Luca rubbed his face with his hands, his knuckles red and raw from the winter wind.

“He had to make it look real,” Luca said.

“Make what look real?” I asked.

“The distance,” Luca said. “The complete estrangement.”

I stared at him, trying to read the shadow across his face in the flickering light.

“Explain it to me, Luca.”

“The feds have been building a case for three years,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “RICO. Wiretaps. Financial audits. They wanted everyone associated with the Vale name.”

He reached out, his hand pausing before he lightly touched my knee.

“Marcus knew his inner circle was compromised,” Luca continued. “If you were close to him, if you were sharing his bed and his secrets, they would have indicted you as an accomplice.”

The air in the room felt heavier now, smelling of old pine and damp wool.

“So he ignored me?” I asked. “He treated me like an enemy to save himself?”

“No,” Luca said. “He needed the wiretaps to record him treating you like a stranger. He needed the surveillance teams to see you living entirely separate lives.”