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Summary
Chapters 17—Alias: Wendy Wallace—Six Years Ago
Chapter 17: Present Day
Judge McIntyre, one of the individuals Evie holds blackmail over, arranges for her release. However, as a condition, she must speak with the police in Atlanta in three days about Amy Holder’s death, giving her a limited window to solve her predicament. Evie reflects on how she always intended to reclaim the Lucca Marino identity, but now that dream is impossible. With Evelyn Porter’s extensive paper trail—and her fingerprints now officially in the system—she is locked into a new identity she never wanted.
Trying to bridge the growing gap with Ryan, Evie offers to answer any of his questions. She tells him Amy Holder died in a fire and that they knew each other through work, but she isn’t ready to tell him the full truth. Despite the uncertainty, Ryan promises to support her through everything.
When Ryan leaves for work, Rachel takes Evie back to the house, assuming responsibility for her. Evie asks for time to shower before they talk, but when she enters her bedroom, she immediately notices things are off—the door is shut, the bed is made, and everything slightly out of place. On the bed, she finds an origami swan along with photos that are identical to the ones the Atlanta police have. The photos show her and Amy arguing outside a hotel, Evie following Amy inside, and Evie leaving a bank on the same day. Beneath the photos is a phone number.
When Evie calls the number, Mr. Smith answers, revealing he knows the information she took from Amy Holder is in a safe deposit box. He admits that’s why he set her up. He offers her a deal: retrieve the contents of the box in Atlanta, with one of his agents present, and the detectives will stop pursuing her for Amy’s death. He also confirms that the other Lucca’s death wasn’t an accident—she was collateral damage in the effort to recover the Amy Holder information. When Evie asks how she can be sure she won’t meet the same fate, Mr. Smith ominously replies that she will, unless she follows his instructions. He adds that if she cooperates, he will restore her former identity, but Evie no longer trusts him. She tells him the safe deposit box doesn’t hold what he thinks it does.
Devastated by the weight of everything—her role in James’s death, the setup by Mr. Smith, and the loss of the life she hoped to reclaim—Evie takes a shower, letting her emotions overwhelm her. When Ryan returns and joins her, she finally lowers her guard and cries. Ryan promises to accompany her to Atlanta and stay by her side. With his support, Evie resolves to stop wallowing in guilt and focus on the task ahead, determined to regain control and outmaneuver Mr. Smith.
Chapter 18: Present Day
Evie informs Rachel that she’ll meet her in Atlanta on Friday but insists there are things she needs to handle alone. Rachel initially refuses, reminding Evie that she’s responsible if she disappears. Evie counters that she could easily slip away if she wanted, forcing Rachel to relent.
Evie tells Ryan he should stay for James’s funeral, but Ryan insists on going to Atlanta with her. Evie tries once more to convince Ryan to stay, and he seems to agree, but the next morning, he packs a bag and insists on coming along. Realizing that unpredictability gives her an edge in her dealings with Mr. Smith, Evie decides to let Ryan come along. She sends a coded message to Devon through Instagram, setting up a meeting at a gas station. When they meet, she slips him a handwritten letter explaining the situation. She advises him to pay for gas in cash, but Ryan is already ahead of her, reminding her that he’s just as prepared—and has as many secrets as she does.
Alias: Wendy Wallace—Six Years Ago
In a small college town in Florida, Evie reflects on how, in another life, she might have attended college here, lounging on the quad and enjoying student life. The man from the Hilton Head hotel, one of Mr. Smith’s operatives whom she now calls George (based on the name on his hotel nametag), delivers her new driver’s license, PO box information, and the details of her next mark: Mitch Cameron, a prominent college football coach.
Cameron appears to be a family man, well-liked by his players, and upstanding in every way. Initially, Evie can’t see why he’s been targeted, but her instructions soon reveal the stakes: millions of dollars are tied to high school seniors with promising football careers, with under-the-table deals frequently used to appease the wealthy boosters who fund college programs. Evie begins shadowing both Cameron and the prospective players, also tracking rival schools that are courting them. With Devon’s help, she installs hidden cameras and recording equipment, gathering footage on conversations related to college football, even those between family members. While she quickly uncovers incriminating evidence on other coaches, Mitch Cameron remains above board and professional.
Evie builds a rapport with George, who collects her recordings nightly. One evening, when he delivers a new set of instructions, he warns her that reporting directly to Mr. Smith for the first time feels like a test—because it is. The instructions are precise: Evie must remove Cameron from his position without causing financial or reputational harm to him, the university, the football program, or any prospective players. Feeling trapped, Evie realizes that any solution involving scandal is off the table, leaving a contract buyout as the only option, but that would hurt the university financially.
Then she finds a loophole: the instructions say nothing about targeting the boosters. She blackmails a prominent donor, Phil Robinson, using footage of him offering money to the high school seniors. She instructs Robinson to demand that Cameron step down, framing it as a disagreement over the coach’s vision, and insists the boosters buy out his contract since the fallout is their fault. A few days later, news breaks that the boosters have paid for Cameron’s buyout. That night, George delivers her payment receipt along with a new phone for future assignments.
Before leaving town, Evie visits the home of Tyron, the most sought-after player, who often discusses his offers with his younger brother. She advises him to assume people are always listening and to be strategic with his decisions. Tyron casually mentions that Coach Cameron hinted he might be leaving the program during a conversation they had a week earlier—days before the news of his departure became public.
Analysis
Evie’s interactions with Ryan, Mr. Smith, and Devon illustrate the delicate balance she must maintain between truth and deception—each identity containing elements of truth, but never the whole story. For example, when Evie tells Ryan that she knew Amy Holder through work, she isn’t lying, but she withholds the critical detail that Amy was a mark, not a coworker. This demonstrates how Evie’s survival depends on shaping partial truths that allow her to remain credible while concealing dangerous secrets.
These chapters explore the fragility of identity and Evie’s fluid approach to selfhood. Evie regularly tries on new identities like clothing, imagining herself in alternate roles, such as a college student lounging on the quad, only to adopt that exact persona moments later to carry out her mission. This fluidity highlights her belief that identities are something to be worn and discarded at will, tailored to fit the demands of the moment. However, her lingering attachment to the Lucca Marino identity—her desire to return to the version of herself that existed before her life of crime—reveals that identity is more complex than a costume. Though she once believed she could reclaim a past self, she is slowly realizing that identities become layered and intertwined, making it impossible to return to who she once was.
The appearance of the origami swan on her bed further complicates this journey. The swans, initially delicate symbols Evie associated with her mother and personal strength, have now been weaponized against her by Mr. Smith. They serve as a chilling reminder that nothing, not even her most meaningful symbols and memories, remains untouched in Mr. Smith’s web of control. Just as she once left origami swans to mark her own victories, this swan signals that Mr. Smith is one step ahead, turning her own tools of identity and manipulation back against her. The swan is no longer a symbol of resilience but a warning—her control over her own life is slipping away, and Mr. Smith still holds the strings.
Throughout these chapters, Evie demonstrates a growing sophistication in manipulating identities for survival, yet she hasn’t entirely lost her humanity. Her choice to offer genuine advice to Tyron, the young football player, reveals that despite her increasingly manipulative nature, she still retains some compassion. This act of kindness doesn’t directly benefit her mission, suggesting that Evie has a soft spot for underdogs—perhaps because she, too, sees herself as someone struggling to survive in a world that tries to shape and control her. This moment serves as a reminder that even though Evie’s life is governed by deception, she has not entirely lost the ability to connect with others in an authentic way.
