Page 125 of Pretty Little Threats

Orion switches apps and shows me an image of another document. “This is your mother’s signature.” He shows me another. “And so is this.” He shifts through a few more. “And this”—he pulls up the incorporation document again, and the signature doesn’t match—”is not hers.”

My chest clenches. “It’s my dad’s,” I whisper.Why would he do that?

Orion nods. “It’s here.” He pulls up another file, this one a sheet full of checks cut or deposited by this company. The front of each one written and the back of every deposit has my mom’s fake signature. “And here.” He pulls up another set of incorporation documents. “And here.”

“Okay,” I say, pulling away from the screen. “I don’t understand what you’re telling me.”

Orion grimaces. “Well, once I found this, I put in a call with my friend, who’s a cyber specialist and a better hacker than your friend—” He gives Cassia a look and she bristles. “He was able to pull the books for these companies, and I sent those to my buddy who is a forensic accountant.” He pauses and looks at me again. “Are you really sure you want to know?”

He’s never been this cautious with breaking news before. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.

“Fuck, kid,” he says, shaking his head and pulling up more documents. “From what we can tell, your dad wasstealing money from JD Miller & Co and funneling it through these corporations he put in your mother’s name. He was writing checks to himself, but that’s not the weirdest thing.” Orion shows me the screen again, which now displays dissolution paperwork. “The company was dissolved. Look at the signature.”

These letters are soft and looping. Not the hard-edged lines from when my dad forged her name. They’re the same style of letters on the birthday cards I keep tucked in the back of my closet.

“That’s my mom’s handwriting,” I say, brow furrowing.Did she find out or something?

“Exactly. I think your dad was stealing money.”

“But why? He has plenty,” I counter.

“That’s where the other person comes into play. Rayce Lions,” Orion says. “I’m still tracking him down, but from what I can tell, Rayce owned a mortgage company. If that wasn’t enough, apparently your dad was in bed with someone named Ryker Williams, who owns a debt collection company.”

Cassia sucks in a sharp breath. “What’s the company’s name?”

Orion hesitates. The pause holds weight, and so does the sad downturn of his lips. “I think you know.”

“No.” Cassia shakes her head. “No. That’s not possible.”

“I’m afraid it is.” Orion takes a sip of his tea, probably to gather the courage needed to rip both our lives apart, then scratches his eyebrow. “The money that Rose’s dad was depositing was traced back to the debt collection agency.”

Finally understanding, I suck in a breath. Cassia has been searching for the people who gave her dad the bad loan for years...looking for the owner of the collection agency who relentlessly hounded him and put so muchstress on his heart that it finally gave out. A stone drops into the pit of my stomach.

This can’t be happening.

Cassia swipes at her cheeks and her shoulders tremble. Sliding out of my seat, I wrap my arms around her. She tenses. “I’m okay.”

Orion continues. “The checks your dad wrote were sent to Rayce.”

Every inch of my skin is suddenly tight and hot. I wish Cassia’s words were true. This can’t be real. Clearing my throat, I put the pieces together. Part of me needs to hear it said out loud, to see if there’s some type of misunderstanding.

“So...my dad was getting kickbacks from the debt collection company, and he was paying the mortgage company, which means he orchestrated bad loans that would feed the debt collection agency?”

Orion grimaces. “Everything points in that direction.”

His words are like the final nail in the coffin.

Cassia’s breaths are shallow and ragged now. “Which means your dad is the reason mine died.”

A lump lodges in my throat and my chin quivers. Oh my god. Cassia has spent so long hunting down the person who was ruining so many lives, and all along, he’s been right in front of her. It was my dad.

Will she hate me? What do I even say?Sorry my dad is a terrible person?Nothing will make it better.

Cassia pushes out of her chair, and my arm slips from her shoulders as she takes two steps away. My heart sinks. With shaking hands, she grabs her purse. She glances at me with watery eyes.

Guilt clogs my throat. “Cassia?—”

“I know it wasn’t you.” She cuts me off, averting hergaze and swiping at her damp cheeks. “I need. I think I need some space to process.” She sniffs hard.

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