"Everyone still read it the way Edric would have wanted," I said.
"Everyone always does at first. That's not the part that matters." She looked at me directly. "What matters is that when his team tries to present the same information at the convening, the council will have already processed it. It won't be new. It won't land the way new things land. And when Mitch's response comes — and I know Mitch will already be drafting one — the council will read the two versions side by side and the difference between *left* and *discarded* will become visible." A pause. "I gave you something to work with. I just couldn't tell you I was doing it, because if you'd known, your reaction wouldn't have been genuine, and the council members who are watching everything before the convening would have seen
