A searing pain shot through Sylvia Savigny's left leg as she tried to get out of bed. Cold sweat soaked through her hospital gown.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"Doctor!" Sylvia's voice trembled. "My sister was attacked. Please help her!"

Three white-coated physicians rushed in. Nurses restrained Sylvia as she struggled to rise. "Don't move! You'll reopen your wounds."

Clutching the sheets, Sylvia watched them examine Stella Laurent.

"Just temporary unconsciousness." The doctor removed his stethoscope. "No life-threatening injuries."

Stella's eyes flew open. She grabbed the doctor's sleeve. "Someone's trying to kill my sister! I need to call the police!"

The doctor frowned. "Who?"

"Yvonne Valois!" Blood trickled from Stella's split lip. "She must have sent them!"

Twenty minutes later, police sirens pierced the hospital corridor.

Whispers spread through the gathered crowd. Stella pointed at her swollen cheek. "Those men in black almost strangled my sister!"

Inspector Cole Macmillan flipped open his notepad. "Any personal enemies?"

"Lucien Valois's wife!" Stella rasped. "She kidnapped my sister, beat her half to death, and dumped her under an overpass!"

A murmur rippled through the ward.

The inspector's pen paused. "Evidence?"

"My sister is the witness!" Stella turned toward the bed.

Sylvia gave a weak nod. "They said I touched someone I shouldn't have..."

Another officer lowered his voice. "Lucien Valois is the mayor's son."

Inspector Macmillan snapped his notebook shut. "We'll need your formal statement."

"But who'll protect my sister if I leave?" Stella stamped her foot in frustration.

Suddenly she pulled out her phone. "Jenna, please come to the hospital now!"

At her clothing stall, Jenna Roland's hanger clattered to the ground. "Yvonne's trying to wipe them out!"

She swiftly packed up her merchandise. Her e-tricycle sped toward the hospital through the night.