Chapter 9

Mason looked at Vivian, his tone lofty and entitled as he laid out his own conditions.

“I don’t ask for much. Just one thing. If you want to be my wife, Vivian, you must accept Chloe’s existence," he said. "Chloe saved my life. She needs your blood every month, so you will go to the hospital with me, every month, for a transfusion.”

Linda beamed. “Mason is such a loyal and righteous young man. What a wonderful boy! Vivian, to marry someone like him is a blessing you must have prayed for in a past life!”

But behind her smile, Linda thought bitterly, ‘If he hadn’t taken a liking to this little tramp, I’d never let her into the Quinn family to live a life of luxury.’

Aiden echoed her sentiments. “Mason is right. If this Chloe girl is his savior, then she’s your savior too. Giving a little blood each month won’t kill you. Don’t make a big deal out of nothing.”

Vivian’s heart had long ago been cast into a bottomless abyss. It was a cold, dark place with no light. She was used to the sharpest knives being wielded by her own family. The pain had become a familiar numbness. But as those knives plunged into her heart once more, it still bled.

The agony was fresh, unbearable. Perhaps, deep down, she still longed for the kind, doting father of her memories. But the man before her was a stranger.

He would watch his daughter’s blood be drawn and call it “nothing.” He would watch her be treated like a workhorse, her humanity stripped away with a list of cruel demands, and he would smile and grovel.

How pitiful she was. How pathetic, she thought. But no more. She would no longer hope for her father to change, because the most important person in her life had returned.

No one could ever compare to Sienna. Not even their mother, if she were to return. From a young age, it was Sienna who had raised them. She was the only one who mattered.

“Then it’s a blessing I’ll have to pass on,” Vivian said, her voice clear and steady. “Mason, I told you last night: I want to end the engagement. I will not marry you.”

She turned to Mrs. Quinn, whose eyes widened at her words. “And Mrs. Quinn, you can take your list of rules and tell them to your pets. Who in their right mind would want to marry into your family?”

With that, she turned her fiery gaze on Mason and her father. “What does Mason’s savior have to do with me? Why should I give her my blood? Who are you to demand it? If you’re so concerned, why don’t you give her your own blood?”

The words she had swallowed for years finally came pouring out. The Quinns were stunned into silence, their faces turning purple with rage. To be publicly refuted by a junior to them, Vivian had no manners at all.

“Who gave you the nerve to speak to us like that?” Mason’s face darkened. “I told you, this game of yours won’t work on me. If you keep this up, we’ll end the engagement today.”

“How ungrateful, you brat!” Mrs. Quinn pointed a trembling finger at Vivian. “My son is willing to marry you out of pity! Do you have any idea what a blessing it is for someone like you to marry into the Quinn family? You should be on your knees with gratitude!”

Aiden raised his hand to strike Vivian, but a slender arm shot out, catching his wrist in a grip of steel. And then, he was sent flying, crashing into a table and sending glasses shattering to the floor.

Smack! A red handprint bloomed on Mason’s cheek. It was Sienna. She was a vision of deadly elegance in a form-fitting black dress and high heels. Her presence was overwhelming. She stepped forward, pulling Vivian behind her.

“What’s all this barking?” she said, her voice dripping with contempt. “Who are these mongrels daring to threaten my sister? The Quinn family? A second-rate family that dares to put on airs in front of me?”

“You…” Linda stared at her familiar face, her eyes widening in terror. Her whole body began to shake.

“Who kicked me? Show yourself!” Aiden scrambled to his feet, roaring with rage. But when he saw the face of the woman standing beside Vivian, he collapsed as if his bones had turned to jelly.

“Selina!” He fell to his knees, his lips trembling as he uttered a name from the grave. As soon as he said it, he knew it was impossible. Selina Bayer was dead. He had buried her with his own hands. This woman… she was too young.

The answer was there, but he didn’t dare to speak it. It was Linda who finally found her voice, pointing a shaking finger. “You’re… you’re Sienna!”

The resemblance to Selina was uncanny. For a terrifying moment, she thought the woman had returned from the dead–the woman who had always made her feel so small, so insignificant.

But Sienna was even more beautiful, a perfect, devastating blend of Selina’s grace and Aiden’s features. The other Hart sisters were beautiful, but she was on another level entirely. And the resemblance was chilling.

It was then that Aiden finally understood. “Sienna… It’s really you! You’re back! You’re not dead!”

His joy was mingled with a healthy dose of fear. Even a decade ago, he hadn’t dared to challenge this daughter of his.

She was powerful beyond her years, capable of running an entire corporation while still young. Sharp-minded and ruthless in her methods, she was Selina’s child–raised and trained to be her successor. A mirror image of Selina, she perhaps even surpassed her. In her presence, Aiden, her father, was completely powerless.

“What’s the matter, Father?” Sienna’s icy gaze fell upon him. “Are you disappointed that I’m alive?”

Aiden shook his head so hard it seemed it might fly off. “No, no, of course not! I just… I never thought you’d come back safely. I'm so happy.”

Seeing Aiden’s fawning behavior, a wave of dread washed over Linda. She forced a strained smile. “Hello Sienna. I’m Linda. My dear, you shouldn’t have hit your father.”

She was about to launch into a grand speech, to paint Sienna as a villain. But before she could get started, Sienna cut her off.

“And who are you to tell me what to do?” Sienna’s voice was sharp. “Just a worthless bootlicker. After a few days of brown-nosing, you actually think you’re somebody!”

Linda’s face turned a shade of mottled purple. She was speechless.

Mrs. Quinn, seeing her son had been hit, finally erupted. “Where did you come from? How dare you hit my son! Are you looking to die?”