Chatper 84
Chapter 84
Avery
I was numb. My hand continued to clutch the phone Sadie left tightly. I could not will my fingers to release the phone.
It felt like holding the phone would increase the chances of Fredo appearing on the phone’s screen again.
I noticed that Fredo did not say he was working for Sadie. He did not mention the person he was working for.
He did not mention a name.
I had a nagging suspicion that the person behind this was that mysterious benefactor supporting Sadie.
I don’t know this person that saved Sadie. Why would this person conspire to hurt me and my family?
Anger, sadness and other emotions intertwined with each other to form something unknown within me. I did not even know what
to feel.
I just felt off.
I did not call the driver to pick me up but I found myself on our front porch.
I did not know how I did it. I did not know if I ran all the way back or I walked.
I just found myself staring at the door to the Barrington’s mansion.
Everything was a blur and I could not think.
A numb ringing kept echoing in my head.
I knocked on the door before it dawned on me that I had a key to the house too.
I searched for the key before opening the door and letting myself in.
Chaos greeted my sights as soon as I entered the house.
Furnitures, appliances and decorations was strewn everywhere. The house looked like a whirlwind passed through it.
Dead guards laid on the floor and the smell of iron hung in the air.
The blood was so heavy that when I inhaled, I could taste the iron in the blood on my tongue.
My heart sank.
I knew I had already concluded that Fredo really took my kids but a tiny part of me wished it wasn’t true.
A tiny part of me wished I was mistaken and my kids were still in the house.
Seeing the house in this state snuffed out the flame of hope in me.
I was devasted all over again.
I saw Mrs Barrington sitted on the floor beside the upturned chair.
A surge of anger rushed through me.
I was angry at her.
イ
I wanted to scream at her and I wanted to cry. I wanted to know why she couldn’t protect my kids well.
Right then and there, I woke up. I knew my thoughts were naive and childish.
I could see the dead guards clearly. Mrs Barrington had done her very best by putting up a fight.
What more should I ask from her?
– I–dissolved the anger that was blossoming in me and I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
I let all the air I took in through a sigh.
My emotions stabilized a bit after I inhaled and exhaled.
Mrs Barrington was sitted in a stiff position and she did not move even when I entered. I had not bothered
with keeping my footsteps noiseless either.
Something was wrong.
I walked to her.
She awoke from her reverie when I was very close to her.
I did not mind the mess, I just sat down beside her.
“Avery, you are back.” Mrs Barrington said.
Her voice was calm and bland.
It wasn’t the type of calmness that showed control. I only felt melancholy when she spoke.
I felt ashamed for getting angry at her.
I was not a good daughter at all.
“Yes.” I wanted to sound calm but I failed.
I could hear the crack in my voice.
I could finally see the reason why Mrs Barrington hadn’t called me to report the situation.
She must have wanted to tell me personally instead of saying it over the phone.
I don’t think she have the strength to call me.
It was obvious that she had been in that sitting position for a long time.
“I couldn’t save them. Avery, I could not save them. I tried but I wasn’t able to.” Mrs Barrington repeated and a sole tear slid out
of her right eye.
I felt like that tear was a sharp arrow.
It pierced my heart.
“You did your best. I am already satisfied.” I consoled her but she wasn’t having it.
A tiny hint of life appeared in her pupils.
She turned to face me, “You don’t understand. I didn’t protect your pups well. We are the cause of all this. Before those intruders
came, I saw Rodney and his daughter Nina sneaking around. Our family brought you harm.”
I held her hand and I kneaded it softly.
Her tensed muscles relaxed.
She observed my face silently, “I am the most suspicious person here. I asked you to be my adopted daughter without you
having the knowledge of me at all.”
“Mom, stop.” I cut her off.
She was starting to go down a downward spiral.
1
“I felt like I caused all this. Your pups should have been safer.” Mrs Barrington said again, “We implicated you. We entangled you
in our troubles.”
“Don’t say that. You helped my life greatly by adopting me. My friend, Sadie lured me out of the house so that those intruders
would have free reign. You did nothing wrong. You have done what you could.” My hands did not pause as I spoke but my voice
wasn’t glad at all.
