Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

Chapter 26

Tristan was already fuming, and seeing his son not living up to expectations only added fuel to the fire.

Lifting his hand in frustration, he nearly wished he could drill some sense into Edwin's head, scolding, "How on earth did I end up with such a useless son? Brainless! Completely led astray by a woman! If you had half the wit of Rupert, we wouldn't be in this mess today!" Edwin's face turned even grimmer.

Sylvia, who had been about to open the room, let go of the doorknob. She knew stepping in would only embarrass Edwin further.

Edwin had always been kind to her. She couldn't bear it.

Just then, a cold voice cut through the tension. A dark, composed figure stepped in slowly, his handsome face betraying no emotion, though a hint of chill lingered in his eyes. "Dad, Julian's alright now. There's no point in berating Edwin."

"I want to do more than berate him! Now the Zook family is demanding explanations. This scandal getting out tarnishes the Garcia family's reputation! This all comes down to recklessly letting people into our lives, bringing a disaster with them, who was all tangled up in affairs with men!"

Tristan glanced at Naomi with a stern face, clearly indicating the source of the trouble: Sylvia.

Naomi bit her lip hard, wanting to argue but not daring to.

"This can still be resolved. A simple settlement with Sylvia should suffice. Otherwise, digging deeper into this, Julian's going to lose more than just his pride, and it won't just be

that Julian was no novice to such dealings. Digging deeper meant not

noise about Julian's being assaulted simply to leverage more benefits in the partnership. Business matters could be effortlessly

with satisfaction, "Alright, do as

way! Sylvia was nearly...by that beast. Asking her to settle? Isn't that the same as admitting she's

was about to explode in anger when Rupert cut in before

"I'll leave you to handle

knowing how she found her way back to her

a bargaining chip for Rupert in his business dealings! That was why he lied to the police, saying he hadn't seen Julian's

peeked out, looking listlessly at Rupert as he entered. Approaching the bed, Rupert reached out to touch her but she dodged

Sylvia remained silent.

"The police will follow up. Signing the settlement is best for your mom and

sound. Until she swallowed down the taste of blood in her mouth,

into Rupert's eyes, managing a smile,

paused; he merely