Chapter 4 - THE MILK
“No.”
The word came out weak.
Tobias watched me.
“Every night?”
I stared at him.
“Almost.”
“Did he make it himself?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ever let you skip it?”
I thought back.
On nights I refused, Garrett would smile.
Come on, Rosie. You barely ate today.
On business trips, he packed herbal sleep packets into my suitcase.
After arguments, he apologized with tea.
My stomach turned.
“What was he giving me?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You just said—”
“I found crushed tablets in his garage six months ago. I sent residue to a private lab.”
“And?”
“Sedatives. Anti-anxiety medication. Small amounts of something that can affect memory over time.”
I stared at him.
“You knew for six months?”
“I needed proof.”
“You could have told me!”
“And if you confronted him?”
“I would’ve left.”
“He would’ve killed you sooner.”
I wanted to hate Tobias.
Part of me did.
But another part remembered Garrett standing on the shore smiling while I drowned.
“What do we do now?”
“We disappear.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Rosalind—”
“I spent fifteen years running a company Dad built from nothing.”
“They’ll be watching the house.”
“I’m not talking about going home.”
“Then what?”
I looked toward the gray horizon.
“We make Garrett believe he succeeded.”
Tobias stared at me.
Then slowly smiled.
For the first time since the river, I recognized my brother.
Not the quiet man in a wheelchair.
The boy who used to put fireworks in mailboxes.
“That,” he said, “I can work with.”
We moved through the marsh until we reached an old bait shack Tobias apparently knew existed.
Inside, he opened a loose floorboard.
Phones.
Cash.
Clothes.
A handgun.
I stared at him.
“How long have you been preparing?”
“Years.”
“You have a gun?”
“I have several.”
“Who are you?”
He gave me a dry look.
“The guy you kept buying orthopedic pillows for.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
It came out half hysterical.
Then his burner phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His face changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward me.
A local news alert.
SUV FOUND SUBMERGED IN SAVANNAH CREEK. TWO PEOPLE MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD.
Below it was a photo of Garrett.
He stood wrapped in a rescue blanket.
Crying.
My loving husband.
The grieving survivor.
“He’s telling police the steering failed,” Tobias said.
Then another message appeared.
This one wasn’t news.
It was from an unknown number.
I’M GLAD YOU GOT OUT, ROSALIND.
My blood froze.
A second message arrived.
May you like
RUN.
THEY KNOW TOBIAS CAN WALK.
