The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 118

That afternoon, Avery didn’t stay at work for a minute longer than necessary. It was almost time for Angel to finish his classes and she couldn’t forget what had happened the last time she and Damon delayed picking him up for what they thought was a few minutes. She carried the rest of her work to do at home and drove to his school.

When she arrived, the field was full of kids his age, lugging their bags tiredly to meet their parents but there was no sight of Angel. She could only wait for a minute before her patience wore out and she got off the car to look for him.

He was still in his class where she found him, but he ran away when he saw her. Her heart broke. It was too soon to bring him back to school. He had insisted on coming but clearly, he was still traumatized from the recent events. She crouched to his level and held her arms out. "Baby, it’s me."

He found Aubrey and hid behind her, peeking at his mother suspiciously. "How can I prove it’s me?"

Aubrey wanted to run to her too but Angel’s fear was contagious, so she shielded him protectively. "If you are Aunt Avery, you will know Angel’s birthday, all his friends, his favorite toy, and what he hates eating the most."

Her eyes watered. She would make a protective sister if she had a sibling. "13th March. The best day of my life. How could I ever forget it? His friends are Mabella, Chloe, Mina, Gabriel, and his new best friend Aubrey. Oh, and his parents—his dad and I." The girl didn’t look convinced so she went on. "His favorite toy used to be the firefighters truck he got on his third birthday but now, it’s the teddy you gave him. The one with a purple bow on its neck. He hates eating carrots. Do you have any other question?"

As expected, the girl looked awed and so did Angel. "You can remember everything? My daddy doesn’t even know my birthday." She pouted.

Avery chuckled. "That’s because daddies are bad with dates. But if you remind him a few times, he will never forget it. And I’m sure he knows most important things."

"That sounds like something Aunt Avery would say." She finally believed it was her, and she ran forward to hug her. Angel hugged her too, kissing her cheek when he was no longer afraid. She had known the doppelganger was identical to her but she didn’t know the woman was a good enough for actress for Angel to be scared at the sight of his mother.

"Are your parents here yet?" She asked Aubrey. The latter didn’t know, so they checked the parking lot.

Julie had just arrived and was glad to see them both.

"Angel, you are back. What a relief, your mommy was worried sick." Julie tried to approach Angel, only for the latter to shrink behind his mother.

"I’m so sorry. He’s scared after what happened." Avery explained.

"Hey, it’s okay. Give him time and when he is no longer scared, you guys can come over for a barbecue sometime."

"I’ll consider that." She promised and let the kids say goodbye.

Once they were settled in the car, Angel took out his book to show her what he had learned, which she thought of as the final test for him to know if she was a fake.

She opened it and burst into laughter when he saw the blue strawberries on the last page. "Blue strawberries? Were you mad at me again?"

He shook his head.

"Were you scared?"

He hung his head and nodded fearfully, afraid he might get scolded. She held him gently. "I’m sorry we didn’t protect you well enough and such a thing happened to you. Did they hurt you?" She asked him although he had already assured her he was alright.

What hurt the most was that it didn’t matter that he had not been harmed physically,he was having a hard time regardless. She kissed his forehead softly. "Daddy and I are thinking of ways to ensure no such thing ever happens again. We will also teach you what to do if you ever feel scared of anyone in our absence." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

She had not thought about it before but now she couldn’t help wondering, "When that woman took you away, were you convinced she was me?"

He shook his head.

"Then, she did something to scare you into going with her." She guessed, and when he nodded in confirmation, she wanted to find and kill the woman. No wonder Angel was so terrified. She didn’t ask what the woman did because it didn’t matter. No matter how tiny it was, it had caused this much of an impact and she deserved to die.

So after ensuring Angel was safely in Damon’s villa, she set off to find Mina.

____

"Avery?" Mina was surprised to see her. She had heard the doorbell ring and had thought it was her food delivery, so she didn’t immediately know what to say to Avery.

"Come in." She finally made way when she gathered her wit.

"It’s okay. I’m not staying for long." She stood in the middle of the living room, waiting for Mina to close the front door.

"That’s fine. Do you need something? Have you forgiven me already?" The second part was a joke—though she wouldn’t mind if Avery said yes to it.

The latter laughed it off. "How much do you know about your father’s syndicate?"

Was it a trap question? Mina thought about it deeply for what felt like years before deciding to reveal the latest turn of events.

"I haven’t been in contact with him for years. Except when he wanted to push me into doing things I didn’t want to, of course. But yesterday, the Romano mansion was set ablaze. There have been casualties."

Avery crossed her arms. "The woman who dressed up as me..."

"Can only be Eloise. She was an actress since she was a child and my father hired her to pretend to be my mother for years. She’s so good at it that although she was only in her early twenties, she made herself look like the last version of my mother that I remember. And she did so while making me believe she was a ghost or something. That other people wouldn’t see her and only I could see her because I loved her."

She had just answered the last question Avery had been unable to ask—whether all the mentions of her mother were real—and Avery immediately decided she didn’t want to know more about it.

"So she can dress up as anyone, including those who don’t look like her?" She asked, pointing her finger between the two of them. "We don’t look anything alike. You said you take after your mother so if she can pull off acting as her, isn’t she too different from me?"

"She looks nothing like anyone she impersonates. My father knows the most proficient makeup artist I have ever seen or heard of. She will make you look like anyone. You only need to know how to act like them."

This made her ask herself more questions. If this Eloise had to have learned how to act like her, how long had they been stalking her? The answer would probably be terrifying so she didn’t ask. "I want to meet her."

"Avery,"

"As soon as possible. Thank you." She insisted.

Mina averted her gaze. "No matter what you want to do to her, I can help you. This woman is not just a blackbelt. She is also a trained assassin and I was only able to fight her because they all vow never to lay a finger on members of the Romano family. She would kill you at the snap of her finger."

"Does it look like I care?" She laughed. When Mina shook her head, she stopped laughing and restored her serious expression. "Because I don’t. I want to meet Eloise by hook or crook. Preferably with her looking like my twin."

"If she is alive. What do I tell her?" Mina subtly reminded her of the fire the night before.

"Tell her anything. Make something up." She instructed and walked to the door, only for Mina to stop her.

"I will tell her I need you to attend a meeting you wouldn’t be caught dead attending, but you will realize it’s good for the company when all is said and done. I’ll then find a way to bring her to a conference room at Vaillant Telecommunications. But you need to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"That you will not meet her on your own." She demanded. "Bring Damon and Gabe with you. Chloe too. I realized the woman might as well be a black belt with the moves she’s hidden under the guise of a delicate model. The point is, assume you are meeting up with a dozen of your enemies. Don’t allow yourself to be outnumbered."

"Outnumbered by one woman? Come on." She rolled her eyes.

Mina blocked her path once again to ask, "are you going to kill her?"

"Shouldn’t I?"

"Not if you can’t clean up a body. It might be a little troublesome if the cops get a hint of it."

Avery remembered what she had said about her bringing Damon and Gabriel, the two men who would never let her dirty her hands. "You are protecting her." She concluded.

"What? No. Why the hell would I?" Mina took several steps away and lowered her voice. "I know it’s a fantasy I’ve created in my head but I still think of her as my mother."