Unbreak Me

Chapter 26

Oliver Black

Sam sat across from me with a thick file on Avery.
His faded and worn jeans, black t-shirt and leather jacket looked comically out of place at the office.

"She's had quite a life." He said and slid the file across the desk.

I opened the file and it had the basics on her.
Daughter of Joseph and Camille Adley.
Both died 16 years ago when she was 8 years old.
She's 24, born in 1994 on October 12th.
Lived in France with her Mother for 2 years when she was 3 and moved back at 5 years old.
Throughout her schooling and education she received top marks and was an excellent student.
Never had a boyfriend or many friends. The only ones were Alissa and Gerards children when they were adolescents.

After the fire that took her parents she spent a week in hospital with complications from smoke inhalation and was unable to attend the funeral. 
The only reason she made it out of there alive was due to Joseph's quick thinking. He lowered her out of the window before finding his wife.
The fire department found her passed out on the grass barely breathing.

"The report from the fire department says the fire was suspicious but the police never followed it up appropriately." Sam said crossing his legs. "Can I get a coffee and sandwich?" He asked curiously.

"Do you ever not eat? Go to the kitchen." I frowned at him.

He huffed and left while I continued reading. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Adley had something to do with the fire.

Apparently Alissa and Gerard were the only ones who visited her in the hospital. The only time the Adley's showed up was to sign paperwork when she was released.

She was never officially adopted as their daughter. But they announced it to the media and they were in a frenzy over it.
Every picture they captured of the family had a miserable little Avery. Her hair was neatly tied and she was dressed impeccably, but her skin was dull and her eyes were empty.

What I read next made me frown.
When she was 17 she swallowed a bottle of Mrs. Adley's pain killers.
Russell found her and took her to the hospital, she had her stomach pumped and remained for observation and counselling.
No one was able to get her to talk. Adley pulled her out of hospital earlier than recommended.

Before that incident her school reported that the Adley's mistreated her.
That was soon thrown out of the window and no action was taken.
Teachers reported her as a liar and misfit. They also said she behaved questionably outside of school. Getting into fights, drinking and even drugs.

This doesn't add up. If she was up to no good her grades would surely be affected. There are no police reports to back it up, either. Not like Leah...

Avery appeared to have thrown herself into school work and started doing an online degree. By 19 she had her bachelor's in business and then went away for college at Stamford. After 2 years she got her MBA and began working for Adley.

I flicked through the pages and stopped at her bank statements. I furrowed my eyebrows.
Her current balance was $157.63 with $3,000 in her savings account.
The only transactions were small items, cab fares and necessities from supermarkets and online clothing stores.
Her salary was the only thing being put into her account.
It was safe to say Clara made 20x more than she did and that's without overtime. Avery didn't even receive overtime. She was definitely there longer than 8 hours a day.

How can an Adley have so little money? What about her inheritance or allowance?

This was strange. How could she only make $7 an hour as a personal assistant?
She was no better off than a waitress.