Chapter 11

Vivian bit her lip hard. It was always the same story. People believed being with Mason was a gift for her from the heavens, and she should be grateful. Her own pain was just her being “difficult” and “immature.” They never saw the wounds he inflicted.

But Sienna let out a cold laugh. “Who says no one will marry my sister?” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “Vallaris is full of good men. Or did all of them die and leave Mason as the last man on Earth?”

Aiden was speechless, and Linda tried again, her voice dripping with false sincerity. “Oh, Sienna, maybe that’s a bit too much. We’ve all seen how kind Mason’s been to Vivian. And you know how messy feelings get. We’re only saying this because we care about her.”

“Exactly,” Aiden chimed in.

A smug smile touched Mason’s lips. He looked at Vivian, a silent challenge in his eyes. “Vivian,” he said slowly, “let’s just forget this ever happened. If you learn to behave, I’m still willing to marry you.”

Vivian clung to Sienna’s arm, pressing close, and made a sound of disgust at Mason. Sienna just laughed, her scornful gaze sweeping over him.

“Do you have any idea what you’re worth?” she sneered. “And you have the audacity to stand here and talk about being willing to marry Vivian? Look at yourself. You’re not worthy of her.”

Being slapped down by Sienna was one thing, but this public humiliation pushed Mason over the edge. Furious, he shot back, “So what if you’re her sister? You don’t scare me!”

“Guards,” ignoring him, Sienna called out. “Escort this garbage out.”

Two guards immediately entered and grabbed Mason, dragging him towards the door.

“Let go of me!” Mason yelled. “How dare you! You bastards, let me go!”

His protests faded as he was unceremoniously hauled out of the house. With the noise gone, Aiden turned on Sienna.

“Look at what you’ve done!” he snapped. “You’re only happy tearing this family apart. The Harts and Quinns have an alliance, and you’ve ruined it. You come back just to wreck everything! What’s your plan, Sienna?”

Emboldened by Linda’s presence, Aiden’s confidence surged. He was the head of this house, the heir to the Hart Corporation. To him, Sienna had just returned, and she couldn’t possibly defy him.

“Ten years, and your voice has gotten louder, Father. A slight improvement,” Sienna’s gaze flickered past Linda’s nervous face and landed on Aiden.

“But I think you’ve forgotten something,” she continued. “You’ve forgotten who the rightful heir, or heiress, to the Hart Corporation is. Or has playing pretend for a decade made you forget your own place?”

Aiden had no rebuttal. The heiress to the Hart Corporation was, indeed, Sienna. Even her sisters had no shares, and he only held one percent.

Linda clenched her fist. “Sienna, you’re the heiress, but think of your father. You were gone ten years. He kept the company afloat. Are you really going to come back and try to take it from him? Is that how a daughter acts?”

Sienna barely glanced at her. “What’s your surname?” she asked.

Linda was taken aback, “My surname is Lam-”

“Right, Lambert. But this is the Harts’ business,” Sienna cut her off flatly.

It took Linda a moment to understand the insult. The quiet snickers from the remaining guests made her face burn with humiliation and anger. Aiden was about to defend her, but Sienna’s next words sent a chill down his spine.

“I remember making a rule,” she said, her voice dangerously quiet. “That no one was to touch my mother’s things.”

Linda flinched. After Selina had died, Sienna had decreed that her mother’s room, her clothes, her jewelry, were all to be left untouched. It was a rule no one had dared to break. Until now.

And here was Linda, wearing her mother’s necklace, her mother’s dress. Sienna had never felt such a white-hot rage. Memories of her mother, of their life together, flooded her mind, and her eyes turned red.

Aiden avoided her gaze as Linda, shaken by Sienna’s stare, tugged his sleeve. “Darling, it’s not what you think! I just want Vivian to accept me as her mother. They’ve resented me since I arrived, but you’re their father. I can’t let them be unfilial.”

Her tearful performance moved Aiden deeply. He knew it. Linda was the only one who truly cared for him. “Linda, I know your intentions are good,” he comforted, then turning back to Sienna.

“Sienna, Linda meant no harm,” he said. “Besides, your mother has been gone for many years. The clothes are just sitting there. If Linda likes them, let her wear them. We’re all family, aren’t we?”

“We are not family!” Vivian exploded. “That’s my mother’s dress! This is my mother’s house! Who is she to wear her clothes?”

Aiden glared at her. “You brat, shut your mouth!”