Sandra hadn''t known Yvonne well before, but she had heard the stories.


    When the Gonzalez family had lost everything, the young woman had stood by Matthew, unwavering. She must have loved him deeply.


    Yvonne let out a smallugh. “The word ''regret'' isn''t in my vocabry."


    Why keep a scumbag around? He was better off being thrown out with the trash. After lunch, filming resumed.


    Queena''s face was still swollen, and not even the thickestyer of makeup could hide it. On camera, she looked awful.


    Yvonne, on the other hand, was in high spirits, feeling energized despite herck of sleep.


    But perhaps she was tempting fate, because in the very first scene of the afternoon, disaster struck.


    It was a chase scene where Yvonne''s character was pursuing a criminal.


    She and her co-star, Grace, were in an army-green jeep, Yvonne driving and Grace in the passenger seat.


    Everything was going smoothly until the jeep started down a slope. Yvonne hit the brakes and felt her foot go straight to the floor. They weren''t working. The vehicle was out of control.


    The nned route was a gentle hill, but with the brakes gone, the jeep careened off course and onto a much steeper incline.


    Grace, who had never experienced anything so dangerous, started screaming. “Help! Help me! What''s happening? I don''t want to die!"


    Yvonne gripped the steering wheel, her police academy training kicking in. She remained calm, assessed the situation, and just as the jeep was about to plunge off a cliff, she wrenched the wheel hard, mming the vehicle into a thick tree to force it to a stop.


    Instinct for survival drives most people to protect themselves, but Yvonne''s police instincts were different. She had angled the impact toward the driver''s side, shielding, Grace in the passenger seat.


    There was a deafening crash as the jeep collided with the tree, which shuddered violently.


    Grace''s scream was ear-splitting.


    The crew and paramedics rushed to the scene.


    A quick examination showed that Grace had only minor injuries. Yvonne however, had clearly stuffered internal injuries. A wave of pain washed over her, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    An ambnce arrived quickly and whisked her away to the hospital.


    Yvonne was unconscious for a day and a night. When she woke up, her hospital room was bustling with people.


    Doctors and nurses were checking on her. Members of the film crew were there, as were two uniformed police officers.


    Her attending physician exined that she was lucid and her head was clear, but she had internal injuries and would need to stay in the hospital for a week for treatment and observation.


    After the doctor left, the crew members expressed their concern before heading out.


    Finally, only the two police officers remained. One of them was the young officer who had questioned her before.


    The crew had discovered that the brake failure wasn''t an ident; the lines had been cut. They had immediately called the police.


    "The vehicle was tampered with, but we haven''t found any suspects. Our initial theory is that this is connected to local criminal elements. The man you saw the other day was likely Mark himself."


    Yvonne listened, her lips pressed into a thin line. She hade to the same conclusion.


    The film crew wasrge, with many local extras and staff. It wouldn''t be hard for someone from Mark''s organization to infiltrate the set and operate undetected.