Dead...

Avery trudged mindlessly along the hallway, unable to come to terms with what she had just heard, read and…watched. Yes, she had watched one of the gruesome videos where her sister was being violated, that was leaked to the public.

She had also recognized the people in the video. Even though their faces were blurred, their physiques and the clothes they wore were so familiar that she remembered it immediately. The man in the video was an investor she had been meeting for the past few weeks, persuading him to invest in their company but he had always refused. She had been so stressed about it that she had been forced to mention the situation to Emma who was more than enthusiastic to help.

Recognizing the investor to be an acquaintance of hers, Emma had after much insistence, managed to get Avery to set up a meeting between her and the man . Avery hadn't even bothered to ask her sister how the meeting went after that day, thinking it was a failed one since Emma did not give her feedback. She didn't want to make her sister feel pressured to help but now…where the hell did the news about a top model being set up come from?!

Hitting a dead end on her aimless stroll, Avery snapped out of her thoughts.

'This is not the time to walk around without direction in an hospital. You should be on your way home to find out what's happening instead,' she thought.

Avery made a quick decision in that slight second and turned swiftly on her heels to walk back the same way she had come, when the sight of a pair of black uniformed men approaching her from across the long hallway made her halt. They were policemen!

In the twinkling of an eye, she pushed open the door to her right and eased herself into the room. They were here for her, she knew it. It would be weird if the police were not after her since she had allegedly released an illegal video of her sister and planned a fake accident for her brother.

Wait…Arthur! The news about Emma had been true even though she was still reeling from the shock, so did that mean Arthur was really in an accident? And that her grandfather was dead?!

'That is impossible. I can't understand a bit of what's going on now but I am sure no one can hurt a member of my family that easily; much less hurting everyone in a day.'

Avery gave a firm nod to support her deductions, trying to get her train of thoughts on track. She knew all the accusations was a mistake but there was no way to ease her confusion except by going home and having a conversation with everyone, including Brian whom she was now sure didn't get into an accident.

But there was also no way she would get home ASAP if she allowed herself get caught by the policemen outside. Apart from that, the president of the McCallum Group getting handcuffed, arrested, and detained by the cops would definitely make their stock prices plunge, if the news from earlier hadn't made it plunge already. For now, she had to find a way to get out of this dress into something more comfy, and then sneak out of this room to find her way home.

She looked around the room she was in and noticed it was a ward, a strange one which had just one bed placed in the middle. Her environs growing quiet all of a sudden, Avery stepped forward to see that the white sheets on the bed looked slightly out of order, as if there was someone lying on the bed. Another step closer and she was able to confirm her thoughts. The person on the bed had his whole body covered from head to toe, with only one tattooed hand dangling beside the bed.

"Is that a body?" she gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth immediately. "I can't stay in a room with a dead…" 

Avery trailed off, peering closer at the exposed hand. She could recognize the tattooed writing on it to be Arthur's signature, one which no other person could copy. But that could not be Arthur. It was impossible.

She shook her head in disbelief. Even if Arthur had really been  in an accident as the news said, he couldn't be left alone in this cold hospital room. He should be in one of their top VIP rooms, getting attended to by the chief doctors.

Her gaze lingering on the tattooed hand, Avery's mind racing with possibilities. She took a tentative step forward with her heart pounding in her chest. As she yanked the white sheet off the body, her eyes scanned the bed, and her breath caught in her throat.

She recognized the bloody face in one glance. Avery's mind reeled in denial. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not Arthur. Not her brother. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her, and her vision blurred.  Avery brought her hand down to run across the already cold body, and it all came rushing down on her.

She had been numb earlier, shocked by the news she had watched and the video about Emma. But staring down at Arthur's cold body now woke her up. Everything was going wrong somewhere while she was trapped in the hospital and the only way to get to the root, was to escape this place.

Arthur was dead. As much as she needed this to be a dream, she knew it was reality. Now she needed explanations.

And her instincts told her the only person in the position to give her that was Brian. She bent slightly to hug the cold body before dashing out of the room, not the least bit concerned about her white dress which had now turned red in some areas.

"Let's evade the police and get home, Avery. You can do this!" she chanted in her mind.