Page 66 of Revenge

“Stay put.” I go inside the building. I walk upstairs and knock on the door.

“She isn’t here. Go away,” her roommate calls without opening the door.

“It’s Oliver. I just need a minute.” There’s silence, but after a minute, she opens the door. She puts her arm on her hip.

“What do you want?”

“Where is she?”

“Like I told the other guy. She’s stepped out.”

“Is she with Max?”

“No,” she says too quickly, letting me know she’s lying.

“She isn’t safe. I need to know.”

“What do you mean she isn’t safe?” She opens the door wider.

“Can I come in?” She moves to the side. “Thank you. Those incidents she had weren’t accidents.”

She flinches.

“Who are you guys? What have you gotten her into?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is keeping Ava safe.”

“She is safe,” she says.

“Is she with Max?” I ask again, even though I know the answer.

“Yes,” she finally admits.

“Where?”

“Honestly. I don’t know.” I can hear in her voice that she’s telling the truth.

“If you speak with her, please tell her to call me. It’s important.”

“Okay.” She says as I walk out the door.

“She’s with Max,” I tell Marco once outside.

“It shouldn’t be hard to find him.”

“I want you to find them without raising red flags. Her location must be kept off the radar. No one other than me should know.”

“Yes, Sir.”

It only takes Marco a few hours to find her. He sends me a text which I delete immediately after reading. I can’t risk it if someone gets a hold of my cell. I’ve been lucky that Viktor has been preoccupied with my niece. But he will reach out eventually.

I take the opportunity to make sure everything is running smoothly at Eros and Manarch industries. Our father hasn’t called, which I find odd. But I don’t want to make any noise that might attract unwanted attention. From what the men are saying, he’s with Cillian and Viktor at the hospital. My cell rings. The screen reads Viktor. It was only a matter of time before he called me.

“Hey,” I greet him.

“How is Ava?”

“Good.” Not exactly a lie.

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