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Summary
Chapter 23-Alias: Regina Hale–Six Months Ago
Chapter 23: Present Day
Evie arrives just in time for her meeting with the Atlanta police. Ryan tries to talk to her, but she brushes him off. Before they begin, Evie tells Rachel to follow her lead.
When questioned, Evie explains that she had been living under a fake name because she was in an abusive relationship and feared for her safety. The officers then show a grainy video of Amy entering her hotel, followed by a blurry figure. Rachel expertly points out that the footage is inconclusive and doesn't prove that the figure is Evie, leaving Evie impressed with Rachel’s legal finesse.
However, the police then play another video, this time much clearer. Unlike the previous footage, which was recorded from ground level like a typical eyewitness video, this one is taken from the same floor as the hotel room. In horrifying clarity, the video shows Evie setting the bed on fire.
Chapter 24: Present Day
Evie tells the police that the woman in the video is Lucca Marino. She reflects on how she spent years protecting that identity, only to realize now that it’s just a name. She explains that Lucca and Amy were involved with dangerous people, and that Lucca died in a car crash the previous week. Evie insists that all the photos sent by Mr. Smith depict Lucca, not her. The police acknowledge the striking resemblance between the two women.
Evie reveals that Devon planted records showing Lucca rented an apartment in Atlanta around the time of Amy’s death. He also planted a bag containing information on Amy Holder in James’s room. The files Evie uploaded at the dentist’s office were the deceased woman’s dental records, ensuring they would match Lucca Marino’s identity.
As further proof, Evie offers an alibi—she was having dinner with Tyron, now an NFL player, whom she calls an old friend. The police FaceTime Tyron, and he confirms her story.
With an open phone line to Devon, Evie coordinates her next move. Devon distracts Ryan by involving hotel security, giving Evie a chance to slip away. On her way out, she runs into George, who demands that she take him to the safe deposit box. He hints that he might let her go afterward, but Evie knows he would inevitably track her down.
Devon reminds her that walking away is always an option, but Evie knows it isn’t—not in her world. Steeling herself, she heads into the bank.
Alias: Regina Hale–Six Months Ago
On the day of Amy’s death, Evie set the bed on fire, and the flames spread quickly when they reached Amy’s coat. She handed off a bag containing Amy’s belongings to Devon and called Mr. Smith, who was already aware of the incident. Evie claimed that she approached Amy with a syringe of Rohypnol, but Amy became violent, and her cigarette accidentally ignited the bed. Evie insisted that she didn’t take anything from the scene and assured Mr. Smith that she hadn’t uncovered any incriminating information about him.
Afterward, Evie went to a Wells Fargo bank and headed inside, preparing for the next step in her plan.
Analysis
Evie’s encounter with the police marks a monumental moment in her personal journey—one in which she chooses to let go of the identity of Lucca Marino, a persona she had spent years carefully constructing and protecting. This act of surrender is profound: Evie is not just discarding a false identity but surrendering the idealized version of herself she clung to for survival. For much of the novel, Lucca Marino represented the life Evie dreamed of reclaiming—a life rooted in simplicity, safety, and the dreams she shared with her mother. By letting go of Lucca, Evie acknowledges that this version of herself has been gone for a long time. This act of self-erasure is not imposed by Mr. Smith or anyone else—this time, it is on her own terms.
The police interrogation also emphasizes the precariousness of identity in Evie’s world. She weaponizes the resemblance between herself and the other Lucca, blurring the lines between who she is and who others think she is. Her claim that the woman in the video is Lucca Marino is both a deception and an admission of the truth: Evie, too, has been living as someone she no longer recognizes. This reflects how fluid identities have become a tool for her survival, but also a burden, as she realizes that she has slipped so far between roles that she no longer has a core sense of self.
This realization aligns with Evie’s broader journey: each identity she adopts comes with promises of freedom, but ultimately becomes another kind of confinement. Even though Mr. Smith offers her a way to restore her old life if she complies with his demands, Evie knows that the freedom he offers is an illusion. Her decision to abandon the idea of reclaiming Lucca Marino reflects a powerful shift—she no longer needs a name or identity to honor her past or keep her mother’s memory alive.
This section also highlights Evie’s growing determination to take control. Her strategic moves—coordinating with Devon, manipulating Rachel, and keeping Ryan at arm’s length—signal a shift in her mindset. She is no longer reacting to Mr. Smith’s traps; instead, she is preparing to dismantle the structure he built, piece by piece. By abandoning the dream of becoming Lucca Marino, Evie symbolically burns away her last tether to the idealized self she once wanted to be. This moment of self-erasure is both an act of liberation and a concession: Evie understands that she can no longer fit into the life she once imagined. But rather than mourn the loss of that dream, she chooses to forge a new path—one rooted not in perfection, but in the messy, complicated truth of who she has become.
