Avery's Game Of Revenge
Chapter 57: Party.

Chapter 57: Party.

As Jon had replaced all the workers in the mansion the same day Avery was pronounced dead, none of those currently working there knew much about her or the other family members except what they heard from the TV.

Still, Kathy knew it would be careless for them to talk about Avery with all these maids present, much less talking about her in a bad way like Tina did by calling her a bitch. They had to keep up their perfect family image which was to show they were pained by Arthur’s, Emma’s and Grandfather’s death, but still unable to hate Avery—their murderer—as they had lived together for years.

Pulling her daughter by her wrist, Kathy didn’t spare her time to object before dragging her up the stairs to join her husband. The trio didn’t stop until they were safely in a private room where none of the maids were allowed to come close to.

"Now, explain what the outburst was for earlier," Jon requested as soon as they were behind closed doors.

"I was telling mom I saw Avery today. Dad, Avery is not—!"

"Are you alright, Tina?" Jon interrupted her, worry etched on his temple.

"I am alright, Dad. This is real!" Valentina ina insisted. She fumbled through her bag for the torn page from earlier, presenting it to her parents like one would present a murder evidence. "Look at that. I found it in my dressing room today and it had my name written together with Emma and Avery’s. It was a threat!"

Jon took the shredded paper from her hand, letting out a tired sigh when he could find none of what his daughter mentioned on the page. There was no way he was expected to assemble these pieces of paper together to confirm what was most likely a delusional claim, right?

"Dad, I couldn’t believe it at first too. I thought Roberts was playing a trick on me but no, I saw her at the script reading event. She came to say hi without fear," Valentina recounted the events from earlier that day to her parents while they listened impatiently, unable to make sense of what she was saying. She chattered, "The moment I regained my composure, I looked around but they left already. I asked Mr Leroy and he couldn’t give me any information about them. Could that be more suspicious?"

When she was done talking, Jon inched towards her, pulling her closer to himself as he placed his hand on her shoulders.

"Look, Tina, I think you are stressed and that is what’s causing all these. Will you like to see a doctor or take a break?" he asked.

"No, Dad. I don’t think—"

"Listen to your father, Valentina. You don’t have much time to spare before the guests start arriving; shouldn’t you get dressed?" Kathy chimed in. She added while patting Valentina’s shoulder, "And rest assured, it’s just your mind trying to spoil your big day. Avery is dead, Emma is gone, Arthur couldn’t have died a more gruesome death than the one he did, same with your grandfather. Look around you, no one among them is alive to witness this day."

Distracted momentarily by the thought of the party being held in her honor, Valentina decided to push her fears to the back of her mind for the meantime. She might be hallucinating after all...who knew?

"I will leave, Mom. But please, do tell Roberts to make findings on what I said."

"I will. Now go get dressed." Kathy reassured her.

Valentina turned to leave, pausing for a moment when her hands touched the door knob, "Lest I forget, Dad, Mom," she turned to face them, "The girl who looks like Avery, her name is Ava Donovan."

A nod from both of her parents set her mind to rest and she finally walked out of the room.

"What do you think about what she’s saying?" Kathy asked, slumping into a chair as soon as they were alone.

"What am I expected to think? You aren’t telling me you believe are, right?" Jon retorted.

"Who would believe such ridiculous claims? It’s my daughter I’m talking about here, why is she speaking about that all of a sudden?" Kathy rephrased her question, to which her husband shrugged in reply.

"Who knows? Maybe the excitement for tonight was what affected her," he replied.

"Most likely. But we still need to warn Roberts against pranking his sister," she said. "I will need to oversee what the workers are doing downstairs."

The party started within an hour, with cars pulling up in the driveway one after the other and their owners escorted into the ballroom. Kathy stood at the entrance, a wide smile on her face as she welcomed the guests. When the real McCallum’s were alive, she never had the chance to do this whenever balls were held but now, she could even engage in small discussions with the guests.

There was a bounce in her gait as she hurried towards the couple who just stepped into the ballroom, Mr and Mrs Walker, the head and madam of the Walker family.

"Welcome, welcome!" she gushed in excitement as she pulled the woman in for a hug. "I’m so happy to see you here."

"There’s no way we could have missed this party. Who would dare ignore the invitation of the new madam of a family as influential as yours?" Mrs Walker questioned, the smile on Kathy’s face reflected on hers.

"And I couldn’t be more grateful that you accepted our invite," Kathy stated. She turned to Mr Walker to greet him, her smile freezing when she saw the frown on his face, "Welcome, Mr Walker."

"What time is the party ending, Mrs McCAllum?" he asked.

"What do you mean—" Kathy blinked, much to the irritation of the man in front of her.

"I mean to ask if it would seem rude if I and my wife turn back and leave this party right now, Mrs McCAllum. Doesn’t seem hard to understand, does it?"

Her gaze sweeping around the hall in search of her husband, Kathy nervously smoothened her dress when she failed to find him.

Where the hell did the man go?