Shea’s face instantly lit up. She did not seem to be pretending.
This woman did not seem to be smarter than Layla. Avery’s hatred and prejudice toward Shea gradually
dissolved.
Yes, Elliot loved this woman, but the more Avery looked at her the more pity she felt for her.
After dinner, Hayden walked over to Avery.
“Is there something you’d like to tell me?” said Avery as she looked at her beloved son.
Hayden nodded. He looked rather pitiful with his doe like eyes. “I pity her,” he said.
Pity.
The word brought back a wealth of memories of the night she had left Elliot.
That night, Avery had felt as if her heart had been smashed into a million pieces. She felt as if she had
died that night, and it was all because of this pitiful woman.
She wasn’t going to tell Hayden any of it.
“Yes, she is a pitiful woman,” replied Avery. “I can’t promise you that I’ll teat her illness though.”
Hayden looked up, “Why?”
“Well, she has to undergo surgery to feel better. And there’s a chance she might die from the surgery.
“Mommy cannot operate on her without her family’s consent,” Avery tried to reason with her
son.
Though he really wanted to help Shea, he could not help but agree with his mom.
“Do you know her name?” Avery asked out of curiosity.
Hayden shook his head. He walked toward Shea and asked, “What’s your name?”
Shea took her time and thought hard. Finally, she uttered, “She-a. Shea.”
“Shea! We will be sleeping in the same room tonight, yes?” Layla excitedly asked Shea, and Shea
nodded her head with enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Elliot was at the police station, worried sick. His sister had been missing since the
afternoon.
“Mr. Tate, I’m afraid the person you are looking for has been taken by someone,” deduced the detective.
“We have checked every surveillance camera near Angela Special Needs Academy, and there is not a
sign of her in any of these cameras.
“Surely, if she had left on her own, she would have taken one of the roads.”
Elliot’s eyes turned red. He exclaimed, “I am not about to let anything happen to her! I must find her!”
“Well, you could try putting up missing person’s posters advertising a handsome reward for her return. As
long as the reward is substantial, you will find her in no time,” the detective suggested
That though would be the last resort.
At eight in the evening, the neon lights and the starry skies lit up the entire city.
Elliot exited the police station and headed into his black Rolls-Roice.
“Where to, boss?” asked the driver.
“Home.”
As the engine started, Elliot’s phone rang
He answered.
“Elliot, Avery has transferred over a hundred million dollars!” The call was from Ben Schaffer. “It has
been deposited into your account. Damn, this woman is loaded!”
“What a hundred million dollars?” Elliot furrowed his brows. He did not understand what Ben had meant.
“What was the transfer of one hundred million dollars for?” thought Elliot.”
“Tate Tower! The contract for the sale of the building was finalized today!” Ben suddenly changed the
topic. “Where are you now? You don’t sound happy about the news, is something wrong?”
“One hundred million dollars?!” Elliot could feel the veins on his forehead pop. “Wasn’t it forty million
dollars?”
•”The market rate is eighty million dollars. Avery insisted on overcompensating you. So, one hundred
million dollars it is!” Ben could not pass up the chance of mocking Elliot. “Can’t believe that face of yours
is a moneymaker!”
Elliot hung up. He looked up Avery on his contacts and dialed her number.
This woman had never failed to infuriate him. Not then, and certainly not now.
Avery looked at the caller ID. Her heart rate accelerated, and she felt heat coursing through the hand
that was gripping her phone.
“Elliot must be worried sick about Shea,” Avery thought. “Should I tell him that Shea is with
me?!
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