The words hit exactly where he intends them to.
"You don't know anything about me."
"I know you're on a full scholarship. I also know you're smart and ambitious. That you want to work in forensics. That you have a job offer at the state lab in Boston."
"How do you know that?"
The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end. This is wrong.
"I make it my business to know about people who affect my son's career." He pulls out his phone and shows me the screen. "But what if I could do better than Boston?"
I look at the screen. It's an email chain between him and someone at the FBI.
"Quantico," he says. "They have a forensic science division that's the best in the country. I have connections there. I can get you an interview. Potentially a position."
My heart stops.
Quantico.
That's the dream job. The job that would set me up for life. The job that would make everything my dad sacrificed worth it.
"You're lying."
"I'm not. All it takes is one word from me, and you have an interview scheduled for January."
I stare at the screen, my mind racing.
One hundred thousand dollars.
A job at Quantico.
Everything I've ever wanted, handed to me on a silver platter.
All I have to do is walk away from Declan.
"Think about what this money could do," his father continues. “And the Quantico position? That's a career-making opportunity."
"Why would you do this for me?"
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Declan. Getting you out of his life so he can focus on what matters." He puts thephone away. "But in the process, you get everything you want. A prestigious job. Financial security."
I stare at him. I’m waiting for him to tell me he’s joking.
But he doesn’t.
"You're a smart girl, Sutton. You know this relationship is doomed. Long distance never works, especially not with the kind of demands his career will have." He softens his voice slightly. "Why not end it now, on your terms, and walk away with something that will actually benefit your life?"
I look at the envelope in his hand.
One hundred thousand dollars.
I could have the security I've never had.
And Quantico.
Maybe the kindest thing I could do is walk away. Give Declan the chance to succeed without me holding him back.
"I need time to think," I hear myself say.
