Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 212: The Hangar Trap

A while ago,

An Audi tried following Aveline, tires whispering like a threat behind her. The security vehicle slid across the lane with quiet authority and reined it in.

The Audi slowed. A woman in the driver's seat lowered the window glass, eyes frantic for a moment. Then she said, "I need to speak to Aveline Laurent. It's about the disaster."

The security informed Alaric immediately, and Alaric called Aveline the moment he saw who it was.

His voice came through the speaker as Aveline drove, steady and low. "Vivienne Sinclair is tailing us. She has something to say."

Aveline looked out for a moment and instructed, "Laurent Industries." She whirled the steering wheel at the next signal.

They pulled into the Laurent Industries parking. The Audi hummed to a stop.

Vivienne stepped out of the Audi, clutching the white wedding gown she still wore. She walked toward Aveline with hurried steps on her heels.

Aveline's hand flew up to signal the security guards to stop them from moving. For a heartbeat, she wondered if Vivienne was pulling a trick. Then she saw the diamond on Vivienne's finger, her jaw set, the tension in her shoulders. The doubt fled from her.

Vivienne drew in a breath she had been holding and met Aveline's eyes. She unlocked her phone and shoved it forward to Aveline. "Him." The screen had a photo pulled from the browser. "He could be the one behind the disaster."

Aveline looked at Theodore Marston in the picture, wearing a round hat, smiling, with an easy businessman's face that fit in crowds. She reached for her round hat and removed it, turning to Alaric.

Alaric nodded calmly.

Vivienne continued. "I had seen him with Damien once or twice," she said. "Then I saw you talking to him at the floral exhibition. I thought it could be a business contact. But when I heard about the disaster, I wanted you to know, he is connected to Damien."

Aveline listened quietly. The woman who once wanted her dead for Damien had run from her wedding to warn her. The world felt strangely right.

She crouched and took hold of Vivienne's fishtail and the train from the floor. "Thank you, Ms. Sinclair." Her voice was small and honest.

Vivienne let out a breath. She glanced at Alaric, then Henry, then Aveline. "I guess…" she said, "you have it under control."

Aveline helped her into the back seat of the Audi and gave a soft instruction. "I appreciate your actions. Go. Celebrate your day. I will meet you another time."

Vivienne nodded. The worry fled from her body upon hearing Aveline. The previous night, her father didn't let her leave the house to find Aveline. Hence, she was only able to rush there after her wedding ceremony.

She watched as Aveline stepped away, instructing a man to drive her back safely. She wasn't sure if she was relieved to know Aveline was alright or because she finally said what was bugging her from the previous night.

The Audi pulled away. Aveline watched until it vanished from her sight, then turned. Her face was cold as ice. She had thought she had taught a good lesson to Theodore. Clearly, it wasn't enough.

"Where is Theodore Marston?" Henry asked.

"Packing his bags," Alaric said.

Ezra had kept an eye on Theodore since the previous night and saw him visiting the Cullens. That was why Alaric had handed that round hat to Aveline, to make Theodore panic.

Aveline announced, "I will take care of him." She walked toward her car.

Henry opened his mouth to object, but Alaric eased him, saying, "Ezra will protect her." He glanced at the Apex guards. A small team quickly got into a car to follow Aveline.

Henry set his jaw. "I will burn his company to the ground before sunrise." He stalked upstairs.

Alaric watched Aveline drive out. Aveline was sharp. She either let Alaric handle the Astors and Seraphina, or she focused on catching the man who caused the deaths. It was the right call. Getting involved with the Astors now would have made her soft toward Seraphina again.

He stepped into his Rolls-Royce. As the engine warmed, he commanded his phone, "Send the files."

A plan began.

— Present —

At the hangar,

Theodore had believed he could escape. He had rushed, barked for quick checks, paid handsomely, and thought money would open the sky for him.

Instead, Aveline leaned against the Bugatti, round hat on the hood beside her. Her calm was a stop sign.

He barely glanced at Ezra, who stood by, tall and unmoving in the chilly wind.

Theodore's hired men were outside the airport; they were useless in the hangar.

"Running away, Theodore Marston?" Aveline's voice was amused, cool.

Theodore spat a curse under his breath and charged for the jet. He slammed an airstair door closed. "Fly. Now." He roared at the pilot.

For a second, the pilot hesitated, then he opened the airstair door and stepped out.

"What the fk are you doing?" Theodore roared at the pilot.

But the pilot bowed his head at Aveline and walked away.

Theodore's voice climbed into panic as he berated the captain to return and start the engines. "Get back in that plane and fly me out right now."

Theodore's face went white. He screamed at the pilot. "Where are you going?"

Ezra clicked a finger to his ear, eyes narrowed. "Tsk. You think you can buy a pilot because you paid more?" he said lightly.

The pilot was Lancaster's pilot. Alaric had set the trap so that Aveline would be safe meeting Thedore at the hangar, instead of being circled by Thedore's men.

The world tilted for Theodore. He realized the trap too late. They had purposefully waited for him to enter the airport.

Desperation hit him hard. He stormed back into the jet, ripped open his briefcase, and pulled out a gun. He stormed to the doorway and pointed it at Aveline, his voice shaking with fury.

"Aveline Laurent, if you don't bring the pilot back, I swear, you will drop dead before me."