It was a news article; one that had her name as the headline.
'AVERY'S MCCALLUM'S DEATH: THE PUBLIC REFUSE TO BE APPEASED!'
She glanced up at Archie, "What am I to do this?"
"Read," he replied.
She read the article out loud, not entirely sure of how it was related to the contract he wanted to show her, ''The death of the only surviving member of the McCallum direct lineage, Actress Emma McCallum, has not yet been forgotten by the public and her beloved fans over the past one month, and even the announced death of the alleged suspect, Avery McCallum couldn't calm down their incensed hearts… In fact, a petition to destroy the tombstone and resting place of Avery McCallum has been circulating around the internet and the government has—Fuck this, Archie. What exactly are you expecting me to see?!"
"Nothing extraordinary. I just need you to tell me what you saw in that article."
Avery's brows pulled up into a frown, her eyes narrowing as she leveled an hard gaze at him,
"What? You want me telling you how horrible it feels that everyone blames me for my sister's death? The same people who posted hate comments when she was still alive! You need me to say how infuriating it feels that the people who should be at the receiving end of these curses are the ones hosting pitiful interviews on behalf of my family?!" she questioned, her voice not in any way low.
Unshaken by her outburst, Archie waited until she was done before replying in the calmest way possible, "Yes, Ava. Do you want to read more? This is an article dedicated to Emma alone but there are many others for Arthur, your grandfather and even Brian. The public are sympathizing with him for his narrowly escaped marriage to a monster; you want to read that too?"
"I don't. So just tell me the fucking reason why you asked me to read that!" she demanded.
"Because I wanted you to know what would happen if for any reason, you decide to forget the promise you will make to me this morning," he replied bluntly. "Without my protection, you will be exposed to the public and—"
Avery cut in, "I don't care one bit for my life, Archibald. If I did, I wouldn't have crawled to you for help when there was a hundred percent chance you would turn me into the very hands of my enemies. But what I do care about is revenge, and I wouldn't hesitate to do anything, as long as it leads me one step closer to achieving my goals."
"Good," Archie stated, a curt nod following his words. "The rules are simple. You obey me no matter what I ask of you and in return, I protect you and lend you my power."
"I agree. Now where am I expected to sign?" she asked, to receive a blank look from Archie.
"Sign what?"
"A contract of course. We need something to remind us both that we can't go back on our words," Avery replied.
"Oh…you want to be sure I won't betray you? Rest assured, baby girl, I don't go back on my own words," he said. "And on your part, you do know what is at stake so we are good to go."
Avery watched him stand up, unable to decide within herself if she had done the right thing to give Archie her words without any reassurance that he would keep his own words. But then, if he wanted to do the opposite, he already had more than enough time to do so, but he didn't. And what the hell was he trying to do calling her 'baby girl'?
"One more question, Archie," she called, lifting her head to look up at him. She continued even before he gave her permission, "Your wife, where is she? I can't borrow her name without knowing who she is."
"Dead," came the impassive reply. "Consider her dead. I also have a question."
Jaws slacking in shock at his emotionless reply, Avery found it hard to reply quickly, "Uh..what-what is it? Ask."
"Your sister, Emma. How did she die?"
Her eyes dimmed as she opened her mouth to reply and shut it back with no words coming forth.
"You will have to tell me, Ava," he spoke up. "But for now, you might want to familiarize yourself with your room and all. I will be expecting you in my study in the next one hour."
"What about th—the dogs?"
"Lake and Thorne? They are out for a walk so feel free to come out," he stated.
And he was gone.
Looking down at the phone still lying in her hand and the article displayed on the screen, a sudden wave of annoyance washed over Avery, causing her to throw the device at the wall. Her ears were deaf to the crashing sound that came after, as her soul was already transported back to that moment when she was in the car, struggling to avoid an accident in the increasing rain and traffic.