“That’s your job, isn’t it? I don’t even have his email address. I was only ever in contact with his assistant during my internship.”

There is no give to his expression. “Do you expect me to believe a resourceful girl like you couldn’t have figured out how to get your hands on it?”

I don’t know what the hell he means by that. I want to scream at him, tell him to go fuck himself. But I can’t. I know his type. I know that hungry look in his eyes. I’ve seen it before. He’s just waiting for me to make a scene, waiting for any excuse to paint me as the criminal he so badly wants me to be.

I take a breath and choose my words carefully. I don’t want to give him any more control over me than he already has. “The only person I sent those photos to is Nate,” I say, determined to remain impassive from now on.

Bierman frowns and shoots a glance over to Glover.

“The boyfriend,” she reminds him.

“Right. The protective one.” Bierman sits on the thought for a moment, his frown morphing into a less confused, more ironic, variation. “Why would your boyfriend access your email account and send them to Van Doren?”

“That’s—that’s not what I...” My eyes dart between them. “All I’m saying is I didn’t send those emails. I met Simon twice. Once when the program started and then at the party I just told you about.”

That sparks something in his eyes. “You two interacted at this party? Well, don’t stop there.”

I keep thinking I should come right out and say everything I heard Taylor say in that room, that she’s the one who did this, but I don’t know how I could do it without mentioning the ten thousand dollars she gave me. The deal we made. They’d probably charge me with conspiracy or something if they knew she paid me to keep my mouth shut.

I glance down at the tape recorder, then speak slowly, so that they won’t miss a single word. “I talked to him to pitch myself for the summer job in Milan that all the interns were up for. Not to—”

“Ms. Maxwell. I promise this will be a whole lot easier if you—”

“I didn’t send those emails.” I’m on my feet before my brain tells me to stop. “I didn’t murder anybody, either.”

He stares up at me. He doesn’t blink. “Ms. Maxwell, I need you to sit down.”

I look away and close my eyes, a sudden roar filling my ears. All of Nate’s warnings echo in my head. I should have stayed away from them. From Taylor. From her world. From it all.

I take a breath. I need to make a decision.