Chapter 44 – Absolution

The once calm and collected Avery, was beginning to unravel at the seams. In light of all the traumatic information, she had a choice to make, to either stand-by and let another dictate the direction of her life or take action. She decided it was time to take the offense, because there was not much more she could bear to lose.  

Looking back it felt to her everything that had come to pass was tied to the night of her dear brother’s death. Even now the regrets she held from that night pulled at her heart strings. James, had been more than just her brother, he had been her best friend and ally as well. They had been through so much together: The pain of a lost childhood replaced by a rigid upbringing and the near constant pressure of  bearing the Aquitaine name. But on that fateful night, when she was supposed to meet him in the city, they had gotten into a huge fight over who’d had it worst. A petty argument if there ever had been one. 

She remembered. The pair of them had been planning that night for months. It would have been the first time they had seen each other in a very long time. They had drifted apart as Avery had begun to establish her career. It was her fault, she thought, she’d become wrapped up in her work. She had been flying all over the country to both handle business in general and also to placate some very needy clients she’d had at the time. She found herself making sacrifices for her business at the expense of her relationship with her family and her brother. 

The day James died, she had spent the better half the morning catching up with him before their night out. In the course of their conversation James alluded to the fact that he was searching for an in-road into the more, what she had called, seedy networks of the city. He’d said his efforts had been fruitless, but he’d recently stumbled onto a possible connection. She’d become instantly enraged at the mere thought of him dragging their family name through the mud. Then to hear he’d actually gone through with it, only fueled the flames more.  

“James, why on earth would you ever do this?! What need do you have for such services or connections?! Especially given who we are! We’re Aquitaines!” She screamed it at him. “Why would you risk everything, for all of us?!”

“Yes I get it Avery. I never do anything right. We all can’t be daddy’s favorite.” He said scathingly. “You’ve had it so much easier blending into high society than I. I just needed to do something myself, without the help of anyone else.  Some way I could make my mark!” His outburst had been the culmination of years of simmering jealousy over his sister’s unbridled success capped by a (then) recent brutal conversation with his father. She understood that now. “Avery I am trying here. Can you at least give me that?!” His frustration and anger had shown through clearly in his words.

She recalled how the financial and social ramifications of James’ proposed plan had played out before her eyes. If anyone had discovered what he planned to do, or if he actually succeeded, the results would be ruinous to them all. “I can’t be a part of this.  If you really intend to go through with this, then I have no choice, but to tell Father. Please, won’t you reconsider?” She’d pleaded with her brother. 

James had always had outlandish aspirations for his life and his legacy. He’d proven to be obsessed with that plan of his and had lost sight of what was important… Family. “ I can’t ride on father’s coattails for the rest of my life. I have to take charge. You can tell father, but it won’t change anything.”

The conviction in his voice had only left her more terrified and angry. “We’ll see about that.” She said before hanging up the phone.

All of these thoughts and memories had her in way over her head. The fight with her brother, the ensuing conversation with her arrogant father, her clueless mother… The spiral only continued.  She had wanted to be there for her brother, but she had failed. 

Now she was left to her own devices to put things right. Leaving the past where it belonged, she collected her things. She had somewhere to be. Duncan had confirmed Emerson was still in the City. Out of her very limited list of leads, he was the one to most likely be able to shed some light on James. 

Determined, Avery got in her car and made her way over to his apartment. Before she could get out of the car, she noticed a man leaving the building. His tweed suit seemed vaguely familiar, but in that moment she was having a hard time placing it. Then it clicked, the man was Topher! But what had he been doing at Emerson’s apartment? 

Avery was slightly mystified by his appearance. She didn’t realize they’d known one another. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on the reason why. She shook the feeling off before heading into the building. One mystery at a time.