All of it.
A lie.
"How do you know?"
The words scrape out of my throat.
Raw.
Broken.
Lorenzo exchanges a glance with Nico.
Something passes between them. Some silent communication I'm too shattered to decode.
"Webb," Nico says.
He moves to the window. Stands with his back to the glass. Arms crossed.
"Webb was the bait."
I stare at him.
"I don't understand."
"Webb is good with computers." Nico's voice is flat. Analytical. "Very good. As good as Vittoria."
Vittoria.
The family's tech genius.
The woman who can hack into anything. Find anyone. Uncover secrets buried so deep they should never see daylight.
"Vittoria's been digging," Lorenzo continues. "For years now. Ever since the second family thing came out, she's been going through Giuseppe's old files. His contacts. His deals. Trying to understand the full scope of what our father built."
He pauses.
"She struggled. A lot. Giuseppe was careful. He compartmentalized everything. Kept secrets from everyone, including his own children."
"What does this have to do with Webb?"
"Webb didn't just borrow money." Nico turns from the window. "He was placed. The debt was manufactured to bring you here."
The room spins.
"To bring me here?"
"You've never come to Denver officially," Lorenzo says. "Not once in twenty years. You've passed through. Done jobs in surrounding areas. But Denver? Never on the books."
"They knew," I say slowly. "They knew I would come if the job was here."
"They knew more than that." Lorenzo's jaw tightens. "They knew about Marina."
My blood turns to ice.
"How?"
"We don't know. Not yet." He shakes his head. "But they knew you were watching her. They knew you would come toDenver for the Webb job. And they knew that if things went wrong, you would go to her."
