Avery's Game Of Revenge
Chapter 166: Done Packing?

Chapter 166: Done Packing?

Avery followed her gaze, taking in the desolate surroundings. "Exactly. I have a new identity. If people see me talking to someone closely tied to the ’murderer Avery McCallum,’ there’s a high chance my cover will be blown. I can’t let them use you against me."

"New identity?" Stephanie echoed. "What is it?"

"Before I say anything," Avery shook her head, her expression hardening, "tell me what you were looking for in that place with Valentina. How did you meet her? What caused the fight and the shouting? And most importantly, why didn’t you fight back?"

Stephanie took her time to respond, knowing she needed to spin a convincing lie if she wanted Avery to believe her.

"Actually..." she began, her fingers fidgeting, "my dad... he lost his job recently."

"Oh... What happened?" Avery asked, her eyes narrowing. "Wait... don’t tell me... Did Valentina or anyone in that family have something to do with it?"

Stephanie nodded eagerly, relieved that she didn’t have to strain her brain too much for something believable.

"Valentina went to the restaurant where he worked with some friends, and he overheard her talking badly about you. I think he said something, and one thing led to another... He got fired. But let’s not dwell on that. We have to talk about you instead."

"I’m not letting it go," Avery said firmly. "You still haven’t told me why you let her slap you without fighting back."

This time, Stephanie found it easier to answer.

"Isn’t it obvious? She has a horde of fans who believe she’s some innocent, sweet little doll. If any of them got footage of our fight and saw me so much as lift a finger against her, they’d turn against me."

Avery nodded slowly.

"Especially since it wouldn’t take much for them to figure out you used to be Avery McCallum’s best friend. They could twist it into some story about you trying to finish what I started or spin something even worse."

"Exactly!" Stephanie exclaimed.

She glanced at her watch without thinking, realizing she had only a few minutes left before Arthur’s check-up. With Archie firing all the previous staff and hiring new ones, the new doctors and nurses barely knew anything about Arthur beyond what was in his chart. She didn’t want to leave him with them for too long.

Avery caught the subtle action and asked, "Are you in a hurry?"

"No—" Stephanie started, but was immediately cut off.

"I can see it all over your face. How about we talk about me later?" Avery pulled out her phone and handed it to Stephanie. "I’ll text you, and we can set up a meeting somewhere more private and..." She glanced around, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "...cleaner."

"You sure?" Stephanie asked seriously. "I can wait for a few more minutes." When her friend shook her head, she relented and sighed, "Okay then. I’ll be waiting for your call."

"You should," Avery assured her. "I’ll message you tonight with a time and place."

"I’ll be waiting, Avery," Stephanie said, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Ava," Avery corrected. "Avery McCallum is dead. I... I’m Ava Donovan now."

The former’s expression sobered, but her grip tightened around her friend.

"I’ll keep calling you Avery," she said. "Let everyone else call you Ava, but for me, you’ll always be Avery, my best friendddd." The last word came out in a playful drawl.

A dry chuckle escaped Avery’s lips.

"You really are stubborn, aren’t you?"

"You taught me how to be," was the retort.

For a few moments, they just stood there, staring at each other, as if their silence could say all the things their words couldn’t. The spell broke when Stephanie’s eyes started welling up with tears.

"You should go first, Steph," Avery murmured. "We’ll see each other soon."

"We have to," Stephanie agreed. She glanced toward the alley’s exit, then back at Avery. "You’ll wait a few minutes before leaving?"

"That’s the smart thing to do," Avery said. "Someone could’ve seen us come in and might be watching for us to leave together."

"Right," Stephanie nodded. She took a few steps toward the exit, hesitated, then spun back around to pull Avery into another tight hug before finally walking away.

Avery stayed in the same spot for several minutes, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. She waited until she had fully regained her composure before stepping out of the alley.

☆♡♡♡☆

Dove Luxurious Building

Avery slammed the taxi door shut just as her phone started ringing. Without checking the caller ID, she picked up.

"Hey, Ava. You done packing?" Jodi’s voice came through the line.

Avery stopped mid-step, just a few meters away from the grand entrance of the building. Right beside it, the doors to Red Night World were already bustling with people going in and out, the evening crowd starting to gather.

Not wanting to get distracted or be in anyone’s way, she turned and walked back toward the driveway, where to an onlooker, it would look like she was either waiting for a taxi or had just alighted from one.

"Packing?" she echoed. "Where are we going?"

She had plans to pack for the masquerade ball with Alice, but she hadn’t mentioned it to Jodi yet. That’s why the question caught her off guard.

"The ball, of course. Wait... Didn’t you see my text? Or Mr. Donovan’s?"

"You both sent me messages?" Avery asked. "I’ll check after this call. What was it about? Something urgent?"

"Oh, no. I guess Mr. Donovan didn’t think you’d be free, so he didn’t tell you earlier. It’s a masquerade ball-slash-fundraiser he co-hosts with one of his friends over there..."

"Wait. The one people from this country attend too?"

Jodi’s hum filtered across the line.

"Yeah. It’s becoming a thing now. A lot of companies send actors or actresses to represent them since it always turns out to be good publicity. I wasn’t planning on going, but he sent me an invite and said we could go together."

"Archie did?" Avery asked.