Page 82 of Exile

"My father has documentation to support my admission, even if they are forged bullshit," Damon comments. "But I'm willing to bet that Rian's documentation was also fabricated. I doubt he had the same volatile history with his father though."

Avery pauses. "What did you say his name was again?"

"Henry Thatcher."

I watch as her face pulls into a deep look of concentration before it's as if a light bulb goes off.

"I remember him," she answers quietly. "He was at the board meeting. I thought he looked familiar."

"What else can you recall?" I ask.

She thinks back. "He knew about the marriage. He mentioned it was restricting their access to financial resources. The asshole also witnessed my Will."

"Makes sense," Damon says annoyed. "He handles the board's financials."

Theo shakes his head. "What kind of parental figure would let their kid into a place like this?"

"Mine," Damon answers without missing a beat. "All the board members would do it."

Avery frowns. "Should we be checking their backgrounds? Make sure there's no other family members lurking around Lilydale?"

"It wouldn't hurt to check," I chime in. "Though, Rian was the only new patient in some time. It's likely if someone else had infiltrated the patients we would have already picked up on it."

"We'll look into it anyway," Damon states. "Just to err on the side of caution. My father knows no limits when it comes to these matters."

Strumming her fingers along the table, Avery turns to Damon. "Is Dr. Smith here today?"

"Yes," he confirms. "Why?"

"I have an idea," she murmurs, standing. "Grey, will you come with me?"

Grinning, I stand. "Of course. You're mine today, anyway."

She rolls her eyes with a laugh. "Yes, yes. TheASS Schedule. How convenient."

"Are you going to fill me in on this idea?" Damon asks, irritated.

"Nope," she replies coolly. "Better you don't know yet."

I can practically see steam billowing from his ears at the lack of information provided, so I quickly grab her hand, winking at Deadman. "Relax," I tell him. "Curiosity killed the cat. You'll find out soon no doubt."

Laughing, I let Avery drag me out of the library as Damon stares daggers at me. I give him a little wave and flip Theo the middle finger before we disappear into the corridor.

"Oh, you're playing with fire," I smirk.

Avery smiles, linking our fingers. "He'll survive. It will do him some good to be kept in the dark for a while. Learn some patience or something."

"Patience isn't his virtue."

"Don't I know it…"

When we arrive at Christopher's door, Avery knocks once before opening it. He glances up from his desk, smiling politely.

"And what do I owe for this visit?"

Pulling me inside, Avery closes the door behind us. I lead her over to the seats, motioning for her to sit on my lap. I half expect her to refuse in the presence of Christopher, but she takes a seat on me.

"I need you to help with a favor," she says casually. "I'm just not sure how to go about it."