Sylvia still didn''t respond.

Lester closed the file that his assistant, Zion, had just handed him and rubbed the corner of his eyes. "Who''s in such a rush?"

"Sorry, did I interrupt you?" Sylvia apologized, just as she was about to answer him—but then she noticed a car had been tailing them for a while.

She hadn''t used to care about things like this, but after everything that had happenedtely, she was much more alert.

That car had been on their tail since they left the wedding boutique.

Lester was busy going through paperwork in the backseat, so their own car wasn''t moving fast. The car behind them was patient, never losing sight.

Thinking it through, Sylvia improvised, "Just a client. They weren''t happy with the design, so they sent a lot of feedback."

Lester shot her a sideways nce, his tone low. "You don''t trust me at all, huh?"

Sylvia pressed her lips together-she knew she was way out of her league trying to lie to a cunning businessman like him.

After a moment, she pointed to the za ahead. "Let me out here."

Lester looked skeptical, but he still nodded for the driver to pull over.

Before she got out, Sylvia suddenly grabbed Lester''s hand, squeezing it tight for a

brief moment-then she slipped out without looking back.

Inside the car, Zion turned to Lester. "Sir, should we-?"

"We''re being followed," Lester said coldly.

"I see," Zion replied, checking the rearview mirror with a sly grin.

***

After she got out, Sylvia headed straight into a mall and ducked into a high-end boutique.

"Wee, ma''am-oh, it''s you!"

"I''m being followed. Can you help me out?" Sylvia said, exasperated.fn7b58 The rightful source is f?ndnovel/fn7b58

"Come with me."

The store manager, who used to work with Naomi, nodded for Sylvia to follow her. They were familiar; Naomi always brought Sylvia to gatherings, so they were more than acquaintances.

That''s why Sylvia had chosen this spot to get out.

They slipped through a staff door, into the employee hallway.

"This leads to the alley behind the mall. Stay safe, alright?" the manager warned her.

"Thank you."

"Say hi to your mom for me. She hasn''t been around to chattely."

"My mom''s up in the mountains on a retreat, barely any cell service. When she''s back, I''ll bring her for dinner with you guys Sylvia replied with a smile.  s

"Deal."

The manager waved her on and watched Sylvia disappear through the door.

Blending into the crowd in the

5 ephone kept buzzing in her

She checked it-Yves had

sent over a hundred messages  s

They started as usations, shifted tomands, and now were just pure, furious threats.

Just reading the things he wrote made her skin crawl.

Sylvia knew Yves was capable of anything.

But that was exactly what she needed.

After all... She''d been the bait from the start. Looking for evidence was just a smokescreen.

She kept her head down and hurried on-then suddenly, she heard rushed footsteps behind her.

***

She caught a whiff of something strange and before she could react,

herknees buckled and act,

went ck.  s

Orson sensed something was wrong and rushed into the boutique-only to find

Sylvia was nowhere inside.

He realized immediately he''d been yed.

After pressing the manager for a while, she finally pointed him to the alley behind the mall.

By the time he got there, Sylvia was long gone.

He motioned to his men to start searching, but before they could move, someone blocked his path.

Zion rolled up his sleeves, yanked off his belt, and wrapped it around his fist, grinning at Orson.

"Well, look who it is-Orson. Since when did you be the kind of guy who stalks women?"

Orson scowled. "Out of my way. I don''t have time for your games."

"I''m not stopping you. But go ahead-try me," Zion taunted, beckoning him forward.