I listened to the line ring with a faint beating heart.

Staring up at Sylvia’s apartment from the safety and protection of my car, I didn’t expect anyone to answer. But I needed to be sure that I wasn’t walking into a place that was occupied, either.

The line clicked over to voicemail and I didn’t bother leaving a message.

Then I tried her cell. When that, too, went straight to voicemail, I assumed she had ditched it by now, knowing that it could easily be tracked.

With what Oscar shared this morning at my meeting, I knew he was using Sylvia as his scapegoat. And though that didn’t really bother me—especially since I wanted her found as much as anybody—what killed me was knowing Mario’s life could have been spared.

Turning my ringer off, I decided to give it more time before letting myself back inside her apartment to see what the detectives had left behind.

Angel was definitely somehow involved in Tonya’s murder, but I didn’t know how exactly. Oscar’s willingness to protect her was most bizarre, causing me to speculate that he, too, had his hands dirty in the case. But I couldn’t link him to Tonya or give him motive since Tonya was Madam’s girl and I knew for a fact that Oscar was secretly working with Madam.

A car drove by and I hid my face inside my hand.

It was nothing but it still caused a brief moment of unease to roll down my spine.

Even parking a block away, I couldn’t take any chances being seen. I didn’t need to be placed at the scene of the crime, knowing that it could come back to haunt me.

Each minute felt like an hour and each hour felt like a day. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl as I waited for my opportunity to strike. So when it finally emerged, I gathered my tools with confidence urging me to go inside.

Crossing the street, I didn’t expect Sylvia to have come back. Not with the money I knew she had. That knowledge still didn’t stop me from looking up and down the block and constantly glancing over my shoulder as I made my way up the outside stairs to the second-floor walkway.

It was like Sylvia knew what Stone’s people were about to do, knew Tonya was about to die and that Mario would be killed. She had to have been planning to steal Madam’s money before it all went down. If that was the case, then I wondered if it was the death threats she received that made her believe she was next to get killed or taken into custody by a corrupt DA.

Sliding the leather gloves over my fingers I edged the wall, paranoid that I was being watched. Though Oscar hadn’t told me what he’d done to set me up, or how he knew my name was being targeted, he wasn’t the only person who’d be keeping track of my whereabouts.

The door was unsealed which made me wonder if the detectives had ever been here like Oscar said. I picked the lock quickly and stepped inside the dark, musty apartment. The smell of rotten food sagged the air and it was clear that Oscar had lied.

My eyes narrowed as I stood frozen in place, looking around.

Nothing was marked, no signs that anyone had been here since Giselle and I visited. I treaded lightly to the back home office, my pulse slowing to a crawl when I stopped at the door.

Someone had been here.

My muscles jumped with each step I took, bringing me closer to the kill list.

Finding the list, I whispered, “Un-fucking-real.”

Oscar’s name had been wiped clean. As had Mario’s.

With panic pounding in my chest, I listened to my heart thrash between my ears as I worked quickly to see what other evidence had been tampered with.

Pushing papers across Sylvia’s desk, an agitated feeling made my stomach drop.

The detailed notes Sylvia had on Madam were nowhere to be found. As I continued my search, everyone who was important to Oscar had been erased from the apartment.

My mind raced to think who might have done this. Was this Sylvia herself or someone Oscar had working for him? Or perhaps it was Madam looking for something she and Oscar could use during Stone’s trial. When I couldn’t find Drake Goodman’s name anywhere in the mess, I closed my eyes and hung my head.

Snapping my head up, my eyes flicked to the one thing I couldn’t remember seeing the other day.

Staring at the silver bangle, I knew that I had to take a photo and compare it to Giselle’s notes. Pulling out my cell, I snapped several images. I hoped this would give me enough evidence to nail whoever might have come to erase key details of what exactly Sylvia was working to uncover. That bangle had been on Tonya’s wrist the night of her murder.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I had the distinct feeling of being watched. Padding lightly to the front, I peeked out from behind the blinds. Scoping the outside, my adrenaline spiked.

