Chapter 141: Avery's Revenge to Florence

Avery turned around and looked into the room through the doorway. She flashes a scheming smile.

"Mrs. Howel do you want to accompany me back to the room now?" she asks.

"You!" Mrs. Florence Howel snarls, "What will it take to get rid of you?"

Avery typically believes in keeping her cool, in negotiating things gently and civilly, but she knows she has to stand her ground with Evan's grandmother. She stands tall and lifts her chin defiantly.

"I want you to call, Mr. Francis Howel and tell him that I'm to blame for everything bad that has happened," she said evenly, "It had nothing to do with Evan. Ask Mr. Howel to let him go."

"Ok," Florence agrees, "That's no problem."

Avery begins to climb the stairs, then turns.

"And, I hope we're celebrating my birthday at the party tomorrow," she calls over her shoulder as if the idea is an afterthought.

She knows that the true purpose of the party is to announce Leonie's candidacy to become the next Mrs. Howel. Gossip magazines have made sure that everyone knows she and Leonie share the same birthday—and she refuses to be humiliated and shoved aside at the party.

"No!" Leonie moans, near tears, "Mrs. Howel, my friends and family all think that it's my party. If they come and see they have to celebrate that awful woman instead, I'll be so embarrassed."

Mrs. Florence Howel purses her lips. She didn't expect Avery to be so bold and ask for the party.

"Mrs. Howel, she's bluffing," Leonie continues, "I don't believe she really wants to sleep with you! She just wants to embarrass us."

Avery shrugs lazily and turns to walk upstairs again.

"Go ahead, see if I'm bluffing," Avery says with a smirk, "I'm going to rest now. Mrs. Howel, I'll see you later this evening, and I promise to take good care of you."

To the astonishment of the nervous maids, Avery walks into Mrs. Florence Howel's bedroom. She pursues the room and rifles through some drawers before walking back to the stairs. She carries envelopes and letters in her hand and reads aloud as if she's putting on a play.

"Dear Florence, you are like the moon in the sky, illuminating the darkness; and you are like snowflakes, which are pure and beautiful," Avery reads, "All I have is for you."

Avery has found love letters from Mrs. Florence Howel's youth and she's reading them aloud for Leonie and the servants to hear.

"Don't read them, Avery!" Florence screeches, "I command you to stop reading them!"

"But it's such a beautiful and moving letter," Avery replies, "Do you really want to deprive us of hearing it?"

"That's enough!" Florence roars at top volume, "I promise you there will be consequences!"

Avery finishes descending the stairs, pausing at every step to dramatically page through the thick love letters and diaries in her hands. Then she drops them unceremoniously next to Mrs. Florence Howel.

"Mrs. Howel, before you drag me to your house next time, think about what kind of trouble you're inviting in with me," she says mockingly, "It may be easy for you to force me here, but consider if it's just as easy to make me leave when you tire of me."

She knows that they call her a devil and worse in secret, but she doesn't mind. She can sense her imminent victory. Mrs. Florence Howel looks defeated and presumably, she'll think twice before harassing Avery again. Slowly, Avery swaggers out of the room, carrying her head as high as a queen.

Avery sleeps restlessly in her bed through the dark night. Every time she closes her eyes, she has the same vivid nightmare: Gabrielle is being crucified on a wooden cross, and venomous snakes slither up and down her body. She wakes suddenly and her movement alerts Lucky. Avery and the dog strain their ears and hear the door to the room creak open.

Two men furtively close the door and creep into the room on tiptoes. Quickly they approach the bedside. One man yanks the quilt back while the other man throws himself into the bed. They're startled to find that the bed is empty, though the fine linen sheets are wrinkled and warm.

"Where is she?" one man whispers.

A beam of light flickers on behind them. The men turn toward the light and freeze.

"Ghost!" they scream.

The light illuminates a pale woman in a white dress. Glossy black hair. Falls across her face, obscuring her features. Though the room is still, the ghost's dress seems to flutter in some supernatural breeze. The two men stumble backward and prepare to run out of the room, but an icy voice stops them.

