Chapter 66 First Applause
“It…was fun,” Leitana said, breathless.
Rosa, Clara, Maya, Sarah, and Phoebe all watched her in amusement. Even two of the other staffs paused near the doorway, curiosity lighting their faces.
“Fun?” Clara echoed, amused. “Madame, you look like you’ve just discovered gold.”
Leitana laughed, nodding eagerly. “Better than gold! Di place so big, glass everywhere, music coming from rooms like spirits singing. An’ di piano, oh Papa God, di piano…”
She clasped her hands to her chest, eyes shining.
“It talk back to yu,” she continued excitedly. “When yu touch it, it answer. Not like di old one back home. Dis one feel alive.”
Maya smiled warmly. “You played already?”
“Yes!” Leitana beamed. “In front of everybody. Students. Teacher. Dem clap for mi!”
A ripple of surprised murmurs went around the room.
“You played?” Sarah asked. “At Juilliard?”
Phoebe’s mouth dropped open. “On your first day?”
Leitana nodded proudly. “Mi nearly faint before mi sit down, but when mi start play, mi forget everybody. Jus’ di music.”
She turned then, instinctively, toward the couch.
Avery sat there, wrapped in a soft throw, her posture relaxed but quiet. She had been listening the whole time, eyes following Leitana with gentle attention.
There was a small smile on her lips.
Not forced.
Not brittle.
Real.
Leitana’s excitement softened into something warmer. She crossed the room and sat beside her sister, reaching for her hand without even thinking.
Avery let her.
“You never told me you play the piano,” Avery said softly, fingers curling around Leitana’s.
Leitana blinked. “Mi no really play-play,” she said shyly. “Mi learn small-small in di orphanage. Church hymns. When mi sad, when mi miss Papa God.”
Avery studied her face, something tender and aching passing through her eyes.
“I didn’t know,” she repeated, quieter now. “You’re… full of surprises.”
Leitana squeezed her hand gently. “Yu okay?” she asked, excitement dimming just a little as concern slipped in.
Avery nodded. “I’m okay,” she said, and this time it sounded closer to the truth. “Seeing you happy helps.”
Rosa watched them from across the room, her expression thoughtful. Clara exchanged a look with Maya, something like relief passing silently between them.
“So,” Phoebe said lightly, clapping her hands once and breaking the soft moment, “when do we get a private concert?”
Leitana laughed, ducking her head. “Not yet! Mi still beginner.”
“But one day,” Sarah said with a smile, “we’ll brag that we knew you before you were famous.”
Leitana laughed again, the sound bright and easy, but her fingers never left Avery’s hand.
Avery leaned back slightly, watching her sister talk animatedly again—eyes glowing, cheeks flushed with life.
For the first time since the fall…
Since the window…
Something loosened in Avery’s chest.
Hope, maybe.
Or at least the fragile beginning of it.
“How far along are you with getting his attention?” Charles’s voice came through the phone, cruel, sharp, impatient.
The phone lay on the nightstand, on speaker. Avery stared at it for a moment, then looked away, her gaze drifting to the window.
Her mind flashed back to that moment.
The leap.
The air rushing past her.
And the being.
A shiver racked her spine.
“AVERY.” Charles’s voice snapped again, sharper this time.
“I’m here,” she said softly, though her mind was barely in the room. Whenever she was alone, she found herself dragged back to that night. It had been so vivid that she’d dreamed of the strange being—dreamed of its eyes, its presence.
They said it wasn’t real.
That she’d imagined it.
But she knew otherwise.
She just didn’t know how to prove it.
“If you’re here, open your damn mouth and speak,” Charles barked. “Have you been able to seduce that bastard?”
“He’s taken with Leitana,” Avery replied flatly. “My twin sister. Your daughter too. There’s not much I can do.”
She emphasized the words deliberately.
Charles let out a sharp snort. “I don’t care. And with the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re not trying hard enough. There are videos of them all over the internet. Ravial is planning a press conference—he wants to announce that he’s not married to you, but to her.”
Her.
Avery’s hand clenched tightly against her thigh.
How could a man who had fathered them treat them like cargo?
“Is it a lie?” she asked quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“He is married to her,” Avery said. “Maybe not on paper, my name is there but in every way that matters, she’s his wife. In the eyes of God.”
The words surprised even her.
She had never been religious. Never believed in some all-powerful creator.
But since Leitana came back into her life…
Since what happened last night—
Since that feeling of being watched…
She wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was something more.
Charles laughed. “I see that barbaric, illiterate sister of yours has rubbed off on…”
“She’s not illiterate!” Avery snapped, spinning toward the phone.
Silence followed.
Then Charles spoke again, his voice smooth and dangerous. “It seems living in that house has made you forget your manners. Maybe you’ve forgotten what happened to that boyfriend of yours.”
Avery stiffened.
Then he added.
“It seems you need to say hello to someone.”
Ice flooded her veins as another voice came through the line.
“Where am I?”
“Who are you people?”
“What do you want?”
Avery’s body trembled.
She knew that voice.
Mathew.
Leroy’s younger brother—twenty years old, barely starting college.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“No,” she whispered, dread seeping into her voice.
Mathew’s frantic questions continued, filling the silence. Charles said nothing.
Then he returned, calm. Almost bored.
“Do you hear that, Avery?” he said. “That’s what happens when you disappoint me.”
Avery scrambled upright on the bed, her hands shaking. “Please,” she begged, panic spilling out. “Please don’t hurt him. He has nothing to do with this. I’ll do whatever you want—please.”
Charles chuckled softly. “There you go. That tone suits you better.”
The other voice came again, trembling now. “Avery? Avery, is that you? I—I can’t see…”
“Mathew,” Avery cried, tears spilling freely. “I’m here. I’m so sorry. Please, just stay calm.”
“Touching,” Charles said dryly. “But useless.”
Her chest tightened until breathing hurt. “Please let him go,” she sobbed. “He’s just a kid. I swear I’ll fix this. I’ll try harder. I’ll get Ravial’s attention. I promise. Just don’t hurt him—please.”
There was a pause.
Then…
A gunshot cracked through the phone.
Sharp. Deafening.
Avery screamed.
Mathew’s cry followed immediately—raw, full of pain, slicing straight through her.
Her knees gave out. She slid off the bed, hitting the floor hard. The phone slipped from her hand but stayed close enough for every sound to reach her.
A sob tore out of her, broken and animal.
“No—no—no—please—please—” she cried, curling into herself, arms wrapped around her head as if that could block it out.
Charles sighed, almost annoyed.
“Relax,” he said calmly. “He’s still breathing.”
Avery’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
“But listen carefully,” he continued, voice turning cold. “Next time, we aim for his heart.”
Her entire body went still.
“So decide,” Charles finished. “Your sister… or everyone you care about.”
The call ended.
The room fell into a terrible, ringing silence.
Avery lay on the floor, shaking violently, tears soaking into the carpet as her sobs finally broke free. Her fingers clawed at the fabric beneath her, chest heaving, mind spinning.
She couldn’t scream loud enough.
She couldn’t run far enough.
And as she lay there, trembling—
Something watched her.