Scarlett Dane
PROLOGUE
Present Day
“Can you state your full name for Detective Rubio and me?”
The iciness of the interrogation room stabs through the marrow of my bones. I want to wrap my arms around myself, but I hold firm, mentally warding off the bumps from bubbling on my skin. The detective, Winslow, rumbles a cough, staring at me with her eagle-like stare while her partner, Detective Rubio, blinks at me softly. His kindness is appreciated, but I’m no fool. I won’t wilt for a handsome face.
Why did I agree to do this?
I should have denied everything, kept my mouth shut, and stayed the fuck out of it.
“Scarlett Emilia Dane,” I mutter, leaning in far too close to the recording device they placed in the center of the solid metal table.
I keep my eyes locked on Winslow, unwavering as the edges of her hazel glare sharpen into points. It’s her I have to focus on. Men, they’re easy, but women? We don’t trust anyone.
My hands stay relaxed on the top of the desk, folded simply, not too stiff, but not weak.
I’m not weak.
My heeled feet don’t jitter, and I keep my lips straight.
“No biting, no playing with your tongue. Keep your fingers out of your mouth and don’t play with your hair. Detectives love that shit, and they’ll chew you out because of it,” my father, a missing persons detective, guides as we head over to the Riverton Police Station. “You’re not guilty, but it isn’t hard to make it seem that way. You give them nothing to attack you on, understand, Scarlett? Nothing. And if you need me, I’ll be right outside that window.”
“I know, Daddy.”
“You know why you’re here today, Scarlett. I don’t need to repeat that. You’ve heard it enough. So, tell us.”
“Tell you what?” I ask, rolling my green eyes to the handsome detective Rubio.
He smiles.
They always smile.
“The truth.”
ACT I
Scarlett Dane
CHAPTER I
Three Months Prior
“It’s fine, Mom. Really. No point in apologizing anymore.”
“I’m sorry, but I feel guilty, Scarlett. This is the middle of your senior year, and your father and I have practically ripped you away from everything you know! New school, new friends… I feel bad, honey.”
This is my mom's thousandth apology since we found out my father had been transferred from the Homicide Bureau in my hometown of Bassnet, California, to the Homicide Division in Riverton, Rhode Island.
I was pissed at first, being over three thousand miles away from everything I love. But after the tears and promises from my best friends, Dana and Jenna, that they’d come to visit, the move didn’t feel so daunting, especially when I found out I was accepted into the university of my dreams back home.
“Mom, it’s okay. There are only about five months left, anyway,” I say, zipping up my ankle-high boots before standing in front of the full-body mirror in the foyer.
Our new home came furnished, which is great because our stuff hasn’t arrived from California yet, but everything’s outdated. Old and creaking from use. Mom’s planning to donate it all, but I’ve demanded she keep this mirror. It has a white frame, distressed around the edges. It’s the perfect canvas, and I plan to tackle it as soon as my art supplies arrive. This, and the stairs leading up to the second story.
I’m studying my outfit in the middle of the hall when my father bounds down the steps. He gives me a smile, the same kind he’s given since I could walk, but with one look down, that grin washes off his stubbled face.
