Filed to story: Love Entangled with Her Unconscious Husband Novel >>
Could it be that they had spent all the embezzled money?! How was it possible for them to spend that huge sum of money this quickly?
Avery took a deep breath and answered the phone.
Before she could say a word, Cassandra screamed from the other end of the line, “Avery! Is the Super Brain program my dad developed with you? Give it to me now!”
It sounded like she was crying, and she also sounded terrified.
Something snapped inside of Avery.
“How dare you call me, Cassandra?! Your uncle embezzled Dad’s money! Did you know that’s a serious crime?! The police are investigating him right now!”
“What does that have to do with me?! I wasn’t the one who took the money! I just want the Super Brain program! Bring it to me right now! You have to get it to me tonight!”
Cassandra’s voice got louder and more hysterical.
Avery’s brows furrowed at the sound of the background noise on the phone.
“Where are you right now, Cassandra?!”
Cassandra burst into tears and wailed, “Help, Avery! I’m at the casino with Cole… He’s being held right now … If you don’t bring Dad’s new program here, they’re going to chop off his finger!”
“Casino? You’re gambling?!”
Avery’s face turned pale.
She had no idea that Cole was a gambler!
“What’s the point of going into that?! Bring over the program and save him! Do you hear me? Do you want Cole to lose his finger?! Don’t you love him anymore?!” Cassandra yelled.
Avery was already walking toward the door, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard Cassandra’s words.
“Don’t embarrass yourselves! Even if he was the last man on earth, I wouldn’t give Cole Foster the time of day! He’s being held back because he lost money, right? If that’s the case, why don’t you pay it off for him? Your uncle stole hundreds of millions from Dad. I doubt Cole lost that much!” said Avery as she walked to the bathroom.
Her head was spinning, and she needed to wash her face to freshen herself up.
“It’s not like my uncle gave me any of that money!” Cassandra cried frantically. “Besides, they just want the program! Didn’t you tell people that you gave it to Cole? Why did you say that when you never gave him anything? You did it on purpose to mess with him, didn’t you?!”
Avery had not expected Shaun to move this quickly.
Cole may be a loser, but he was still Elliot Foster’s nephew at the end of the day.
Shaun was more ruthless than she thought!
“They’re keeping him because he gambled, right? Let me guess… Someone approached him asking about the program, he said he had it and used it as collateral, and now he’s fallen right into their trap…”
Avery could see the whole thing clearly in her mind.
If Cole had not said that he had the program, why would anyone have funded his gambling?
If he did not gamble, how could he have gotten tricked in the first place?
Whose fault was this? It was his and no one else’s!
“Ha! So you did do it on purpose! You’re heartless, Avery Tate! He was so good to you when you were together! It looks like his love was all for nothing!” Cassandra chastised Avery.
“Yes! He was really good to me. While he was dating me, he was doing all kinds of shameless things with you… They’re only going to chop off his finger; they are not feeding him to the sharks. This isn’t the time for you to cry over him yet!” Avery said coldly, then hung up the phone.
Her phone rang again less than a minute later.
This time, Cole’s name was flashing on her phone screen.
Avery clenched her jaw, then answered the phone.
She did not go soft on him, but she wanted to hear him begging and howling.
“Avery… Avery! Save me! If you don’t… I’m going to turn into a cripple! You never gave me the program… You never did!”
Cole was being held down, and his voice was filled with panic.
“Why did you say you had it if I never gave it to you? You’re paying for your own sins, Cole Foster! I can’t save you!” Avery said, then prepared to hang up.
“Avery! It’s my uncle! Uncle Elliot did this!” Cole screamed suddenly. “Nobody else would dare touch me! Please beg him for me… I’m begging you!”
Avery was stunned.
Was this not Shaun’s doing?
She suddenly remembered how Elliot had sent his bodyguard to the outskirts of the town to investigate what had happened the night she had been abducted.
Elliot knew everything that Avery had said while she was strapped to the lie detector!
Was he truly the one behind everything?
Did Elliot want to get his hands on Tate Industries’ new program?
Cold sweat dripped down Avery’s back as she thought about all of this. She hung up on Cole and walked out of her room.
Elliot and Ben were done with dinner and were smoking in the living room.
Ben immediately killed his cigarette in the ashtray when he noticed Avery.
“Do you want to join us, Miss Tate?”
Avery nodded and walked toward Ben.
Once she was standing in front of him, she said, “I’d like to speak with Elliot alone.”
Ben was taken aback.
Was this her way of kicking him out?
Embarrassed, he stood up and said, “I’ll leave now. You two have a good talk. You could take a walk outside, too. The weather’s nice.”
He hurried out of the house right after.
Avery sat down where Ben was sitting. She thought of how Cole was about to get his finger chopped off and that motivated her straightforward approach. “Cole just called me. He is being held at a casino, and someone wants to chop his finger off.”
Elliot already knew this.
He received word about it from his people at the casino.
They said that Cole was going big on the floor that night.
“Are you sad?”
The sound of Cole’s name escaping Avery’s lips upset him.
“The people who are holding him think that he has Tate Industries’ new system, so they lent him money to gamble with. Now they’re asking for the program as compensation,” said Avery slowly and clearly. “You are amongst the people who know that he has the program…”
“Are you suspecting me?”
Elliot’s eyes turned cold as ash fell from the cigarette between his fingers.
“I’m just asking. If it isn’t you-”
“It’s me,” Elliot smirked maliciously. “Will you get down on your knees to beg for him?”
Avery raised her brows and said, “Over my dead body.”
Every muscle in Elliot’s body tensed.
“You don’t think I won’t ask them to chop off his finger?!” he roared.”
“Go ahead and do it.”
Elliot fell silent.
“He used to tell me that I was the only woman he loved, but he’s out doing god knows what with my sister tonight. If you cut his finger off, I’ll light you a cigarette. How’s that?” said Avery.
The dark gleam in Elliot’s eyes turned ice cold.
It looked like Avery no longer cared about Cole Foster!
After all, he was a loser who had nothing to offer her now.
Elliot’s phone rang moments later.
He glanced at the screen, then turned his phone off.
Avery’s phone rang soon after. She looked at the screen, then pressed down on the power button and turned it off. The room was so quiet that they could faintly hear each other’s heartbeats. After pondering for a while, Avery said, “Don’t mess with me, Elliot. Otherwise, I’m dragging you down with me.”
Avery would not hand over what her father had left to her to anyone.
She refused to let anybody take it from her.
Her words were harsh, but not only was Elliot not scared, but he also found it hilarious.
“What are you smiling at?” Avery asked when she saw his smile.
“You,” he mocked. “You’re self-righteous, arrogant, and you’re digging your own grave.” Avery could force herself to accept the first two, but what did he mean by her digging her own grave?
“Get back to your room! Just looking at you gives me a headache.”
Elliot’s face suddenly darkened, and his voice was low and deep.
“I didn’t do anything. You must have a headache because you’re sick,” Avery said indifferently. “Don’t you have a family doctor?
Should I call him?”
“F*ck off!” Elliot growled through gritted teeth.
Avery returned to her room in a terrible mood.