Chapter 5

Ava’s pov

Morning came faster than I thought. I couldn’t sleep well. I lingered on everything that happened last night, the kiss. My lips still tingled. It was ridiculous, skin should forget faster than the mind, but my body remembered the shape of his mouth, the heat of his hand, the quiet breath between us before it happened. He had been gentle.

Last night was a mistake. It all happened so fast.

I told myself that once, then again, until the words settled. A simple truth, people like him take whatever they want. I remind myself that. They believe they own everything. I started to feel the anger build up in me.

I sat up. The sheets slid down my legs, soft and expensive. I stood and slipped into the bathroom, I crossed to the sink in the corner turning the tap. The water ran cold, then warmer. I splashed my face until my skin woke up and the girl who had leaned into a kiss was long forgotten.

“Focus,” I told myself through the mirror. My voice came out low and steady. “Take control, he isn’t in charge here.”

I dried my face and tied my hair back. The small things helped. Make a bed. Fold a sweater. Straighten a crease. If my hands were busy, my thoughts lined up too.

I opened the wardrobe and pulled out a simple blouse. No perfume. No color that would say I wanted to be noticed. I slipped on soft shoes. I wanted silence.

I went ahead to take notes of what I was here for. Earn his trust, take back what was mine and destroy him.

Revenge wasn’t hot. It wasn’t sharp. It was patient and exact. It had to be precise and according to plans laid out. First, I need to get access to his household accounts.

It was an obvious place to start, not enough to ruin him overnight. But If I could prove who profited, where the money went, I could turn the ledger into a weapon. Numbers don’t lie the way people do. Numbers can be traced.

I moved down the stair with breakfast on my mind. At the foot of the stairs Liam was already seated at the long table.

Was he waiting for me?

He looked healthier than last night, less pale, shoulders returning. He glanced up at me once I stepped closer, watching my movements. I felt like I was on a display.

“Good morning.” He said once I took my seat directly opposite him. I nodded a greeting back.

Liam ate slowly, biting into toast, sipping without starting up a conversation. He accepted what was given. I felt after what happened yesterday night everything would seem weird but here he sat, without a care in the world like we didn’t just kiss last night. But then again he should have kissed a lot of girls so it shouldn’t be anything new to him. I rolled my eyes at the thought as I dug into my breakfast.

“Good morning sir.” I heard Daniel say which made me glance up to look at him.

“Have you gotten the car ready?” Liam asked.

Car? Ready?

“Yes sir.” Daniel said with a nod. I stared at Liam.

“Where are you going?” I asked as the concerned wife I should be.

“To the office. I have a lot of paperworks to take care of. They have been stacked up in my absence.” He answered in a sharp tone.

“But you need to rest. You just regained consciousness.” I glanced at Daniel expecting him to back me up instead I got a blank expression from him.

“I will be fine.” He said and stood up. I noticed he was already fully dressed in a black suit which I failed to take note of when I stepped in earlier. I watched him walk towards my side of the table, I could see the confusion on his face trying to contemplate if he should kiss me goodbye. I was relieved he decided to stick to giving me a small smile before he walked away with Daniel following behind.

I watched as Liam left and decided to move to the sitting room and switched the television on more out of habit than interest. A red banner cut across the bottom of the screen and I could hear the reporter say. “Breaking this morning—”. It was a picture of me.

It was one taken of me when I went to see Liam at the hospital. The caption said: MYSTERY WOMAN COMES TO SEE MR. VANCE : WIFE OR INTRUDER? The headline rolled again. The reporter recited a short paragraph about “the woman seen at Mr. Vance’s bedside,” about unnamed sources saying Mr. Vance had been visited frequently.

“Please turn it off,” Mrs. Hart said behind me, voice calm as if she’d said anything else. I didn’t answer right away. I watched the screen as the reporter read aloud. “… sources say the woman may have ties to a public incident two years prior. Attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.” The footage went to a street photographer who showed several stills, including my face in the hospital corridor.

Mrs. Hart leaned against the mantle as if she’d been waiting for this. She poured tea into her own cup and looked at me as though she could see the mechanisms turning behind my eyes. “They got good shots,” she said, not a question. “You should be careful. They have taken quite an interest in you and would stop at nothing to dig you up.”

“Careful how?” I asked. Fear gripped me. I started to rethink my decision. I know someone who could help me with that. I think it’s time to contact him.

“It was slipped under Mr. Vance’s door this morning, it had your name on it.” she said. She hesitated and then handed me an envelope. “You should read it.”

I forced my hands to move and took the envelope. She left me and went towards the kitchen area. I glanced at the small note inside.

My stomach twisted as I unfolded the note.

Start here.

That was all it said. No name. No explanation. Just two words scribbled in rushed handwriting.

I stared at the USB as I curled my fingers around it before Mrs. Hart could glance my way. She didn’t need to know about this. No one did. She watched me closely as she approached me with a tray with a cup of coffee.

“Is everything fine, love?”

Sliding both the note and the drive back into the envelope, I pressed it flat against my chest and forced my voice steady. “It’s nothing important,” I said quickly when I caught Mrs. Hart’s curious glance.

She only nodded.

I tucked the envelope into the inner pocket of my blouse where it rested against my heart.

Who sent this? And why now?

I didn’t believe in coincidences, not in this house, not with Liam. Someone wanted me to find this. Someone knew I needed a way in.

I forced myself to smile faintly when Mrs. Hart set the fresh cup of coffee in front of me, then excused myself to my room. Once alone, I pulled the envelope out again, staring at the black plastic drive against my palm. It could hold everything I needed… or it could be a trap waiting to expose me.

Either way, it was a beginning.

I slid it back into the envelope and placed it in the drawer of the desk.

Start here.

Fine. I would.