Page 120 of Lorenzo

“Am I speaking a different language?” I ask. “Yes. We took her to the police.”

“And she just went willingly?” Alessio asks. “Never mind, stupid question.”

“She did not have much choice.”

Edoardo watches me carefully. “What happened?”

I walk to the island and set my phone down.

“We confirmed she was following us. We redirected her to one of our warehouses.”

Alessio looks between us. “Did she admit anything?”

“No.”

His expression hardens.

“She tried to deny knowing who we were,” I continue. “Got teary-eyed. When that failed, she claimed someone forced her to set you up.”

“Who?”

“She would not give a name.”

“Are we sure there is one?” Edoardo asks.

“She did not act alone. I know that much.”

Alessio picks up his glass, then sets it down again without drinking.

“What did she say about me?” His voice is quiet.

I could avoid it or tell him a lie.

But I don't.

“She didn't mention you.”

Alessio laughs once, without humor. “Of course.”

“Alessio, you were simply a pawn in her game,” I say. “Whoever set this up was targeting us, but for her, this was all about her sister. Not you.”

His gaze drops to the counter.

I continue, “I've come across a lot of bad people in my life. People who kill without mercy, people who enjoy killing. People who get off on the pain of others. But very few times have I come across a true psychopath.

“Rachel is one,” I say. “There was nothing behind the tears. No grief for her sister. No fear for what she had done to you. Only calculation. Even her fear was deliberate. She was scared because she knew she should be.”

Alessio’s jaw clenches.

“Her sister had the life she wanted, and someone showed her how to remove her as an obstacle. It was as simple as that.”

“And now?” Edoardo asks.

I turn to him. “Now the police have her and all the evidence we found in her car. She had her adoption papers, a letter from her mother, surveillance photographs from before the murder, of you and Genevieve.”

“How long?” Alessio asks.

“She was watching you for a few weeks,” I say.