Chapter 17

Every move Sienna made radiated an effortless authority. A single glance was enough to make Linda tremble with rage. Sienna was being utterly ruthless, leaving her no room to command respect.

Linda walked out to the courtyard to smoke, abandoning her face. And Aiden, her supposed ally, had simply turned and walked away.

She stomped her foot in frustration, but no matter how she tried to stop the servants from searching, it was useless. Everything taken from Selina’s room was retrieved. Those things had been hers for ten years–there was no way she wanted to give them back.

Vivian, however, was overjoyed to see the familiar faces of the old staff. After Linda arrived, they had all been dismissed. She had pleaded with her father to let them stay, but he, swayed by Linda’s words, had ignored her feelings completely.

The new servants Linda hired were lazy and disrespectful, bullying the sisters behind their father’s back, step by step. Linda had sown discord between the sisters, turning their father against them until, one by one, they were driven from their home.

Madam Hart clutched her chest. “Sienna, I’m not dead yet! You’re going too far!” she rasped.

“Then feel free to die,” Sienna replied without missing a beat. “No one is stopping you.”

“You…” Madam Hart’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. Sienna instructed the butler to call an ambulance and send her the bill.

Sienna knew Madam Hart had never liked her mother and, by extension, despised the sisters. A staunch believer in the superiority of sons, Madam Hart made no effort to hide her disdain for her granddaughters.

Every visit was a trial, as she deliberately sought to make things difficult for Selina. Selina was no pushover. After she cut off Madam Hart’s allowance for three months, she had come crawling back with a smile on her face. But in private, she was still cruel.

Sienna vividly remembered being seven years old when a stray dog had charged at them. Instead of protecting her, her grandmother had shoved her forward.

That was the day she learned that not all grandmothers loved their granddaughters. The dog had mauled her leg while her grandmother stood by, clapping.

“I’m calling the police!” Linda shrieked, hysterical. “Sienna, you’ve gone too far!”

Sienna just crossed her arms, looking bored. “Go ahead.”

“You’re too much!” Linda screamed, “Just wait and see!”

Sienna simply ignored her. She walked into her newly renovated room, a satisfied smile on her face. “Perfect.”

“It’s so beautiful!” Vivian said, awestruck, as she followed her in. The room was grand without being ostentatious.

Sienna smiled and ruffled her hair. “How about we take a nap here?”

Vivian nodded enthusiastically. Soon, they were both lying on the bed, sleeping soundly.

The Hart residence was so large that the construction barely disturbed them. And the efficiency of the workers was astounding. When Vivian woke up from her nap, the entire living room was completely transformed.

Linda, stewing in her own anger, saw Vivian come downstairs. Accustomed to treating the girls with casual cruelty, she walked up and slapped her hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed through the living room. Vivian clutched her cheek, her eyes filling with tears of rage.

“You little brat! Just as worthless as your mother,” Linda spat, her voice dripping with venom. “You think because Sienna’s back, you can look down on me? Dream on. I kicked you out once, and I can do it again.”

Vivian’s hands clenched, a familiar fear creeping into her heart, draining the color from her face. “You—!”

Seeing Vivian’s fear, Linda felt a surge of contempt. She leaned in close, her voice a poisonous whisper.

“You don’t know your place. When you were thrown out, how do you think you paid for that apartment?” she laughed. “For your tuition? You think I don’t know?”

Vivian’s body trembled, but Linda continued. “You’re filthy, disgusting. And Mason… you think he didn’t abandon you because he likes you? Please. The only reason he keeps you around is because your blood is useful. If you died, he wouldn’t even spare you a glance.”

Her words were a curse, chipping away at Vivian’s fragile self-worth, dragging her down into a pit of despair. Linda knew Vivian’s weaknesses: her insecurity, her cowardice, her self-loathing. She had spent years torturing her, breaking her spirit. A little push was all it would take.

She leaned in closer, her lips brushing Vivian’s ear. “Do you remember what happened when you were sixteen? I have pictures. Do you want to see?”

The mention of that year was like a lightning strike. Vivian grabbed her head, her pupils dilating in terror. “No!” she screamed. “No, don’t come near me!”

Linda pressed on, enjoying the show. “I saw it with my own eyes, Vivian. That guy was drunk. He slapped you and hit you with his fist, and you just cried and screamed. Do you remember his disgusting smile?”

“No! Stop it. Don’t say anymore!” Vivian cried out, “Help me, Dad!”

Her screams brought Aiden running. Seeing her crazed state, he frowned. As he moved to approach her, Linda threw herself into his arms.

“Darling, I’m so scared!” she cried, her voice trembling. “She just… she just snapped! I’ve been telling her to see a doctor, but you know how she is with me. She’d never listen. Now… now I really think her mental state is…”

Aiden patted her back. “Don’t be afraid. I never thought… I never thought Vivian was actually sick. I’ll have her sent to a psychiatric hospital immediately. We can’t have her staying here.”