NovelUSAChapter 351 Sylvia Lloyd felt her legs give out beneath her. As her eyes fluttered shut, the last thing she saw was a pitch- black motorcycle helmet.
The man glanced down at Sylvia's crumpled form, pocketing the empty syringe. He let out a low chuckle. "Trust me, I'm not the only one who wants you dead. So long, Sylvia." Rupert Garcia strode through the automatic doors, balancing a bag of takeout- cheeseburgers and fries-on one arm. He paused at the doorway to Sylvia's hospital room, only to find it empty, the bedsheets undisturbed, the air stale and lifeless.
He spun around and landed a punch squarely on his bodyguard's jaw.
"This is what you call protection?" Rupert's voice was icy.
"S-sorry, Mr. Garcia, I just stepped out for the restroom," the guard stammered, clutching his face.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Who's been here?" "That woman you helped-Mrs. Carter-and her son. I checked with the nurses; they said Ms. Lloyd went downstairs to find them just a few minutes ago..." Before the guard could finish, Rupert was already storming off.
Downstairs, Mrs. Carter and her young son were shuffling wearily through the lobby, hand-in-hand. When they saw Rupert charging toward them, they nearly jumped out of their skins.
"Where's Sylvia?" Rupert barked, not bothering with pleasantries.
"She... isn't she upstairs resting?" Mrs. Carter stuttered, eyes wide.
Just then, her son Jayson wrenched free from her grasp, dropping to his knees to scoop up a beetle crawling across the floor.
"Mom, how did Blackie get here? I gave him to Sylvia to keep her safe!" Rupert knelt, following the trail of the insect's tiny footprints. Grim-faced, he ducked into the stairwell. At the first-floor landing, he spotted a small wicker basket-Jayson's gift.
"That was for Sylvia!" Jayson protested, pointing at the basket.
Rupert picked it up, glancing at Orson, his right-hand man.
Orson nodded, signaling his team to sweep the area. Minutes later, they returned, having discovered a used syringe tossed in a dumpster out back.
"Mr. Garcia, it's a sedative," Orson reported. "Surveillance caught this guy wheeling a mop cart out—" He handed Rupert an iPad, showing a burly man in janitor scrubs, moving with the confidence of a linebacker. Clearly not a real cleaner.
Rupert's jaw tightened as he glared at the syringe in his hand. "Find him," he ordered.
Orson nodded crisply. "Yes, sir." SPLASH! A bucket of ice-cold water jolted Sylvia awake. She gasped, shivering so hard her breath fogged in the air. When her vision cleared, she recognized the two middle-aged men standing over her-the sones she'd seen with Rupert that morning at the diner.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I'm guessing you two are Garcia family elders?" she managed, her fists clenched, trying to keep her voice steady.
Steven let out a dry laugh. "Look at that, she's got brains. Too bad knowing us won't do you any good now." They hauled her up, dragging her deeper into the night. As Sylvia's eyes adjusted, dread tightened her chest.
They were at an old mining site-abandoned, silent, the entrance cordoned off with yellow police tape. The mine shaft yawned before them, black as the pit.
Sylvia knew if she didn't act now, she'd disappear here for good.
She glanced at Steven, putting on her best impression of a terrified, helpless woman.
"Please," she whimpered, "we really don't have any bad blood. Why are you doing this to me? Just letgo, I'm begging you..." amused by her Steven seemed a trembling, sneering, "It's nothing
personal sweetheart. But you got greedy, stuck your nose where im didn't belong and saw things you shouldn't have. You were never making it out of this."
Sylvia didn't get the first part, but she remembered Jayson's near-drowning and blurted, "The Lance family'sm already gone down. You can't keep this mine scandal a secret much longer. If something happens to me, you'll have an even bigger mess to explain." Steven threw back his head and laughed.
"Oh honey," he said, "you really think it's that simple?"
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
