Chapter 218: Bigger Threat

The bright sunshine warms Avery's skin, but she can't shake the terrible gloomy feeling. Sophie's words have left her afraid and confused. She wishes she could tell someone, but no one knows about the toxins in her blood.

Her ringing phone distracts her from her dark thoughts. She glances down at the screen and sees Evan's name. She tries to decide if she wants to answer the call or not. She doesn't want to upset Evan, but she's worried she won't be able to hide her bad mood. With a sigh, she accepts the call.

"Have you finished meeting with Sophie?" Evan asks.

"Yes," Avery answers.

"You sound unhappy," he says. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little sad," Avery says.

Evan sighs on the other end of the phone. Avery wants to tell him everything, but she knows it's too late for that.

"Well, there's no need to hurry back home," Evan says. "Maybe you can stay out a little longer and enjoy this sunshine? Or I could come to meet you?"

Avery hears Robert's muffled voice in the background and then the sound of rustling papers. Ever since the helicopter rescue, Evan has been even busier with work than normal. He often spends all day closed in his study, and he answers phone calls at all hours.

"I have the documents you wanted me to collect," Robert says in the background.

"Evan, I know you're busy," Avery says. "Don't bother coming to meet me. I'm okay."

"I'll be free soon," Evan says. "Do you want to visit Nanny? It's been a while since you've seen her."

"Yes, I do," Avery says.

"Okay, wait for me outside the hospital," Evan says.

Evan takes a tall stack of documents from Robert.

"Mr. Howel, this is your grandfather's complete schedule for the last few years," Robert says. "Below that, there's a list of all the bribes he's taken and paid."

Evan flips through the papers and smiles grimly to himself. His grandfather has been careless over the years. If the papers were leaked, it would cause a massive scandal for the entire Howel family. Most people wouldn't dare upset Francis Howel like that, but Evan is willing to do just about anything in this battle against his grandfather.

"What is my grandfather's schedule for the next few days?" Evan asks.

"He's going to meet with the old Mr. Clifford," Robert says. "If it goes well, he'll return to Monaco in a few days."

"Get ready," Evan says. "I'm going to Monaco in three days."

He hates the thought of leaving Avery, but he hopes he can make up for it when he comes back. Evan stands and walks to the window. He laces his fingers and stretches his arms behind his back, watching a group of people gathers outside near the river.

"Mr. Howel, our team is getting everything ready for the proposal," Robert says. "I've been watching them closely to make sure they get every detail just right. It'll be ready by the time you come back from Monaco."

Evan nods with satisfaction. "That's good," he says. "Make sure none of them leak any information to anyone."

Evan watches the people outside and thinks about the details of his plan. He needs his grandfather to accept Avery into the family. If his grandfather refuses to allow him to remarry her, he'll leak the documents and ruin the entire family.

That cold old man only cares about this family and its good reputation, Evan thinks. If it's a choice between Avery and these bribes, bribes are definitely the bigger threat. 

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Evan pulls his phone from his pocket and looks at a picture of Avery. He imagines proposing to her properly. He imagines a wedding and a comfortable life together. He thinks about taking her to his bed every night and waking up to her every morning.

"Mr. Howel, the car is ready to take you to the hospital," Robert said, interrupting his happy thoughts. 

Avery waits for Evan outside the main entrance of Memorial Hospital. When he finally arrives, they head to the VIP ward on the 19th floor. A nurse sits beside Nanny's bed and massages her arms and legs to keep the muscles from atrophying. When she sees Avery and Evan, she jumps to her feet.

"How's Nanny?" Avery asks.

"She's still the same, but that's not a bad thing," the nurse says. "Most coma patients deteriorate a lot, but she hasn't changed much. That's good."

Avery nods and sits on the side of Nanny's bed. She reaches for a cup of water on the nightstand and dips a cotton ball into it. Gently, she wipes the cotton over Nanny's mouth to moisten her lips. Nanny's heart monitor beeps steadily and quietly in the background.

"I give her a massage every day, change her clothes, and talk to her," the nurse says. "The physical stimulation is supposed to be good for coma patients. I also leave different radio stations and podcasts on when I'm away, and on nice days I push her bed to the window so she can be in the sun."

Avery feels overwhelmed by the nurse's kindness. She gets up from the bed and tries to push it toward the sunlight. The nurse immediately helps her, and the wheeled bed slides easily over the floor: Nanny weighs almost nothing. "Has anyone come to visit Nanny?" Avery asks the nurse.

"Do you mean Bryan?" the nurse asks. "He hasn't been to see her recently. He must be very busy."

"He is," Avery says. "Did he leave any contact information with you? Maybe some way to get in touch with him in case of an emergency?"

The nurse shakes her head. Something clatters to the floor, and Avery turns to look at Evan. He's knocked a blue pen off a table. He picks it up and looks at it strangely.

"Oh, that's a recording pen," the nurse says. "It came with your Nanny when she was transferred here. The recording is a clip of Mrs. Howel's voice, and Dr. Meyer said it would be good for her to hear it. The attending doctor here seemed to think it was worth a try, so I play it for her every day."

Evan looks at the pen and clicks it open. Then he presses a small switch near the top. Avery's voice plays as clear as day.

"Nanny, I'm sorry," the recording says. "You must be mad at me because I haven't come to see you for a long time. But you know the Howel Family is so strict, and it's hard for me to sneak out. I suppose you're going to tell me I'm disobedient. If I say I'm going to divorce Evan, will you wake up?"

Evan stops the recording and puts the pen on the table. His face is perfectly calm, but his right hand has clenched into a fist. Avery bites her lip nervously. She has no idea when Charles made the recording or why.

"I just said those things to try to get a rise out of Nanny," Avery says quickly.

"Has it worked?" Evan asks the nurse.

"No, not yet," the nurse says.

"Delete it," Evan says, tossing the pen to Robert.

Evan walks across the room and takes Avery's hand firmly in his. She assumes he's ready to leave, and she wonders if he'll let his anger exploded in the car.

"Nanny, I need to go back home, but I promise to come back as soon as I can," Avery says.

Instead of tugging her toward the door, Evan pulled her closer to Nanny's bed. "Nanny, this is Evan," he says. "Avery is pregnant, and we're not really divorcing. In fact, she's going to remarry me very soon."

"Oh, my God," the nurse shouts. "Did you see that, Mrs. Howel? Your Nanny's finger just moved!"

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