“The master of the storytelling game.” — People   Sidney Sheldon’s masterful #1 New York Times bestseller Master of the Game has enthralled millions of readers the world over. Now, at long last, the breathtaking saga of the ambitious and powerful MacGregor/Blackwell family continues in Sidney Sheldon’s Mistress of the Game . Author Tilly Bagshawe has picked up the master’s baton and delivered a magnificent tale of determination, greed, and very dark secrets in the distinct Sheldon vein that will mesmerize newcomers and confirmed Sidney Sheldon fans alike. “The master of the storytelling game.” - People “For longtime Sheldon fans, the new volume will set them to wishing he were still with us to write more. For those of us who are just now introduced to him as an author, his works will cost many hours of sleep. Sidney Sheldon’s novels are still a ‘must read.’” - Beverly Hills Courier “A master storyteller.” - USA Today The long-awaited sequel to Sidney Sheldon's #1 New York Times bestselling masterpiece, Master of the Game In his spellbinding bestseller, beloved author Sidney Sheldon introduced the glamorous, scheming Blackwell family and its unforgettable matriarch, Kate Blackwell. Now a generation has passed, and as the world has changed, so too has America's royal family. The intervening years have not lessened the Blackwells' talent for manipulation, domination, and passion. The children of Kate's granddaughters are determined to control Kruger-Brent, Ltd., the multibillion-dollar international corporation with holdings in diverse industries around the globe. But only one can reign supreme. In a family rife with secrets—murder, hidden identities, perversions—and a depraved sense of honor, the player who wins the game may be the only one who can survive. The late novelist and screenwriter Sidney Sheldon remains one of the world's top bestselling authors, having sold more than 300 million copies of his books. Are You Afraid of the Dark? is his most recent in a long line of huge bestsellers. He is also the only writer to have won an Oscar, a Tony, and an Edgar. The Guinness Book of World Records heralds him as the most translated author in the world. Tilly Bagshawe is a New York Times bestselling author whose books include Sidney Sheldon’s Chasing Tomorrow, Sidney Sheldon’s The Tides of Memory, Sidney Sheldon’s Angel of the Dark, Sidney Sheldon’s After the Darkness, and Sidney Sheldon’s Mistress of the Game . She lives in Los Angeles, California, and London with her husband and children. Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the Game By Sidney Sheldon HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Sidney Sheldon All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061728396 Chapter One Danny Corretti looked down through the branches at the swirling mass of people below and felt gripped by a wave of vertigo. "What the hell are we doing here?" Closing his eyes, he tightened his grip around the ancient yew tree, making sure both he and his camera remained concealed in the thick green foliage. "Making money," his companion whispered excitedly. "Look, there she is!" "Where?" Following his friend's line of vision, Danny Corretti trained his zoom lens on a figure huddled in the very center of the crowd of mourners. Dressed head to toe in black, with a thick, floor-length lace mantilla covering her immaculately cut Dior suit, it was impossible to make out her face. She could have been anyone. But she ­wasn't anyone. "Are you kidding me?" Danny Corretti frowned. Below him the churchyard seemed to lurch ominously, the ancient graves rising and falling like ­horses on a ghoulish carousel. "I can't see shit. Are you sure it's her? It could be Johnny Carson under all that lace." His companion grinned. "Not with that ass it couldn't. It's her all right." From the tree to his left, Danny Corretti heard the low whir, whir, click of a rival camera. Refocusing his zoom, he began to shoot. Come on, baby. Give Daddy a smile. A clear shot of Eve Blackwell's face would be worth a cool hundred grand to whichever photographer got there first. Anyone skilled enough to capture her elusive baby bump could expect to earn twice that. Two hundred grand! Not a lot of money to the Blackwells perhaps, heirs to multibillion-dollar Kruger-Brent, Ltd., the diamond empire turned vast, multinational conglomerate that had made them the richest family in America; but a fortune to Danny Corretti. It was the Blackwells who had brought Danny and his fellow paparazzi to St. Stephen's churchyard on this chill February morning. They had come to bury their matriarch, Kate Blackwell, dead at last at the grand old age of ninety-two. Look at them. Like bloated blackflies, swarming around the old lady's corpse. Revolting. Danny Corretti felt his nausea return, but tried not to think about it, or about the excruciating pain in his back from being stuck up a tree for six straight hours. He longed to stretch out, but didn't dare move a muscle, in