Sidney Sheldon - Sidney Sheldons Mistress of the Game

LEXI TEMPLETONS HANDS TREMBLED AS SHE READ THE letter. Sitting

DANNY CORRETTI LOOKED DOWN THROUGH THE branches at the swirling

IN THE MATERNITY UNIT AT NEW YORKS MOUNT SINAI Medical Center,

ROBBIE TEMPLETON FELT A FAMILIAR, CHURNING FEELING in the pit

THE GIRL WAS A REDHEAD. SHE HAD HUGE BREASTS THAT

MAX WEBSTER TOOK THE SHINY RED PACKAGE FROM HIS mother

LIONEL NEUMAN LOOKED AT THE YOUNG MAN SITTING OPPOSITE him

LEXI TEMPLETON WAS NOT LIKE OTHER LITTLE GIRLS.

THE FIRST THING SHE WAS AWARE OF WAS DARKNESS.

HE WAS THE MOST FAMOUS BARRISTER IN LONDON.

PETER TEMPLETON SAT IN THE PRIVATE WAITING ROOM AT Mount

GABE MCGREGOR HAD TOLD HIS MOTHER HE COULD TAKE care

BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO GO? MAX WEBSTER SWUNG

SOUTH AFRICA WAS BEAUTIFUL.

PAOLO COZMICI BARKED IRRITABLY AT HIS BOYFRIEND: SO? Are you

GABE MCGREGOR STEPPED OUT OF THE GATES OF WORMWOOD Scrubs

LEXI LAY SPRAWLED OUT ON THE BLUE-AND-WHITE-STRIPED Ralph Lauren couch

A CHANCE MEETING IN THE PRISON LIBRARY CHANGED Gabe McGregors

AUGUST SANDFORD GRIPPED THE SIDES OF HIS CHAIR AND ground

CAPE TOWN WAS UTTERLY UNLIKE ANYTHING GABE MCGREGOR had ever

THE DAWN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM USHERED IN A PERIOD

IT SEEMED TO LEXI THAT THE NEXT YEAR WENT BY

PAOLO COZMICI LOOKED AT THE EXQUISITELY DECORATED Bel Air drawing

MAX WEBSTER WAS ON HIS HONEYMOON.

THE BRUTAL SLAYING OF GABRIEL MCGREGORS WIFE AND children was

GABE, LEXI AND ROBBIE WERE IN LEXIS NEW YORK APARTMENT, playing

FELICITY TENNANT WAS DEPRESSED. SHUFFLING OUT TO the mailbox in

LEXI SAT ALONE IN THE DOCTORS WAITING ROOM, GLANCING impatiently

LEXI TEMPLETONS WEDDING TO GABRIEL MCGREGOR WAS the society event

LEXI WATCHED THE TWO PLAINCLOTHES POLICEMEN WALK up the path

GABE READ THE LETTER IN SILENCE. THEN HE READ IT

GRETA, MAXINE MCGREGORS NANNY, HAD MISSED THE drama of her

CAN I GET YOU ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE LAND, madam?

THE BLOND WOMAN WITH THE BIG SUNGLASSES FELT THE rumble

THE PASSENGERS OF US AIR FLIGHT 28 STREAMED INTO THE

SUNLIGHT FLOODED THE WHITEWASHED ROOM. GABE opened his eyes and

LEXI TEMPLETONS HANDS TREMBLED AS SHE READ THE letter. Sitting on the bed in her wedding dress, in what had once been her great-grandmothers bedroom, her quick mind began to race.

Think. You dont have much time.

What would Kate Blackwell have done?

At forty-one, Lexi Templeton was still a beautiful woman. Her lustrous blond hair was untouched by gray and her slim, petite figure showed no sign of her recent pregnancy. Shed been determined to get her killer body back before her wedding. She wanted to do justice to her vintage Monique Lhullier gown, a clinging column of the finest ivory-white lace. And she had.

