Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert) novel Chapter 517

When I woke up, I was covered in bruises, lying in a hotel room next to some man I didn’t know!

I was so terrified I actually passed out, and when I came to again, I was in the hospital.

Naomi barely got the words out before she broke down in tears, biting her lip to keep herself together.

Sylvia zeroed in on the important part.

“Ms. Winslet? Kay?”

Naomi nodded miserably. “Yeah. She’s friends with Mrs. Watson. We had a disagreement before over the engagement gift basket, but she’s Reese’s aunt and the CEO of the Winslet Group, so I tried not to make a fuss.”

Just hearing Kay’s name made Sylvia’s expression darken.

She remembered all too well the rumors about Kay and Edwin.

There’s no way Kay just happened to be there by chance, Sylvia thought. But she didn’t have any proof, and she sure couldn’t tell Naomi her suspicions.

So she just frowned and pressed on, “Mom, did you contact the other ladies you played cards with? Ask them what happened?”

Naomi’s face twisted with distress. “I did. But every single one insisted I just left on my own. Sylvia, what am I supposed to tell Edwin about all this?”

A grown woman vanishes from a card game and nobody even thinks to ask? It was obvious—this whole thing had been a setup from the start.

Sylvia was now certain—Kay had something to do with this.

Suddenly, Naomi’s phone dinged with a new message.

She glanced at it and immediately threw it across the couch, clutching her head in panic. “It’s him!”

“Who?” Sylvia picked up the phone. A string of lurid photos had been sent from an unknown number—pictures of Naomi and some sleazy-looking guy.

The angle was just right: you could clearly see Naomi’s face, but there was no way to tell if she was conscious or not.

As Sylvia scrolled through the photos, another message popped up.

She sobbed harder, tears streaking down her cheeks and highlighting the red marks there. “What am I going to do? I’ve let Edwin down!”

Sylvia was about to sigh when something caught her eye—she stared hard at Naomi’s face.

“Mom, hold still for a sec.”

“What is it?” Naomi asked, tears still glistening.

Sylvia leaned in, noticing how the tears made the marks on Naomi’s cheek even more obvious.

“Mom, are you sure all the ladies at the card table said you left on your own?”

Naomi nodded, voice trembling. “I called each one. That’s what they all said.”

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Alright. I know exactly who to talk to next.”

She stared at the mark on Naomi’s cheek, her mind racing.