniform tie was stuffed in the trash can. The privacy curtain had been ripped down, and there were muddy footprints stamped all over the small changing bench.
"..."
Sophia stood in silence for a long time before turning around and walking away.
...

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