Tessa’s POV:
I pulled the recorder from my coat pocket and held it between us, the small, silver object suddenly feeling too loud in the quiet room.
Lucian’s eyes dropped to it, then flicked back to mine.
“I need you to listen,” I said. “And not interrupt.”
He didn’t nod. He didn’t blink. Just folded his arms and waited.
I clicked play.
Tori’s voice filled the air, tinny and soft, laced with the cold calculation that had made my skin crawl when I first heard it. I made sure to twitch Summer's voice to make it unrecognizable.
The recorder played: “That necklace—the one everyone was looking for. It wasn't in Tessa’s room. On her dresser. You made me knock that night. You gave me a line. And then the necklace was supposed to show up in her room?”
Tori’s voice sounded. “And if I did?”
