"Oh my God!" Vivianne groans as she shuts off her system, twisting her neck in a way that makes the bones let out cracking sounds.
"Done?" Avery shots her a smirk as he manages to give her a quick glance before focusing back on the monitor.
"Yeah." Vivianne nods, though Avery can't see her. "I am off." She stands as she picks her bag and coat from the table.
"Goodnight." Avery waved at her.
"You're still working?" Avery nods. "Want me to stay back and help?" Vivianne offers.
"No need. " Avery shook his head in disagreement. "I am almost done, just need to straighten out some data." Vivianne hums in acceptance.
"Alright then, but it's 11pm already so you should start preparing to leave." Vivianne leans closer, her voice lowering into a whisper. "There are rumors of a ghost cleaning lady haunting the building once it's midnight." She whispered.
"Says who?" Avery arched a brow.
"Apparently many people pulling all nighters have seen her and the security guard says he hears strange noises once it's midnight." Vivianne shrugged.
"The security guard's low on sleep and half-drunk on caffeine, of course he will be hearing strange things. " Avery dismissed.
"I guess you're right." Vivianne rolls her eyes.
"I didn't peg you as a person who believes in ghost." Avery threw his head back as he laughed.
"I don't, but Arianna does." Vivianne rolls her eyes. "She made sure I have the charms and talismans and all, wouldn't be caught dead working past 7." She smiled softly— something Avery's only seen her do when she's talking about Arianna. "I just thought I should warn you though. " She adds.
"Ghosts? In this century." Avery laughs at the sheer ridiculousness of it. "Thanks for the warning though, even if it's unnecessary." He adds.
"Okay then, but get home soon the roads aren't safe. " Vivianne adjusted her coat. "Goodnight Avery." She smiled.
"Goodnight Vivianne, have a safe drive." Avery watched her go out of the cubicle and huffs a small laugh, ghosts? Seriously.
Somethingcreaks in the distance and Avery laughs at the fact that if Vivianne was here she would assume it was ghosts. He and Vivianne aren't best buddies, but whatever frigidity had been between them had melted into a slowly budding friendship.
He resumes his work and for a minute the entire floor is filled with the sound of clanking keyboards and the sound of the wheels of his chair squeaking.
Suddenly the entire floor is plunged into a thick darkness — the kind were you can't see your own fingers in front of your eyes.
"Power outage?" Avery frowned— this is weird— or ghosts, he laughed slightly.
His fingers darted on the table's surface, hoping to get a grip of his phone and have a semblance of light before the security guard fixes whatever problem is going on with the lights.
Something shuffles in the dark; sounding strangely like human feet; an ominous premonition engulfs Avery and he scrambles to get his phone — the damn device proves elusive.
Someone throws themselves at him— hard— whoever it is has some form of training because they have Avery pinned by the table.
It's no ghost— the clear heartbeat and warmth— makes that clear. Avery attempts to struggle which only begins in a pathetic scruffle ends with a crash— Natalie's newly bought odd shaped crystal ball for good luck barely served it's purpose.
Something pricks at the back of Avery's neck— an injection— panic kicks in and Avery struggles, he manages to elbow the assailant in the gut and their grip loosenes.
His hand darts anxiously across the table, hoping to find something; his finger curls around a glass shard— a remainder of Natalie's crystal ball— he reaches back and plunged the shard into flesh with a sickening sound— probably the abdomen.
The assailant groans and steps back, clutching to their wound— something clatters on the floor; the injection.
Avery turns— ready to defend himself— but his body feels strange. Energy is currently buzzing through his body and his heart is beating fast— too fast.
Suddenly he can't breath, he feels dizzy and his body slumps to the floor. There's a crushing pressure on his chest— he can't breathe, can't see, can't hear— black spots dance around the edges of his vision— it's like he's back in his old body— the thought causes him to panick, which leads his heart into beating faster.
He hears movement inside the office— probably the assailant escaping— something bright engulfs the office— light.
Avery can't move, he can't call for help— trapped in his own body as he suffocates to death— the organ that's supposed to help him live is ironically killing him.
He hears a gasp, something clatters on the floor, someone is calling his name, someone is holding his body— he can't see who.
Avery open your eyes.
Somebody help.
Avery, Avery, wake up.
The words are warped, like he's hearing them with his head submerged in water.
