Chapter 16
Sienna’s words were a slap in the face. Aiden and Madam Hart flushed with fury.
“You brat, you take that back,” Madam Hart shrieked.
Sienna just laughed, leading Vivian to the sofa and sitting down gracefully.
“Are you deaf or something?” Madam Hart was so angry she was hyperventilating, clutching her chest.
Seeing his mother in distress, Aiden roared, “Sienna, Vivian, just say you’re— This is your grandmother.”
Linda patted Madam Hart’s back, her tone a mixture of feigned concern and exasperation. “You don’t understand. Your grandmother’s health has been poor for years. You really shouldn’t upset her. Just apologize, and we can all move past this.”
Sienna didn’t answer. She calmly poured a glass of water, ignoring Linda as if she were air.
Linda’s face tightened, her jaw clenching. She knew Sienna was going to be a problem. She couldn’t let her stay and threaten her own position.
“You’re going too far!” Aiden bellowed.
Sienna simply smiled. Her eyes, cool and proud, held no emotion, but her aura was so powerful, her gaze so sharp, that a single glance could make a person’s blood run cold.
When Aiden met her eyes, he felt a chill creep up his spine. For a moment, he saw Selina again, the one who had ruled his world. He swallowed hard, a flicker of panic in his heart.
“Father,” Sienna said, her voice dangerously soft, “I’m still regarding you as my family out of respect for our shared surname. But if you push me further one more time, we can sever our ties right now.”
She watched Aiden’s expression, then continued. “Disown me, and you get nothing. The house, the cars, the company, the assets—all mine. I can have the assets legally verified right now and ensure you don’t get a single penny. I was kind enough to let you play master here, but you’ve clearly forgotten who really is.”
Aiden was speechless with rage. But she was right. If they cut ties, he would be an outsider with no claim to anything.
“You’re just like your mother!” Madam Hart pointed a trembling finger at Sienna. “A pair of vixens, both of you! Your mother died young because she deserved it!”
Splash! Sienna poured the water directly into Madam Hart’s face. She shrieked in shock. Even Linda was taken aback. She didn’t expect Sienna to be so ruthless.
“You still don’t know your place,” Sienna said, rising slowly. “If you’d kept quiet, I might’ve, out of pity, called you ‘Grandma‘ and let you live out your days in comfort. But you chose to test me. From now on, you won’t see another cent of the Hart family’s money.”
Madam Hart was stunned. Sienna was so reckless, so unreasonable. She was completely untouchable.
But one thing was clear: if Aiden really disowned her, Madam Hart would lose everything. She’d pushed too far this time, and it blew up right in her face. She should have known. This girl was just like her mother–a woman the Hart family could never control.
“And don’t you dare curse my mother in your heart,” Sienna continued, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “If it weren’t for her, you’d be rotting in some gutter somewhere.”
Madam Hart couldn’t utter another word. She knew it was true. Everything the Hart family had, they owed to Selina.
Aiden’s face contorted with rage. He knew it was the truth, but he couldn’t accept the humiliation. Everyone said he had ridden Selina’s coattails to success. That without her, he was nothing.
He had loved her once, but their whispers had turned his love to hate. It was her fault, he thought bitterly. If she had just handed the company over to me, stayed home and raised the children, no one would have said a word.
“Father,” Sienna said, her voice cutting through his thoughts, “I was gone ten years, and the state of this company proves you’re unfit to run it. You’ve always resented Mom, thinking your position undignified, but be honest. If you were truly capable, the Hart Corporation wouldn’t have spent the last decade crumbling, a dying beast picked apart by anyone who pleased.”
Her words were like daggers, piercing through his fragile pride, shattering his ego. He gritted his teeth, silent. A look of defeat settled on his face.
“You can all come in now,” Sienna called towards the door.
The butler, the nannies, the chef, the maids–all the familiar faces from ten years ago–walked in. Sienna had found every single one of them. Linda had fired them all after she moved in, replacing them with her own people.
Seeing them, Aiden was lost in a sea of memories, back to a time when he and Selina were happy.
“Miss Sienna!” they all greeted her.
Sienna nodded. “Starting today, you are all officially reinstated. Elisa, please go to my mother’s room and take an inventory. There’s a list of everything she owned. Check it twice. If a single item is missing, search every room in this house. If you can’t find it, call the police. Any one of her pieces is valuable enough to warrant a criminal investigation.”
She then turned to the others, instructing. “Butler, I hate the decor in the living room. My assistant Lana will give you my preferred style. I want it done by today. And Chef, please prepare lunch. I’ll be down after I rest.”