Off Script

Chapter 16

He straightened, buttoning his jacket, his gaze never leaving hers.

"To the next move."

Without another word, he turned and walked out—leaving her with nothing but the weight of that envelope and the unbearable sound of her heart hammering in her chest.

—

She stared at it for a long moment, refusing to open it.

But she already knew something deep in her gut.

Whatever this was...

It wouldn't just be a power play.

It would change everything.

—

The envelope sat on her desk all day.

Mocking her.

Black. Heavy. Unmarked—except for her name, written in Liam's bold, slanted handwriting.

She'd told herself she wouldn't open it.

She wouldn't even touch it.

But by nightfall—after the office cleared out and the city lights bled through her windows—she gave in.

Her hands didn't shake when she slid her finger under the seal.

But her heart did.

Inside was a single ivory card.

Simple. Elegant. Expensive.

An address.

And one line in Liam's unmistakable scrawl:

"Tonight. 9 PM. Come alone."

That was it.

No explanation.

No promise.

Just expectation.

—

Every part of her knew she should ignore it.

She had nothing to prove.

She owed him nothing.

But as the clock inched toward nine, Avery found herself slipping out of her apartment, dressed in black silk, no cameras, no entourage—only the adrenaline pounding in her veins.

She wasn't doing this for him.

She needed to know.

To end it.

That's what she told herself.

Even if it wasn't true.

—

The address led her to the edge of the city—somewhere quiet, tucked away from flashing lights and screaming headlines.

A private art gallery.

Minimalist on the outside, hidden behind towering hedges and a gated entrance.

Security let her in without a word.

She was expected.

Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she stepped inside, greeted by low, haunting music and walls lined with black-and-white photographs—every image stark, intimate, almost unsettling.

She didn't see Liam.

Not yet.

—

Then, a man approached—tall, suited, polite.

Without a word, he handed her a glass of deep red wine and gestured toward a staircase at the back of the room.

The message was clear.