There's more screaming, the wails of alarm and finally darkness.
********
When Avery wakes up, it's to the sight of Vicente's teary face, clutching his hand like a life line and dressed in sterile clothing.
Vicente's eyes widened once he notices Avery's unfocused gaze, he smiles— like he hasn't in a long while. "Hey there sunshine, how are you?" Vicente runs a hand through his hair softly.
Avery wants to tell him he's fine, he wants to tell him to stop crying, stop worrying; but a painful ache lingers in his chest and there's a strange tube connected into his throat. He can't move, panic flares.
A loud beep blares— maybe it's the sound or the panic in Avery's eyes, but Vicente smiles.
"You are going to be alright sunshine." Avery believes him, so he doesn't panic when the darkness comes back to claim him with a vengeance.
******
"How is he?" Amara's worried eyes meet Vicente's tired ones the moment he's out of Avery's room.
"He woke up briefly, but slipped back into unconscious." Vicente sighed. "The doctor said he's stable now, at least he's out of coma."
"It's going to be alright." Vicente allows himself to sink into Amara's hug and soak in her warmth.
It all seemed like a blur: one moment they were seated in Amara's lavish sitting room, arguing about colour schemes for the engagement— Vicente had insisted on Ivory and champagne, while Amara had been dead set on Emerald green and gold— the next they were receiving a call that Avery had suffered a cardiac arrest.
Amara had been his anchor in these past few days; forcing him to eat, sleep— even though they were riddled with nightmares— and held him while he cried— fearing for the life of his only family.
The Ford's had visited, but Vicente had turned them out— he couldn't stand their fake concern and false love whilst his grandson hung on the thin line of life and death— they left, angry and bristled, and had never come back; good, Vicente had better things to do than play pretend.
"Avery's going to be alright." Amara has said those words more than a hundred times already; but it's only today — when Vicente had seen Avery's eyes opened— that he believed them.
"I can't stop thinking about what ifs." Vicente sighed as he plopped into a couch beside Amara. "If Vivianne hadn't gone back to take her car keys, my grandson would have died in that office." A cold dread rattles through Vicente's body.
"There's no need to dwell in the past, all that matters is that Avery's getting better." Amara rubbed his hand soothingly.
"Someone tired to kill my grandson." Now that Avery is out of danger, Vicente can think clearly. "The doctor said someone injected him with epinephrine, it's a planned murder."
There had been an unexplained few minutes of power blackout at the company— orchestred by the assailant. Vicente had fired all the security guards at night duty that night — since they couldn't do their job properly.
An injection— Arianna had found on the floor the following day— had provided further evidence that Avery had been injected with epinephrine.
"Whoever did this knew he had a heart condition." Vicente frowned in thought. "Avery wouldn't go around telling people about his condition either, seeing as he didn't even tell—"
"Vicente, Avery trusts you, he just didn't want you to be worried." Amara's words do little to soothe the doubt in Vicente's mind— perhaps, he had failed Avery too much and his grandson still didn't trust him.
"It's my job to worry about him." Vicente sighed. "Doctor Watson has informed me that the only people privy to his condition to her awareness, are the Ford's." A cold look flashes through Vicente's eyes.
"Callan is a calculating man, he won't make any move that doesn't benefit him." Amara drawled. "Killing Avery wouldn't benefit him at this moment."
"The Doctor informed me that previously someone had hidden his heart defect and his previous doctor had purposely prescribed pills for him that would lead to a slow death." Right now, Vicente's men were looking for Avery's previous doctor.
"So there's someone who hid his heart condition since birth." The odds weren't tilting favourably for Callan. "But what would Callan stand to gain from this?" Amara was baffled.
"Who can tell what goes on in the head of that madman." Vicente's glare hardened, he wouldn't let Callan do away with Avery the way he had done with Laura.
"So, is it the killer from the past who intends to strike again or is there someone else with their own goals whose hoping to frame the other." Amara mused. Something suspicious was going on here, a larger puzzle she couldn't piece.
"Avery hasn't told many people about his condition, the only ones who know are the Ford's, it's clear who is behind this." Vicente rubbed his forehead.
"Don't act rash Vic, let the private investigators do their work and let's wait for Avery to wake up before rushing into anything." Amara leaned closer, a dark gleam in her eyes. "Avery's family to me now, trust me, if Callan is behind this I will personally help you skin him alive."