"Stop right here and come back!" the voice calls.

The men stop and slowly turn around. The 'ghost' is removing a dark wig from her head, and she scowls fiercely at them.

"How dare you try to kidnap me?" the ghost asks.

The men exchange astonished glances and then look back at the ghost. They quickly realize it's the woman they were meant to kidnap. Emboldened by this realization, they decide to carry out their original task.

"There's no choice," one man says, "We were ordered to take you away, and that's what we're going to do."

"Where are you going to take me?" Avery asks.

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"That's information that you don't need to know," one of the men answers, as he takes a black cloth bag out of his pocket.

The other man uncoils a rope, and approaches her slowly, still slightly frightened by the phantom apparition.

"Why do you think I'll let you take me away?" Avery asks calmly.

Though the men are much bigger and stronger than her, she seems completely unperturbed.

"You think you can fight us off?" the first man asks with obvious amusement.

Avery hits another light switch and bright light floods the entire room. The men freeze and scream again.

"A-a lion!" stammers one.

"Idiot!" shouts the other, "That's a German shepherd!"

Avery laughs at the two men. Despite their size, they're both quite timid and she wonders who would choose such men for kidnapping. Lucky lies on the ground near Avery's feet and growls low. With one quiet command from Avery, the dog stops growling and begins to bark.

The big men slowly back away from Avery and Lucky, their hands raised defensively in front of their faces. Avery looks at the men with amusement. She's surprised to find that they look alike—even the beards on their chins are identical. They must be twins.

"Don't set that beast on us," one of them pleads, "We were paid to take you away. It has nothing to do with us."

"Lucky, stop barking," Avery commands.

Lucky reluctantly quiets but continues to bare his teeth at the men.

"Tell me, how much did your employer give you?" Avery asks.

"Half a million dollars," one of the men answers.

"Oh? My life is worth only half a million dollars?" Avery asks casually, turning off some of the lights as she speaks, "I'll give you an even million."

The two men looked at each other with shock. By now, most women would have called the police or screamed for help. Instead, there would be a victim offering them a million dollars.

"Do you want us to kidnap our previous employer or something?" one man asks fearfully.

"No, I'll give you a million dollars to take me away," Avery replies.

Though the men are confused, they want the money. Even if they were inclined to refuse, the massive, snarling German shepherd helps persuade them to agree to Avery's terms.

"Okay, then," the men agree, "You have yourself a deal."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come over and tie me up," Avery commands impatiently.

The men exchanged questioning looks with one another, but they do as Avery asks.

At three o'clock in the morning, the lights in the parlor are still on. Mrs. Florence Howel sits in a rocking chair and rubbed her temples with her fingers. Avery's behavior has given her a headache and made it impossible to sleep. Leonie paces back and forth, compounding Florence's irritation.

Suddenly, the phone rings, breaking the anxious silence. A maid runs to answer it and Leonie listens carefully to the conversation. After the maid hangs up, Leonie lets out a deep breath.

"Mrs. Howel, everything has been taken care of," Leonie says with glee, "Avery won't show up to my birthday party tomorrow."

Mrs. Florence Howel also sighs with relief. Avery made everything chaotic. If she appeared at the party tomorrow, there's no telling what kind of damage she could to the family's reputation.

"It's real," Leonie says, unlocking her phone and send some photos to Florence, "Look at the pictures they took."

After sending the photos, Leonie makes a mental note to dispose of her phone as evidence of her role in the kidnapping.

Mrs. Florence Howel examines the photos. She worriedly looks at Avery's belly. Though she hates Avery, Florence Howel is concerned about the unborn child. She knows how badly her husband wants Evan to have an heir, and if there's any chance the baby is Evan's she knows she needs to protect it.

"No, they didn't tie her belly," Leonie said reassuringly, "She's fine."

"That's good," Mrs. Howel says with a sigh of relief.

She continues to rub her temples and think about the birthday party. With Avery out of the way, everything should go according to plan. However, she feels uneasy and upset anyway.

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