Page 104 of Pretty Little Threats

Millers don’t keep secrets. We’re a family, Rosalynn. Families have to trust each other.

How many times did I hear that growing up? More than I can remember. It was practically a daily mantra when I was a teenager. Which begs the question—why does he have secrets at all, if that’s what he believes?

Staring at my phone and his message, I decide to take a chance and see how he reacts.

I’m not sure there’s anything to find. What happens if there’s nothing?

Come on, Dad. Don’t disappoint me. Don’t break my heart. Don’t prove Dare right.

I already have the paperwork ready to sign. Are you telling me you’re giving up, and it’s time to cut you out?

The message punches me in the gut, all the air in my lungs wheezing out of me. I didn’t expect him to take it all the way. In our world, a disinheritance is more than cutting someone out of money. It’s deleting them from your family.

Is it so easy for him to cast me aside?

But more than me, the projects I put together are at risk too. Futurum would be the first thing on the chopping block. Dad might’ve humored me on that, but we both know he hates art. That’s exactly why Dad would waste no time getting rid of it with me out of the picture. Like it or not, this threat of disinheritance is bigger than me.

Maybe there’s a way to keep Futurum operating. I don’t have enough to fund it myself, but if Dare and I join forces, find some people to support the vision, it could work.

Do I want the fate of the company to hinge on yet another man?

Dare and I have reached a new level in our relationship, but again, the marriage is based on extortion. What happens if we end up hating each other?

No. I have to find a way to keep Futurum operational, even if Dare and I go down in flames, and in the meantime, I have to keep Dad placated.

I’m not giving up.

Good. You have a little over two months left, and with the holidays coming up... Be smart.

What are you doing for the holiday breaks?

Business trip. I’m getting a call. Don’t let the beast inside your head, Rose.

Frowning, I read through our conversation again. There’s no concern about my well-being. That hurts, but I add it to the list of things that have been bothering me and pause on one sentence.

I took that photo.

Glancing at Mom’s eyes and the subtle but very cleardiscomfort, I try not to overthink it, but there’s no mistaking the look. Despite the smile on her face, she’s dying a little on the inside.

I’m dialing Orion before I can talk myself out of it.

“Rose. What’s up?” Straight to the point, as always.

“I need you to look into something for me.”

Orion is quiet as I explain that I want him to look into the night my mom died and for anything about the state of my mom and dad’s relationship. I don’t know that my dad is capable of killing someone, but there’s a vile voice in my head I need to prove wrong. The only way to snuff out my suspicions is to figure out what happened.

“Are you sure you want to dig up the past?” he asks.

“Yes.”

He releases a heavy breath. “You might not like what I find.”

“Orion, why are you trying to get out of a job?”

“I’m not. We’ve worked together for a long time, and I just want to make sure you’re ready for whatever I find. Which could be nothing. That, in itself, can be disappointing.”

He might be right, but I don’t have the mental capacity to think about that right now. “I’ll be fine. How’s Cassia?”

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