Finn_Wilder
Kenji Calloway has always been the quiet one.
As a Neko, he notices things other people don't. His ears catch conversations nobody else hears. His tail gives away feelings he'd rather hide. While everyone else is busy talking, Kenji is listening.
Adopted into the loud, loving chaos of the Calloway family at seven years old, Kenji finally found what he thought he'd lost forever: a home. A dad who calls him bud. A mum who understands him without trying. A sister who teases him like it's her job. And an older brother who has always been his safest place.
Then a school fundraiser takes a terrifying turn, and Kenji overhears something that was never meant to reach anyone's ears.
When suspicion falls on the brother who has always protected him, Kenji finds himself fighting to protect Evan in return.
The problem is simple.
Nobody believes him.
Not the teachers. Not the police. Not even the people he loves most.
As the truth slips further away, Kenji faces an impossible choice: stay silent and hope someone else figures it out, or keep speaking when every instinct he has is telling him to retreat.
Warm, humorous, and deeply heartfelt, The Quiet One Who Knew is a story about family, courage, and the extraordinary strength it takes to keep telling the truth when nobody wants to listen.
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What is a Neko?
Neko (noun)
/ˈnɛkəʊ/
A fully human being, born with additional feline features: soft ears, tail, heightened balance and hearing.
Typically smaller and physically weaker than humans. Moves quietly through the world, more prey than predator. Agile when needed, quick to flee, not built to fight.
Usually quiet and observant. Trusting. Kind. Skittish by nature, with instincts tuned toward survival.
Prone to withdrawing when frightened, threatened or confronted.
Instinctively avoids drawing attention and rarely speaks out or challenges authority.
Most at ease in calm surroundings.
Prone to being mistreated by some humans who see only difference.