She pulled out an ice pack from the package.
She began to feel cautious…
Packages that have ice packs in them typically carried fresh food, but the box was not that big.
Apart from the ice pack, there was also something small wrapped in black tape.
She pulled it out of the box, and opened it up…
“What is it, Mommy?” Layla lifted her head and grabbed onto her mother’s clothes.
A wave of nausea overcame Averie!
With the box in her arms, she hurriedly ran into the bathroom!
“Mommy! What’s wrong?!” Layla cried out in shock.
Hayden immediately hugged her and said, “Don’t be scared. Mommy’s carrying a baby right now, so she can’t help but throw up sometimes.”
Only then did Layla stop crying.
The nanny heard the commotion and rushed over to the bathroom.
“Are you alright, Averie?”
Averie had locked the door after entering the bathroom.
Under normal circumstances, she would answer the nanny.
However, she did not say a word after going into the bathroom.
She was horrified!
Wrapped inside the black tape was a severed finger.
It was probably cut off not too long ago… There were still traces of fresh blood on it.
Averie’s entire body trembled uncontrollably as she held onto the box.
Inside the box was something that looked like an MP3 player.
Logic told her that she needed to take it out and listen to it right away.
She had to find out who sent the package and who the finger belonged to, but she was terrified!
She was pregnant right now. She could not act as recklessly as she used to.
The bathroom door did not open up until half an hour later.
The nanny and the children stood outside the door and watched as Averie walked out hazily with reddened eyes.
“I’m fine… Don’t worry…”
She forced herself to stay collected despite her pale complexion.
“Go and have dinner! I’m not hungry… You don’t have to worry about me,” she mumbled, then carried the box upstairs.
Judging by the way she looked, it was impossible that Averie was fine.
Even the children could feel that something was wrong, and it was not a small matter either.
“Take your sister and have dinner first, Hayden. I’ll take dinner upstairs to your mother,” said the nanny.
Hayden took Layla’s hand and led her to the dining room.
The nanny prepared a tray of food and took it upstairs,
In the master bedroom on the second floor, Averie’s hand was trembling as she pulled the tape recorder out of the box.
Without a hint of hesitation, she hit the pay button.
“Rumor has it that Professor James Hough had a last pupil whose skills surpassed his! Tell me who it is!”
“I don’t know. The professor never told me.”
The familiar voice in the recording made the trembling in Averie’s body worsen!
It was Wesley’s voice!
“I see. Since you don’t know, then I’ll cut off your finger and send it to the most likely candidate… Let’s see if we can get her to comeza here.”
The ominous tone in the other voice was eerily sinister.
What followed was the sound of a knife slamming onto a surface, and a shocking scream!
Wesley’s cry of sheer agony made Averie break down instantly!
Tears blurred her vision as she clenched her fists. Her nails were digging into her palms, but she could not feel the pain!
The nanny stood in front of the door to the master bedroom with the tray of food in her hands.
As she was about to knock on the door, she vaguely heard the sound of a scream from inside the bedroom.
She ran downstairs with the tray in horror.
“She’s not eating?” asked the bodyguard when he saw the nanny come down the stairs with the tray still carrying the food she prepared earlier.
The nanny walked over to the bodyguard’s side, then whispered, “Hurry up and call Mike. Tell him to come home right away. Something’s wrong!”
“Is Miss Tate in trouble?!”
“No! It’s that package… It was something scary!” said the nanny softly as she glanced over to the dining room.
The children were in the middle of dinner, but their eyes were fixed on the nanny and the bodyguard.
“Go outside and call Mike. I’ll check on the kids,” the nanny said, then headed toward the dining room.
The children were still young. No matter what was happening, it would be best if they were not involved.
After Mike got the bodyguard’s call, he sobered up right away.
His dinner meeting tonight was with a few of Sterling Group’s managers. They were the ones who invited him out for dinner.
It was because the news of Elyette and Averie’s intimate relationship had spread through the entire company.
“Chad, something’s up. I have to go,” Mike said to Chad as he got up from his seat.
“What’s wrong?” Chad saw the heavy expression on his face, then got up and left the room with him.
“The bodyguard called and said Averie received a mysterious package… She opened it up, then locked herself in her room,” Mike explained as he pulled out his car keys.
“You drank tonight! Get someone else to drive you,” Chad said. “Or you could take a cab…”
Mike only had a bottle of beer that night and was not drunk at all, but he obediently put his keys away anyway.
“I’ll go home and check things out. If it’s nothing, I’ll come back and drink with you guys.” Mike patted Chad on the shoulder and said, “Go on back inside!”
“I don’t think it’s nothing.” Chad felt uneasy. “Text me when you get home.”
Mike gestured an “OK” sign at him, then hailed a cab by the street.
Over at Starry River Villa, Averie walked down the stairs carrying a small suitcase.
When Averie saw her mother with a suitcase, she burst into tears. “Where are you going, Mommy? It’s so late! It’s dark out! I don’t want you to go!”
The nanny and the bodyguard were also dumbfounded.
“Where are you going this late, Miss Tate?”
Averie’s entire body was rigid. She was unable to pretend that everything was fine, nor could she bring herself to flash a fake smile at the children.
Her reddened eyes landed on Hayden as she said, “Take care of your sister, Hayden.”
Hayden had always been strong, but his mother’s face startled him.
No matter how mature he was, he was still just a five year old boy.
He reached out to grab onto Averie’s sleeve, then said in a terrified and longing voice, “Where are you going, Mommy?”
Under normal circumstances, Averie would patiently explain things to the children. Even if she had to tell a white lie, she would still make sure to comfort their emotions.
However, her whole body was cold to the touch and her mind was unable to think straight!
The only thing on her mind was that she had to go to Bridgedale and save Wesley, no matter the danger or the price she had to pay!
Wesley was abducted because of her. He would not be suffering such inhumane torture if he had not known her!
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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