Sylvia squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her body plummet through the air before crashing into the icy, bone-chilling Antic.

She was numb all over, too exhausted to fight, and didn''t even want to try. She let herself sink, the ocean''s weight pressing down on her lungs, the cold making her thoughts blur and fade.

Suddenly, the water above her churned as a figure dove in, breaking through the

waves.

She tried to make out who it was, but she couldn''t hold on any longer. There''s no way it could be Rupert, she thought dimly. He''d never jump from that high.

Just before her world went ck, strong arms wrapped around her, and suddenly someone''s lips pressed against hers-breathing life back into her. Instinctively, Sylvia clung to her rescuer''s neck as they kicked up toward the surface.

But just as they neared the air, the grip around her loosened. She reached desperately for the blurry silhouette, but her fingers caught nothing but cold water.

A secondter, another hand grabbed hers, pulling her fully into the open air.

She coughed and spluttered, choking on seawater as she tried to catch her breath. Blinking salt from her eyes, she looked up to see who had saved her.

"Mr. Sanford..." she gasped.

Lester wiped the water from his face, his expression thunderous. "I never should''ve agreed to this back at the square. Do you even realize how dangerous that was?"

Sylvia tried to say something, but Lester pulled her into his arms. She didn''t resist, just stared nkly out at the water.

On shore, the wail of sirens echoed across the beach.

Lester carried her up onto the sand, where his assistant, Zion, hurried over with a thick, fluffy towel.

"You scared the hell out of us, boss. You can''t just go jumping into the ocean like that!"

"Let''s get the paramedics to check on Sylvia first," Lester said, rubbing her down with the towel.

Zion gged down the ambnce, and EMTs rushed over.

"She''s got a touch of hypothermia. We need to get her to the hospital," one of them said, wrapping another nket around her and helping her toward the waiting ambnce.

Sylvia took a few steps before a sudden pain stabbed through he chest. She turned to look back at the sea, a strange feeling nagging at her like she''d left something behind.  s

"What is it?" Lester asked quietly.

She looked at his pale, chattering face and shook her head. "Nothing. Come to

the hospital with me, will you? You look awful too."

"Of course," he said, steadying her as they climbed into the ambnce.

Once the ambnce pulled away, Orson burst through the surf, shivering so hard

his teeth chattered. He hauled a bleeding Rupert onto the rocks.

"Mr. Rupert, Chris Lennon''s on his way. Just hang in there."

Rupert leaned weakly against the rocks, pressing his hand to his wound, his eyes fixed on the distant ambnce lights as

the

disappeared up the coast. As headlights faded, his shoulders slumped, swallowed by the

darkness.  s

"Mr. Rupert! Stay with me-Mr. Rupert!"fnc8e9 Content originallyes from FindN()vel/fnc8e9

***

At the hospital, Sylvia was checked over by doctors. Except for mild hypothermia,

she was almostpletely unscathed—thanks to Yves, who''d broken her fall in the water.

Honestly, she wasn''t surprised.

She''d let go and jumped because she was sure she''d be safe. In her previous life, Yves had tried the same stunt here only to be caught by the police, who had know exactly where he''dnd. Whoever tipped them off must have been a genius, tracking every step of his

escape.

s

It had worked out for her, at least.

As for Yves, the doctors said his leg was so badly injured he''d never walk again, maybe even face amputation. It felt like karma.

The Hansons, who''d helped Yves cover everything up, were now in shambles. Mrs. Hanson and Yves would inevitably rat out Kay sooner orter.

Sylvia thought she''d finally get some peace, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw that shadowy figure in the water-haunting her, refusing to let her forget.