Page 263 of Niccolo

She could haveeasilykilled me while my back was turned –

And yet she’d done something that had instantly garnered my full and complete trust.

I had underestimated her.

“Impressive,” I said.

“Thank you.”

I was still trembling a little from the adrenaline coursing through my veins –

But in a show of good faith, I laid the gun down on the coffee table.

“Back to my original question. I’d like to know something.”

“Ask away.”

I questioned her about Fausto and Aurelio, both of whom she’d met –

And Sofia.

“By any chance… was there a woman present?”

Rachel went into recall mode. “Mid to late twenties, very pretty, glasses, studious looking?”

Jackpot!

I grilled Rachel for the next ten minutes about every subtlety, every interaction, every glance between Sofia and Fausto.

“Did she treat him with affection? With fear? Was there any sort of father/daughter dynamic going on that you noticed?”

Rachel frowned slightly, her eyes looking up as she tried to remember. “Actually… if I had to characterize their relationship, I would say… cool detachment. And a hint of annoyance.”

“Annoyance?”

“Fausto would occasionally say things she reacted to unfavorably. Very subtle – a tiny frown or bit of side-eye – but it was there.”

I frowned. “And Fausto didn’t react in any way to her negative expressions?”

“Like I said, it was very subtle. I also got the feeling he had his hands full with Aurelio.”

By the time I finished questioning Rachel, I had a pretty good idea of Fausto and Sofia’s relationship.

Businesslike… somewhat distant… verging on unfriendly.

The lack of respect was a key factor.

I wondered if I could take advantage of that and use it to pry her further apart from Fausto…

If I ever got the chance.

Then I felt bad. Once again, I was treating her as an object to be manipulated.

I quickly got over my guilt, though, when I remembered that Massimo, Adriano, and Lars could die today – because of Sofia.

So, yeah.

If I got the chance…

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