Encore of the Avenging Muse (Sylvia and Rupert)

Chapter 218

The chapel stood grandly atop the highest ground within the Garcia Estate, a place reverently preserved over generations. Its towering beams were annually repainted with gold, and above the altar, an intricately crafted scene of twin dragons chasing a pearl symbolized the family's esteemed status and power.

In front of the altar, Tristan, usually composed and commanding, now wore an expression of pure anger for the first time. His icy gaze was fixed on Rupert, who stood in the chapel's center, rain lashing down outside but barely causing a ripple in his calm exterior.

"You've let me down this time, Rupert!" Tristan demanded, his voice cutting through the tension. "Who leaked the contract details?"

Rupert's sharp features were etched with a hint of detachment, his presence exuding a cool defiance. The storm outside was nothing compared to the turmoil within.

"It was no one else's fault. I was careless, and the Carmen family took advantage of it."

"You!"

Tristan's eyes widened in disbelief, his hands trembling with suppressed rage. This was not the answer he wanted. There had to be a scapegoat, someone to blame and to present to the family and the scrutinizing eyes of the ever-watchful Helena.

Taking a deep breath, Tristan pressed on, "Wasn't it Sylvia who visited the Garcia Group?"

The solution was simple. The lowly Sylvia, driven by greed, betrayed the Garcia family for money. The narrative would paint her as the villain, sparing Rupert from the fallout of a business blunder.

long as Rupert played

didn't," Rupert

altar, the sound reverberating through the chapel, thickening the air with tension. Father and son

his voice steely as he commanded, “Then you know

"Yeah."

began unbuttoning his shirt. Orson, standing nearby, looked on with

"Stay out of it."

Orson and undid his

by the rainwater seeping through the chapel's

altar, and as he inserted the incense into the burner, the whip came down on

back turned, waiting for Rupert to admit guilt. But after ten lashes, Rupert stood silently, beads of

him, frowned deeply, his voice laced with threat, "Rupert, I promised you that if this deal succeeded, your

gaze fell, a thin line of blood appearing where he

gestured to the bodyguard to continue, but the bodyguard hesitated, caught between duty and conscience, before raising the

"Stop!"

burst into the chapel, shielding Rupert