Normally, even if you hit it off online, the first face-to-face meet-up was unlikely to be all buddy-buddy, like you were long-lost pals or something.
"Did William have a buddy named Susanna back in Goldstone?" Leopold queried.
"Huh?" Aurelia hadn't given it much thought, but his question set off her internal alarm bells.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just heard William mentioned his friend Susanna, and I thought I'd ask." Leopold shrugged nonchalantly, clearly fishing for a reaction from Aurelia.
She sensed it. William talking to Leopold about his friends? Not likely.
"I've never heard of a kid named Susanna in our neighborhood. Maybe they met online." She played it coy to see how Leopold would react.
His gaze darkened slightly. Was he overthinking this?
He was, after all, a man with a keen eye for detail. At the pizza place, he'd picked up on something off. Unusual thoughts began to swirl in his head.
If Susanna mistook Kane for William, then...
Munching on an apple, Aurelia stood up. "I'm gonna check on the kids."
No sooner had she stepped out than William pulled her into his room. "Mom, we ran into Susanna at the pizza joint today. Her folks brought her to Elysium for a trip."
Aurelia's heart skipped a beat. So that was why Leopold brought it up. Was he suspicious, testing her?
"You didn't give us away, did you?"
William blinked innocently, "I don't think so. She mistook Kane for me, and he just went with it and said she's an online friend."
Patting his head, Aurelia said, "Leopold knows your real name is William. If he asks, just say Keith is your username."
"Got it." William nodded. "Kane said his online alias just happens to be William, like my real name." He paused, then added, "Mom, can we invite Susanna and her parents over for a gathering at the villa tomorrow?"
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