Chapter 5 - Sienna’s Ledger
By Wednesday, the media storm surrounding the Vance family was total.
Headlines across major news outlets screamed:
"WEDDING OF THE CENTURY TURNS INTO FEDERAL RAID"
"VANCE CREST HOLDINGS CEO OUSTED AMID FORGERY & PENSION FRAUD"
"THE BIGAMIST EXECUTIVE: HOW ARTHUR VANCE FOOLED HIGH SOCIETY"
Sienna had locked herself inside the luxury penthouse apartment Arthur had rented for them downtown. She hadn't washed her hair in four days, still wearing a faded hotel robe, surrounded by half-eaten takeout containers and dozens of unopened wedding gifts stacked in the hallway.
At 2:00 PM, the doorbell rang.
Sienna rushed to the door, hoping against hope that it was Arthur’s high-priced defense attorney with news that it was all a terrible misunderstanding.
She pulled the door open.
I stood in the hallway, holding a thin manila envelope.
Sienna’s face hardened instantly, her eyes flashing with pure, unadulterated venom. "You," she spat, trying to slam the door in my face.
I placed my shoe firmly against the frame, preventing it from closing. "I'd let me in if I were you, Sienna. Unless you want the city marshals to explain this envelope to you on the sidewalk."
Sienna hesitated, her hand shaking on the doorknob, before slowly stepping back and letting me walk into the foyer.
"You ruined my life!" Sienna screamed, tears welling in her puffy red eyes as she stalked into the living room. "You ruined my wedding day! You humiliated me in front of two hundred people! You brought a fake woman from Seattle to ruin Arthur!"
"Brooke isn't fake, Sienna," I said calmly, looking around the pristine, white-marble apartment. "And her marriage certificate was verified by the state prosecutor two hours ago. Arthur is legally married to her. Which means your little wedding was nothing more than an expensive photo shoot."
"He loved me!" Sienna cried, throwing a glass vase against the wall, where it shattered into a hundred glittering shards. "He loved me! He chose me over you because I was better for him!"
"He chose you because you were easy to manipulate," I said, setting the manila envelope on the kitchen island. "And because my father offered him my company shares as a dowry."
Sienna whirled around, her chest heaving. "What is that envelope?"
"That," I said, tapping the paper, "is an eviction notice for this penthouse."
Sienna froze. "What?"
"Arthur didn't pay for this apartment with his salary, Sienna," I explained gently, as if speaking to a child. "He paid for it using a credit line secured against the company's employee retirement fund. Since those funds have been seized by the federal receiver, the lease is void. You have forty-eight hours to clear your clothes out."
"No... no!" Sienna grabbed the envelope, ripping it open, scanning the legal notices with panicked eyes. "This can't be happening! My car... what about my car?!"
"The Mercedes was registered under Vance Crest Corporate Leasing," I replied. "It was repossessed from the parking garage downstairs an hour ago."
Sienna dropped to her knees on the hardwood floor, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching the eviction papers against her chest. "Why are you doing this to me, Eleanor?! I'm your sister! I'm your younger sister!"
I crouched down in front of her, meeting her gaze until she was forced to look at me.
"When you took Arthur from me, Sienna, I stayed silent," I said softly. "When you took my office on the twentieth floor, I stayed silent. When you sat at the family dinner table and laughed while Dad told me I let emotions get in the way, you smiled."
Sienna swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "Eleanor..."
"You thought I was weak because I didn't scream at you," I continued, my voice steady and deadly calm. "You mistook my patience for surrender. But the truth is, Sienna, I was just letting you stack the weight so high that when it fell, it would crush you completely."
May you like
I stood up, adjusting my coat.
"The wedding gift I sent you wasn't meant to hurt you," I said as I walked toward the front door. "It was meant to educate you. Welcome to the real world, little sister."
