When someone has wronged you that deeply, there is a hunger to make them feel it immediately, in some way you control.

But Patricia’s warning had lodged in me like a splinter, and the more I turned it over the more I saw that she was right.

Julian’s entire scheme depended on secrecy and on speed; if I tipped my hand, I would be trading a strong position for the momentary satisfaction of watching his face.

The most powerful thing I possessed, in those first days, was his ignorance of what I knew.

As long as he believed himself safe, he would move slowly, carelessly, leaving the trail intact.