Till now, I could not still wrap my head around the fact that Sadie was willing to go this far to hurt me.
I didn’t do anything to hurt her so why was she seeking to make me miserable?
This wasn’t acts fueled by petty jealousies anymore. This was pure and unadulterated hate.
I don’t know when things changed but it was obvious that she hated me badly and she wished for me to experience the worst
things.
Mrs Barrington was right about one thing, her husband’s brother and his family was involved.
When they saw that they would not be able to get access to the Barrington’s wealth through the route of an
adopted daughter, they changed strategies.
They collaborated with enemies that they did not have any information on to harm Mrs Barrington and her husband.
Rodney Barrington and his family did not care that they had familiar ties with my adoptive family.
They would rather deal a thousand damages to the enemy while dealing eight hundred damages to themselves. They would do
anything for the benefits they stand to gain.
I was waiting for them to finally do something after I had assumed the identity of the daughter of the Barringtons.
They finally fufilled my wish, in the worst possible way.
Previously, I was willing to humor them in some of their tricks but they acted in a way I did not calculate.
I jolted myself out of my spiralling thoughts. I can not keep wallowing in despair and anger.
My children needed me to act.
In the past, the moon goddess gave me a sign but I was too dumb to comprehend it. That was my mistake but I was not going to
make the same mistake twice.
I was going to be doubly cautious.
I whipped out my phone and called Dante.
He deserved to hear this. I was his mate and his kids was kidnapped.
Dante was the lycan king of this generation.
He had the means to fuel my investigation.
Besides, trying to find our children wasn’t something I would do alone.
Two good heads are better than one.
“Hello Avery, how are you doing?” Dante asked with a smile in his voice.
I felt a bit sorry that I would ruin his good mood in a matter of seconds.
“I missed you and the ki-” He began but I interrupted him.
“Dante.” I paused and he also stopped to listen carefully.
He must have felt something was wrong from my tone of voice.
“Our babies had been kidnapped. I need you to come here as fast as you can.” I finally broke the news to him.
I wanted to phrase it in a better way but I could not think of any less damaging words to explain the incident that just happened.
It was better to say it as it was.
Silence reigned and Dante was as quiet as the word itself.
A moment later, he spoke.
“I will be there. Give me five minutes.” He said. I heard the rustling of papers and the sound of chair scraping against the floor
before the line was cut off.
Mrs Barrington and I stayed in the same position until a knock sounded.
I checked the time.
It wasn’t even five minutes yet.
I stood up to open the door.
I did not forget to lock the door when I came in previously.
I looked through the pinhole situated at the upper part of the door to make sure it was Dante at the door.
I wasn’t ready to entertain anybody else.
Besides, Fredo’s words rang in my ears with intensity.
People wanted me to be in a lurch.
Aside from Rodney Barrington and his family, I don’t know how I offended the others so I had to be as careful as much as I can.
Dante was the one that knocked.
I opened the door for him.
The moment he stepped through the threshold of the house, he scooped me into his arms.
The scent of roses began to permeate the air. I could remember the first night we spent together more clearly
now.
This was the same scent that captivated me back then.
His scent calmed the riotous emotions and feeling within me.
And I burrowed deeper into his arms to get more of his healing scent.
“It is going to be alright. We are going to get our pups back and we are going to make the enemies pay a thousand folds.” He
growled.
I glanced at his face to see that his purple eyes had red color mixed into them.
This wasn’t like the time his mother and Savina tried to set him up.
That time, the red color was consuming his purple pupils little by little. This time, his eyes was basically red and purple.
It was a full blown color.
“Tell me everything that occurred.” Dante instructed and I nodded.
He led me to the ransacked living room.
Mrs Barrington just nodded to Dante before she went back to her thoughts.
“I probably have to start from the very beginning. First of all, I would like to tell you that war is about to start and it is
unavoidable.” I paused, “And it seemed like I am going to be the catalyst that would launch this war.”