Earlier, the hundred or so wedding guests gathered at Cedar Hill House, the Blackwell familys legendary Maine estate, had gasped when Lexi Templeton appeared on the lawn arm in arm with her father. Talk about Beauty and the Beast. Peter Templeton, Lexis father, once an eminent psychiatrist and one of New Yorks most eligible bachelors, was now an old man. Frail, bent almost double with age and grief, Peter Templeton led his beautiful daughter toward the rose-covered altar.

He thought: I can go now. I can go to join my darling Alexandra. Our little girl is happy at last.

He was right. Lexi Templeton was happy. She knew she looked radiant. She was marrying the man she loved, surrounded by family and friends. Only one person was missing. That person would never witness another of Lexis triumphs. He would never delight in another of her failures. His life and Lexis had been intertwined since birth, like the tangled roots of a great tree. But now he was gone, never to return. Despite everything that had happened, Lexi missed him.

Can you see me, Max, darling? Are you watching? Are you sorry now?

For a moment, Lexi Templeton felt a pang of loss. Then she laid eyes on her husband-to-be, and all her regrets evaporated. Today was going to be perfect. The clich. The fairy tale. The happiest day of her life.

The president of the United States was unable to make the wedding. There was a small matter of a war in the Middle East. But he sent a congratulatory telegram, which Lexis brother, Robbie, read aloud when the newlyweds cut the cake. And everybody else was there. Captains of industry, prime ministers, kings, movie stars. As chairwoman of the mighty Kruger-Brent, Ltd., Lexi Templeton was American royalty. She looked like a queen because she was one. She had it all: great beauty, immense wealth and power that stretched to the four corners of the globe. Now, thanks to her new husband, she had love, too.

But she also had enemies. Powerful enemies. One of whom was determined to destroy her, even from beyond the grave.

Lexi read the letter again.

I know what youve done. I know everything.

The net was closing in. Lexi felt the fear churn in her stomach like curdled milk.

There must be a way out of this. Theres always a way. I will not go to prison. I will not lose Kruger-Brent. I will not lose my family. Think!

A few hours earlier, the governor of Maine made a speech about Lexi at the reception.

a remarkable woman, from a remarkable family. Lexi Templetons personal courage and integrity are known to all of us. Her spirit, her determination, her business acumen, her honesty

Honesty? If only they knew!

these make up the public face of Lexi Templeton. But today, were here to celebrate something else. A very private joy. A very private love. And a love that those of us who know Lexi know she so richly deserves.

Lexi thought: None of you know me. Not even my husband. I dont deserve his love. But I fought for it, and I won it, and Im damned if Im going to let anyone take it away from me. Least of all you.

Now most of the guests had gone. Lexis brother, Robbie and his partner were still downstairs. So was Lexis baby daughter, Maxine, and the nanny. Any moment now Lexis husband would come looking for her. It was time to leave for their honeymoon.

It was time

Lexi Templeton walked over to the window. Beyond the formal lawns of Cedar Hill House she could see the closely huddled white roofs of Dark Harbor, and behind them the dark, brooding sea. This evening the roiling water looked unusually ominous.

Its waiting. One day it will swallow the island whole. A big wave will come and wipe everything out. As if none of this ever existed.

Two men in suits got out of a car and approached the security gate. Even before they pulled out their badges, Lexi Templeton knew who they were. It was just like it said in the letter: The police are on their way. You have no way out, Alexandra. Not this time.

Tears stung the back of Lexis eyes. She could hear her aunt Eves voice as clearly as if she were still alive, taunting her, laden with spite. Was she right? Was this really it? The end of the game? After all Lexis struggles? She remembered a Dylan Thomas poem shed learned at school: Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Damn right Ill rage. Ill not let that old witch beat me without a fight.

The cops were through the gate now. They were almost at the door.

Lexi Templeton took a deep breath and went downstairs to meet them.