“You would kill your husband for fifty million dollars.”
“Obviously. For such a talented therapist, you’re pretty naïve.”
I jerked my arm, trying to shed my cuff, but all I did was hurt my wrist. My wince amused Scarlet. My scowl amused her more.
“With Dirk dead, I inherit 250 million dollars. I’d kill my mother for a quarter of a billion dollars. While it would have been nice to inherit everything, I don’t want the headache of running a security company. It sounds super boring.”
Fuck! What a bitch.
Dirk had wanted to save forty-nine million dollars, and it had cost him his life.
“Now I just need to tie up some loose ends.”
“Like me?”
“Yes, Princess. You’re the biggest loose end of all, but there are others. Fortunately, I know the Head of Security well. Biblically, in fact. So, I can have a lot of data erased before anyone knows to even look.” She swept a lock of red hair behind her ear as she smiled seductively towards Stu.
I slumped against the back of the futon cushion. My palms were cold and clammy. My breath came in quick gasps. The pounding of my heart in my chest was deafening.
I’m going to die.
“Who hurt you?”
“What was that, Doc?”
“Who hurt you so badly when you were growing up?”
“No one. You can quit playing therapist, Doc. I don’t need you fucking with my head.”
“Was it your mother? Did she expect you to live her dream of being a famous movie star? Did she push…”
“Leave my mother out of this. She was a saint.”
“Touchy much?”
“No amount of counseling is going to change the outcome, Doc.”
“What outcome, Scarlet?”
“Your outcome.” She pushed away from the desk and walked around the desk, placing it between us.
“So if it wasn’t your mother, then it must have been your father. Did he travel too much? Never spend time with you? Bought you gifts to make up for being gone all the time?”
Scarlet stood behind the light now, her face illuminated. The look of joy on her face was sickening.
“Wrong again, Doc. Daddy died when I was three. Never knew him, but he was a war hero in Desert Storm. He didn’t fuck me up either.”
I felt an edge in her voice. It probably wasn’t a good idea to push her, but I couldn’t seem to control myself. What would she do? Kill me? That was her intention, anyway.
“So, it must have been your step-daddy?”
“Step daddies!”
“And all of them loved your saint of a mother more than you?”
“You’re so fucking stupid, Doc?” Scarlet spat.
Stu shuffled uncomfortably.
