Chapter 18
Aiden motioned for his men to take Vivian away, but as they approached, she began to struggle violently, screaming, “Don’t touch me! Please, don’t touch me!”
Aiden was stunned. He hadn’t wanted to believe it when Linda told him, but now he saw it with his own eyes. To him, it looked like Vivian was truly unhinged.
Meanwhile, Sienna found Vivian missing when she woke up. She hurried downstairs and saw the chaos. Vivian was surrounded by guards, clearly triggered.
“Get away from her!” she yelled. “If you dare touch her, I will send you to hell.”
The sound was so cold, so filled with raw killing intent, that everyone froze in their tracks. It was a pressure so immense it felt like the air had turned to ice.
Linda’s heart plummeted. She forgot Sienna was here too!
“Sienna, it’s not what it looks like!” Aiden stammered, “We didn’t do anything! Vivian… she suddenly had an episode. I was just going to take her to the hospital.”
Sienna ignored him completely. She walked straight to Vivian, her voice softening to a gentle murmur. “Vivian, it’s okay. I’m here.”
“Sienna…” Hearing that beloved voice, Vivian slowly began to surface from the suffocating depths of her terror. She looked up and saw the raw pain in Sienna’s eyes, and the dam of her own grief broke.
Sienna had only learned the true extent of Vivian’s psychological trauma last night. She couldn’t imagine the agony Vivian must have endured, forcing herself to appear normal every single day, with no one to help her, no one who cared, and no money for treatment.
The guilt was a physical weight, heavier than any wound. It was her fault. If she hadn’t gone abroad, her sister would never have been broken like this.
Vivian sobbed, throwing herself into her arms. She had hurt Sienna last night, and today she had lost control again. Her body shook with anguish, every tear a silent confession of the burden she felt she was. She trembled, overwhelmed by despair.
“I should stay away from you,” she whispered, trying to pull away. “There’s something wrong with me.”
Sienna’s eyes burned with unshed tears. Seeing her once proud, vibrant sister so full of self-loathing was a pain worse than death. She pulled her into a fierce, unyielding hug.
“You are my sister,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “My most beloved sister. You are perfect. And there is nothing wrong with you. Vivian, I’m back now. You never have to suffer again.”
Vivian cried, clinging to her as if she were the only solid thing in a collapsing world.
“Sienna, dear, I don’t mean to interfere,” Linda began, her voice dripping with false concern, “but Vivian is clearly unwell. I really think you should take her to see a psychiatrist–ouch!”
Her words were cut off as Sienna’s foot connected sharply with her stomach, sending her flying across the room. She landed in a heap, the wind knocked out of her.
“Sienna!” Aiden roared. “What are you doing? That is your stepmother! You’ve gone too far!”
Sienna gently positioned Vivian behind her.
“Father, you’re not the first to notice I’ve gone too far. If you say one more word, I’ll hit you too,” she sneered. “I have a long list of grievances to settle with you, but now I see… you stopped being our father a long time ago.”
Aiden’s face turned purple with rage. “You brat! What are you talking about?”
“I’ll deal with you later. For now, get out of my sight.” Sienna said, then pulled out her phone and called Lana. “Bring up the security footage.”
Linda, hearing the word “footage,” panicked. She didn’t know there were still cameras. She’d had them all removed when she first moved in.
After the footage arrived, Sienna hauled Aiden in front of the large television screen and played the video. They watched as Linda whispered her cruel taunts with sadistic delight, deliberately triggering Vivian’s trauma.
Horror flashed across Aiden’s eyes. He didn’t expect Linda to say such things. Watching Aiden’s expression, a terrifyingly serene smile touched Sienna’s lips.
“Father,” she said, her voice the calm at the center of a hurricane, “I’m going to give you one chance. Bring me the man who hurt Vivian when she was sixteen. And don’t you dare tell me you don’t know. If you fail, I will have you committed to a long-term care facility. What happens to you there… well, you can pray for a quick end.”
In that moment, Sienna was not a woman. She was a demon. Aiden felt a primal fear grip him. He swallowed hard, his face pale and slick with sweat. For a terrifying instant, he truly believed she would kill him.
He scrambled out of the room without another word. Linda, seeing her protector flee, panicked and grabbed his arm. “Darling, where are you going?"
Aiden shook her off. He had no time for her hysterics. He knew Sienna wasn’t bluffing.
Sienna strolled over to where Linda was cowering. Linda scrambled backward until her back hit a wall. “What do you want?” she stammered. “If you touch me, I’ll call the police! I’ll ruin your reputation!”
Sienna laughed, a short, sharp, ugly sound. “You think you’re worthy?”
“You brat!” Linda hissed through gritted teeth but didn’t dare make a move.
Sienna turned to Vivian, her expression softening. She ruffled her sister’s hair, and her next words were utterly shocking. “Vivian, go on. Hit her.”
Linda’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Sienna, this is madness!” She glanced at Vivian. ‘That coward?’ she thought. ‘She wouldn’t dare.’
Vivian stared, her eyes wide with shock and confusion.
“She hit you,” Sienna said gently. “And she insulted you. Aren’t you going to get even? Don’t you want to slap that smug look off her face? Doesn’t it eat you up inside?”
‘Eat me up?’ Vivian thought, stunned. Of course it did. She wanted to tear Linda limb from limb. The memories of her cruelty were a fire in her gut.
But she was afraid. Every time she had ever tried to fight back, Linda’s retribution had been swift and terrible. The hunger, the darkness…. she was so afraid.
Sienna gently tilted her sister’s chin up. “It’s time to collect your debts,” she said, as if discussing a simple transaction. “Go on. What she did to you, you do to her. But double it.”