Chapter 190: Planning to Kill Her

Avery walks back to her room and begins to pack. She knows she has to travel light, but she wants to bring a few essential items with her. She doesn't know what will happen, but she has several plans ready. She glances at the small pile of items on her bed: some paper bags, some granola bars, a candle, some string, a warm hat, a few pieces of metal, a syringe, and a paperclip. She wishes she still had the small gun, but Andrew's guards took it when she arrived at the mansion.

She lies down, but can't sleep. She tosses and turns, imagining all the ways the plan could go wrong. Eventually, her worrying exhausts her, and she falls into a deep sleep. When she wakes, it's late morning. Without Andrew's mistress, the mansion is quiet and calm.

She nervously picks at her yogurt and fruit, and can barely swallow her orange juice. After breakfast, she claims exhaustion and retreats to her room. She's afraid to spend time with Andrew, terrified she might do or say something to arouse his suspicions. 

In the evening, she grinds three sleeping pills into a fine powder. She slips into the kitchen and sprinkles the powder into a simmering pot of soup. For good measure, she adds a few drops of the berry juice. She gives the mixture a forceful stir and slips the juice bottle into her pocket.

When she joins Andrew at dinner, she has trouble concealing her agitation. Every noise makes her want to jump: the spoon hitting the side of the bowl, a servant coughing in the hall, the wind blowing through the oak tree outside. But Andrew seems clueless. He devours the soup and calls for the second course. Before he can get through the first bite of his salmon, he yawns.

Avery picks at her food and waits for him to finish eating. "Do you want dessert?" she asks.

He shakes his head and stretches his arms. "No," he says, yawning hugely, "I'm exhausted. I think I'll have an early night. Sleep well, beautiful."

As soon as he leaves the dining room, Avery jumps to her feet and rushes to her bedroom. The next hour is agony. She wants to make sure he's completely asleep, but time seems to stretch out. Every second feels like a minute, every minute, an eternity.

Finally, it's time. She gathers her supplies and creeps into the hall. She tiptoes down the stairs and rushes to the mostly deserted North Wing. A black Land Rover waits by the door. The engine idles quietly, and the headlights are off.

Jack, the bodyguard, sits in the driver's seat. Avery finds it odd that he's wearing a black ski mask—she already knows who he is—but she quickly writes off her concern. I'm sure Andrew has security cameras everywhere, she thinks, Jack just doesn't want Andrew to catch him.

She opens the door and climbs into the back seat. Without delay, the car peels away from the house and races toward the open gates. Once on the road, Jack drives recklessly. The road was narrow and winding, and dense forest borders it on both sides. Though the car's headlights are bright, they can't cut through the thick fog. Avery wonders how Jack knows where he's going.

She takes a deep breath, ready to begin the next phase of her own personal plan. She closes her eyes, leans back in the leather seat, and pretends to be asleep. Sure enough, the car rolls to a slow stop. Jack quietly gets out of the car and opens her door. She feels his hands on her neck, but she keeps her eyes closed.

She grips the syringe in her fingers and waits until she can feel his hot breath on her face. Then she opens her eyes and stabs the syringe into his neck. Shocked by her sudden attack, he hesitates, and she injects the berry juice into his neck. He shudders and begins to convulse. After a few minutes, he lies still. Avery doesn't know if he's dead or simply unconscious.

She takes a deep breath to calm herself and begins rummaging through his pockets for his phone. She places his thumb on the home button to unlock it and checks his text messages. The last text he received was from Michelle: one body, two lives.

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She shivers and looks around. She has no idea where she is, but the helicopter she ordered should be on the way. She takes the odds and ends she took from Andrew's house and assembled a haphazard paper lantern, wiring the candle to the paper bags. She hopes it will work as a flare, guiding the helicopter in her direction.

She breathes a sigh of relief as the bag floats off the ground and into the sky. Soon, it rises above the low-hanging fog and disappears from sight. Within a few minutes, she hears the sound of a helicopter above her. A powerful searchlight cuts through the fog, and a rope ladder falls from the sky.

Avery grabs the ladder and begins to climb. The ladder shakes and trembles under her weight, and the rope burns her palms. Ignoring the pain, she moves as quickly as possible, eager to be out of the air. As she climbs, a sudden and violent wind swings the ladder.

Avery looks around and sees another helicopter approaching. In the moonlight, she can see the Howel family crest on the fuselage. She squints at the helicopter, but she can't see who's inside.

Evan raises the binoculars to his eyes—he wasn't expecting to see another helicopter, and he wants to identify the pilot. He's shocked to see a woman swinging from a rope ladder. He orders the pilot to bring them closer and groans when he recognizes Avery. "What the hell is she thinking?" he hisses. "Does she have any idea how dangerous that is?"

He watches her anxiously through the binoculars. He doesn't realize he's been holding his breath until he sees a man pull her safely into the cabin. She stands by the door to the cabin. The wind whips her hair, and her trousers billow. Then she smiles mockingly, gives a little wave in his direction, and disappears into the cabin.

"Follow that helicopter, and radio the pilot," Evan says as Avery's helicopter shoots away.

The cabin door shuts behind her, and Avery turns to look at the people inside. When she sees Michelle, her blood runs cold.

"You're not the only one who had a backup plan," Michelle says, "You know, you're really not as clever as you think."

"How did you find out?" Avery asks.

"Please, it was practically child's play," Michelle says, "You're so careless about leaving your phone lying around."

Avery grips a metal support beam. She suddenly remembers Michelle's text to the bodyguard: one corpse, two lives. Avery trembles, as a bodyguard, grabs her and forces her to the floor.

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