Chapter 163 - 163: To Test Avery

Evan suddenly grabs Avery's gun hand and shoots himself in the chest with the pistol. He clutches his chest and staggers backward. The sound of the gun seems to echo in Avery's ears.

"Evan!" she screams, "Are you crazy?"

As he staggers backward, she reaches out to grab him. Instead, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest, bringing her down to the ground with him. She falls on top of him and immediately tries to examine the gunshot wound. She gasps in shock and confusion when she realizes there isn't one.

"You were worried for me," Evan says with a small smile.

"I don't understand," Avery says, "Did you lie to me? Is the pistol just a toy?"

Robert clears his throat and opens the box again. The box has a false bottom, and he opens it, revealing another pistol identical to the one she just held.

"The real one is here," Robert says, "Mr. Howel was worried that you wouldn't know how to use the real one and accidentally hurt yourself. He asked me to bring this fake one for practice."

"Now that I've been shot in the chest, you have to tell me why you wanted the business card," Evan says smugly, "Are you trying to prove your innocence? Do you actually care for me?"

Avery scowls at him, "No!"

"You looked quite upset just now when you thought I'd been shot," Evan says.

"I didn't," she insists.

"You couldn't see your own expression," Evan says, his voice thick with emotion.

Avery stares at Evan in amazement.

"What in the world is happening?" she wonders, "Why has Evan's entire attitude toward me changed so dramatically? Is he going to change his mind about letting me leave? He can't do that to me. Even if he decides to resume the search for Gabrielle, it's too late. Andrew only gave me five days before he hurts Gabrielle. After today, I'm only left with two. I would die for Gabrielle; not even Evan can change my mind."

"You're reaching," Avery says, "So what if I asked Dr. Walters for the business card? Proving my innocence never even occurred to me."

"If he refuses to trust me, there's really no point in proving anything," she thinks, "I gave him a false explanation and lost his trust. Now, he doesn't even trust me enough to give me a real pistol."

Evan suddenly stares at her with deep meaning.

"What if I want you to prove it?" he asks.

Avery stares back at him silently and ponders the meaning behind his words. Evan abruptly gets up and pulls her to her feet.

"Come to the hospital with me," he says.

Avery is anxious. She was curious about the test when she asked Dr. Walters, but she didn't really plan on taking it. Now, she's worried about the results. If the test proves her innocence, Evan may refuse to let her go, and if that happens, Gabrielle will be doomed.

"I won't go!" she exclaims, shaking her head vehemently.

Evan looks down at her and frowns, "Why not?"

"What's the point?" Avery asks, "If we don't even have basic trust, then what's the use of taking a physical test?"

"What are you guilty of?" Evan asks, "Or are you innocent and afraid I won't let you go? If you're not guilty or afraid, prove it and come with me to the hospital. It'll put my mind at ease."

Avery knows that once Evan makes up his mind, he wouldn't change it easily. She feels herself beginning to panic.

"Sir, the hospital staff, will be leaving shortly," Robert says, "If you must go tonight, I'll phone the director and see if we can catch them before they leave."

Avery's failing hope is rekindled. If she can go to the hospital one more day later, then they'll find out the truth later.

"Robert is right," she says, "It's late, and the doctors need time to prepare. How about we go tomorrow?"

Evan stares at her with unreadable eyes. Avery smiles back convincingly.

"I was thinking about starting to make the gift I promised you tonight," she says, "That'll be difficult if we have to go to the hospital."

"Don't play games with me!" Evan warns.

Evan reluctantly walks away. Avery's lonely shadow seems to stretch toward him as the sun sinks below the horizon. The red clouds disappear, and the darkness sets in. The targets have become difficult to see, and Avery puts the gun away before returning to the guest room.

She sits on the floor and spreads her materials around her: wood, cloth, paper, and glue quickly cover the floor. She's making a diorama with a small, wooden house. Avery picks up the materials with a set of tweezers and painstakingly glues each tiny piece into place. The house she's making is small and simple, but it's her dream home because her husband and children live there.

She soon finishes building the house. Then she begins to install working lights. When she presses a button on the outside of the diorama, warm yellow light shines on every inch of the house. She adds a small speaker with a recording device to play a personalized message.

Though the work is intricate, the most laborious thing to make is a miniature photo album for the shelf in the study. She wants to take 72 photos of him and print them in miniature form in the album. She also writes him a letter and disguises it as another book on the shelf.

The project is huge and detailed, and Avery quickly loses track of time. She doesn't notice the sun beginning to dawn in the sky. She works well into the morning before a maid summons her to go to the hospital.

After staying awake all night, Avery falls asleep as she waits for the test. She wakes in a daze when a bright white light shines in her eyes. A female doctor wearing a blue surgical mask holds a tube to the light.

"I'm finished collecting the sample," the doctor says, "You can get down now."

The light switches off, and Avery slowly rises from the examination table. She's surprised that she slept so profoundly the extraction didn't wake her, and she's desperately concerned about the results.

"How long will it take to run the test and analyze the results?" Avery asks.

"Three to five days," the doctor responds, "I'll phone you as soon as we're sure of the results."

Avery breathes an immediate sigh of relief.

"It doesn't matter what the results say," she thinks, "By that time, I'll be gone."

"How accurate are they?" she asks aloud.

"We possess the most advanced equipment, and our techniques are second to none," the doctor assures her, "We always check our work at least twice to ensure accuracy."

Avery nods and exits the examination room. Evan is waiting outside. He already knows that it takes several days to obtain the results, and his face is set with icy impatience. Though his expression is severe, the nurses still ogle and admire him.

"Sir, they've collected the sample, and they say they'll inform you of the results as soon as possible," Robert said, "Unfortunately, there's nothing they can do to expedite the process further. At the very minimum, it will take two or three days."

Evan looks at Avery and frowns before storming out of the room.