I saw nothing to cause concern, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being set up.

Before I could go, there was one more thing I needed to do.

Moving quickly across the floor, I browsed the call log of Sylvia’s home phone. Scrolling through the times and dates, it didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for.

The time this phone made a call to Parker, only minutes before the time Tonya was thought to be murdered.

Shaking my head, I cursed Oscar. I knew what I’d heard. It was Angel who had called, not Sylvia, but this had me second-guessing everything.

Could it be possible they were working together, just as they had the night of Stone’s movie premiere when Maria was murdered? Or was Angel out to frame Sylvia and, if so, was she following the orders of Oscar?

My heart slammed against my chest when the phone started ringing.

With wide eyes, I stood frozen in place, watching it ring.

When it clicked to voicemail, my cell started to vibrate inside my pocket.

I glanced to the window with wide eyes.

My cell never stopped ringing.

Pulling it out of my pocket, I didn’t recognize the number but knew that this couldn’t be coincidence.

Answering the call, I didn’t say a word.

“Did you get my note?” Her calm voice gave me the confidence to know Oscar didn’t have her locked up already. “I’ll assume you did,” Sylvia said.

Moving back to the window, I peeked around the curtains once again, looking to see if she was within sight. She couldn’t be far. She must have known I would come back to her place eventually.

“Mario is dead.” She breathed.

Another name crossed off the original list.

They were falling like dominoes and knowing Mario took the fall for her in regards to Maria’s death, I could only assume Sylvia was thrilled with the news to have him dead.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said as if reading my mind. “And it’s not what you think.”

My brows pinched. Stone was responsible. I saw it in his eyes. Knew it was revenge for what Mario revealed to Madam. But could I be wrong?

“I know you’re at my place.”

My eyes darted from vehicle to parked vehicle before moving to the windows of apartments that surrounded this one. “I’ve seen everything,” I softly murmured.

Sylvia chuckled. “Then you’ll know what it is I’m after.”

“Where are you?”

“I can’t tell you.” She sighed. “Not until I’m finished doing everything I have to do.”

I continued searching from my limited vantage point. “Are you talking about your list?”

“I’ve been wronged, Kelly, and I’m going to set the record straight.”

My mind went straight to Kendra. Feeling my face go pale, I needed to trust Maxwell would keep her safe. Even I knew that with Sylvia as unpredictable as she currently was, I couldn’t guarantee a surprise visit from happening.

“I’m now officially representing Blake Stone.” I paused but got no response. “I know he manipulated you into killing Maria Greer and, if you’ll allow me, I can help you make this right.”

She huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “Take a closer look at Mario’s death, Counselor.”

Confusion swirled between my ears.

“I appreciate your offer, but I’ve learned not to trust anybody but myself.”

A woman walking a dog traveled on the sidewalk below.

“I suggest you do the same.”

I didn’t fully understand her concern, but I still demanded to know where she was. “Turn yourself in before things get worse.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Then the line got cut, abruptly ending our call.

Not wanting to be caught in the crossfire, I quickly found my way back to my car, leaving Sylvia’s place exactly how I’d found it. Once safely inside my own vehicle, I immediately put a call in to Giselle. “Hey, you at the office?”

“Not yet. Still in the field. Did you find a lead?”

“Run a trace on this number.” I read off the digits Sylvia had just called me on.

“Got it,” Giselle said. “I have something, too. It didn’t take long to find once I started looking—”

“What is it?”

“Kelly, I think I know the real reason why Kendra’s parents are coming after her money.” Giselle told me more about what she’d found on Marvin, including how he had racked up massive gambling debt and owed some serious cash to multiple underground organizations. “Do you think this is the reason Madam preyed on him to get to Kendra?”

“Another master manipulation if she did.” My hand tightened on the wheel.

“So, what’s with the number?”

Tightening my grip on the wheel even further, I cranked my engine over. “I’ll tell you when I get to the office. I’m heading there now.”