Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

When Sylvia woke up again, someone was standing by the bed, watching her with cold, sharp eyes.

She blinked, heart pounding, as the person's face came into focus. Instinctively, she sat up, tense and wary.

It was Fiona.

But she looked nothing like the polished, graceful Mrs. Fiona Sylvia remembered. Maybe the fall of the Carmichael family had hit her too hard-the streaks of silver in her hair, the heavy shadows under her eyes, that unmistakable air of defeat. She'd always seemed frail, but now she looked downright haunted.

Sylvia slid off the bed and took a cautious step backward. "Mrs. Fiona, what do you want?"

Fiona said nothing. She smoothed her hair, lowering herself elegantly into the chair opposite Sylvia-still carrying herself like the lady of the manor.

Once she settled, she lifted her eyelids and looked Sylvia up and down with unconcealed disdain.

"We were so close, you know," Fiona sneered. "You and Rupert-if things had gone just a little differently, you both would've been ruined for good."

Sylvia froze. Suddenly, it all made sense.

"It was you that night," she whispered.

Staring at Fiona's face, memories of that evening came flooding back.

It was fall-crab season. Fiona had reserved a seafood feast at a hotel owned by the Garcias. The Garcias threw family banquets all the time, and as the eldest daughter-in-law, Fiona always did the planning. No one thought anything of it.

After the crab, everyone warmed up with a little whiskey.

Sylvia's memory went black right after that first shot.

She had no idea how she'd ended up in Rupert's room.

So when the Garcias accused her of drugging Rupert and crawling into his bed, she couldn't defend herself.

But everyone had drunk from the same bottle-why had only she and Rupert been affected?

Fiona, catching Sylvia's troubled expression, gave a low, mocking laugh. "Don't bother," she said. "There was nothing wrong with the food or the drinks. I just slipped a little something special into the dipping sauces-one for you, one for Rupert. Combined with the alcohol, they worked perfectly."

Sylvia stared at the woman she once respected, a tide of anger and bitterness rising in her.

"Why?" she demanded. "What did I ever do to you? I never even got involved in any Garcia family business!"

Fiona laughed softly, eyes narrowing as she studied Sylvia.

"Because it had to be you! The plan was foolproof-Rupert would be forced to take responsibility, and your relationship would turn him into a joke Tristan would do anything to get rid of you, and the two of them would turn against each other."

"When Tristan stopped trusting Rupert, the whole Garcia family would be left in Warren's hands. Tristan would have no one else."

Sylvia staggered, her face draining of color.noveldrama

So she and Stella-her whole miserable life—had been nothing but pawns in their power games.

Steadying herself against the wall, Sylvia stepped closer, a cold smile on her lips. "Too bad for you, your little scheme flopped. With or without me, you and your son were always going to lose."

The words hit Fiona like a slap. Her dead eyes suddenly sparked with manic fury.

The woman who'd always seemed so proper lunged at Sylvia.

"It's all your fault, you bitch! If you'd just kept your mouth shut and admitted what happened that night, everything the Garcias have would be mine-mine and the

Carmichaels'!"

Dream on, Sylvia thought bitterly. In her last life, she'd kept quiet and it had ruined them all.

But why did Fiona say the Garcias' fortune should belong to the Carmichaels? Shouldn't she have said Warren?

No time to think. As Fiona lunged, Sylvia grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the ground.

She couldn't take on Warren or the bodyguards, but a sick old woman? That was easy.

With Fiona immobilized, Sylvia snatched up the cell phone lying on the little table. The private jet had a signal, but she wasn't stupid enough to make a call. Instead, she opened Fiona's Twitter app. The top of her contacts list was full of Garcias, but Naomi's name wasn't there. She quickly tapped into Rupert's DMs.