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"He said that he was there because of my admission, indicating that the board was trying to decide what to do with me."
Grey snaps his head toward me, eyes flashing. He's starting to piece things together, the cogs turning in his mind. I shoot him a glance, gesturing for him to be patient.
"And what did the board say?" I ask her, annoyed that this conversation hasn't been relayed to me yet.
Avery frowns. "They said they weren't going to press charges and that they would accept me back into the facility. With stipulations, of course."
"Of course," I repeat, rolling my eyes. "Just like Arthur did upon your return."
She nods. "Margie made it out like it was a good thing."
Grey scoffs, shaking his head. "It was amurderinvestigation. Lilydale didn't have the power to press charges. It would have been up to the police."
"That would make sense," Avery mutters slowly, face scrunched up in thought. "It did seem odd that I was arrested, and then Alexander said it was a suicide. It happened too quickly for a thorough investigation to occur."
"Money speaks power," I answer. "They wouldn't have wanted the bad publicity."
Avery nods again, this time faster. "He said something about the facility's reputation."
"Of course he did," I laugh. "That's all they care about."
"Obviously," Avery sneers, but it's not toward me. We all know what the staff think about Lilydale—this is just a giant publicity scheme to generate money.
Grey turns to look at me, patience finally snapping. "You made a deal."
"I did," I agree.
Avery looks at me, baffled. "What deal?"
"I made a deal with my father," I tell her, before looking at Grey. "In exchange for your freedom back to Lilydale."
She gasps. "Iknewyou had something to do with it."
"And are you going to share those details now?" Grey asks.
"The deal was that Avery returned to the facility, Christopher's workload was reduced, and in exchange, I gave my father something he wanted."
Grey nods, apparently satisfied with that answer. It's not the full story, but it's enough to appease him for the time being. Avery, on the other hand, stares at me with a hardened expression.
"You wanted Dr. Smith's workload reduced? Why?"
My face twitches in annoyance. She shouldn't be asking questions that she has no business knowing about. But… for the sake of beingniceI give her a response.
"I told you that there were secrets you weren't aware of. All you need to know is that we need to take back as much power as possible from the staff. Christopher was trying to meddle in things. After all, he gave you that fake key."
Avery grimaces at the memory. "I know. But still… I'm not sure I entirely believe that Dr. Smith is the bad guy here."
"Why do you say that, babe?" Grey asks, perplexed.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I have no doubt that Christopher puts on his best charming act for her. But deep down, he's an asshole who wants to see me knocked off my throne.
"In that meeting," Avery starts, looking at me. "Before Damon turned up, they were pretty harsh to him. It was almost like he was trying to defend me."
"It's his charm, Avery. Don't let it fool you," I scoff in disgust.
"He tried to argue that I shouldn't go into solitary confinement," she argues weakly.
Grey looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction. I just narrow my eyes, annoyed that the two of them can't seem to read any situation that doesn't involve each other.
