Her Beloved Enemy

Summary

Sylvia Leigh, a young woman whose only tangible connection to her enigmatic father was a series of distant letters and a fleeting childhood memory, finds her world irrevocably altered upon his belated return. Far from the distinguished figure she idealized, he manifests as a spectral, broken man, haunted by an unnamed grievance. A dramatic, aborted attempt at vengeance in a park reveals the depth of his torment: a passing motorist, identified only by a desperate, accusatory cry, is the architect of his ruin. On his deathbed, a frail and feverish patriarch extracts a solemn vow from Sylvia—to unearth and bring to justice the man who shattered his existence. Armed with naught but a cryptic promise and a burning sense of filial duty, Sylvia embarks on a perilous quest for retribution, which inadvertently plunges her into a dangerous trap. A dashing, unassuming rescuer emerges from the shadows, only to reappear weeks later as a polished, socially prominent guest at a soirée. The shocking revelation that this very man, the object of her burgeoning affection, is the one she swore to pursue, ignites an agonizing internal conflict. Her capture and subsequent confrontation with him unearths not only her enduring love but also the unsettling realization that her father's true secret remains tantalizingly out of reach. Standing at the precipice of a life-altering decision, torn between the weight of a deathbed oath and the undeniable pull of her heart, Sylvia chooses love, urging her captive to escape. Yet, in a final, captivating twist, he calmly opens the door to the waiting authorities, not as a captured fugitive, but as an acquaintance, poised to unveil a truth that promises to mend her fractured heart and illuminate the profound mysteries of her past.

Synopsis

Sylvia Leigh's only recollection of her father was a dim memory of a distinguished-looking man who brought her to boarding school when she was a youngster. From that time he never came to see her, but letters came from him with foreign postmarks stating that "important business" kept him away. After her graduation an old family servant took her to the home she had never known. Within a few months her father appeared. Not the parent she had pictured, but a broken old man whose mind seemed ham ted by some shadow from the past. One day while they were motoring in the park he suddenly drew a revolver, and aiming it at a passing auto, exclaimed, "That man wrecked my life." But before he could pull the trigger he fell exhausted from the effort and the other car passed before Sylvia saw his face. Her father became seriously ill from the excitement. On his deathbed he made her promise to run to earth the man who ruined his life. With no clues or an inkling of what the secret was, she attempted to locate him by an ad in the papers, only to fall into a trap. A roughly-clad young man came to her rescue. Some weeks later she was surprised to find this same young man as a guest at a dance given by a girlfriend. But this time he was clad in evening dress and perfectly at home among society. Then came the blow. An incident revealed him to her as the man she had vowed to bring to atonement. She shadowed him, caught him in a compromising position, kept him captive and phoned the police. Then the fact that she still loved him rushed over her. She realized also that her father's secret was still a mystery. What will he do? Keep a deathbed promise and turn him over to the law or obey her heart? Love wins out. As a knock comes on the door she tells him she still loves him and to escape. But he only smiles, opens the door to the officers, who greet him familiarly, and then he make some remarkable disclosures to Sylvia, which brings happiness to her troubled heart.