Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert) novel Chapter 318

Chris fiddled with his Zippo lighter, letting out a weary sigh. “Can you really blame her for not listening? She has no idea that her so-called airtight evidence is nothing compared to what the Lances have been building for three generations. Even if Fanny ends up behind bars tonight, it won’t shake the Lances in the slightest. If anything, she’s just made herself their next target. And let’s not forget—Tristan’s not letting this slide either.”

Rupert took a slow drag from his cigarette, silent as ever.

Chris frowned, glancing sideways at him. “You’re not really just going to let this go, are you? I get that you want Aaron’s help to handle the mess at the mine, but come on, man—these are people’s lives we’re talking about. You politicians and your backroom deals…”

He was a doctor, after all. Sympathy came naturally to him.

He found himself torn, caught between his loyalty to his oldest friend and the heavy weight of the tragedy at the mine. The thought of those lost lives gnawed at him.

Tristan’s mining operation was a gold mine—literally—but Rupert wasn’t the one calling the shots.

That responsibility lay with two of the Garcia family’s older relatives. They cared about one thing: profit. Safety regulations? Just paperwork to fudge for the inspectors.

Then, inevitably, disaster struck. Five men dead, a dozen more still in the hospital.

Those two old men tried to keep it under wraps, but as the truth started to leak, they went running to Tristan for help.

Tristan’s solution? Call it an accident, sweep it under the rug. If anyone reported it, it would haunt them for years to come.

That’s when Tristan decided to play his usual games, targeting Bridget and hoping she’d get something on Fanny Lance, the Lances’ precious daughter.

But things hadn’t gone according to plan.

Rupert ground out his cigarette in the trash, his expression unreadable. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Aaron says if we let Fanny walk, he’ll help with the mine situation.”

Just around the corner, Sylvia was yanking leaves off a tree, her face drained of color—she looked like she could disappear right into the hospital wall. She’d only come to ask Chris to keep a copy of her injury report, just in case she ever needed it.

She never expected to overhear this.

No wonder they’d pressured her to drop the case earlier—and Rupert hadn’t said a word.

Of course, this was what he wanted all along.

He’d saved her, sure, but only as a move to help Fanny.

She was just a pawn.