From Exile To Queen Of Everything - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

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!"
He hadn't wanted to believe it when Linda told him, but now he saw it with his own eyes. The girl was truly unhinged.
Meanwhile, Sienna found Vivian missing when she woke up. She hurried downstairs, and then 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 about her!
Aiden stammered, "Sienna, it's not what it looks like! 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. Last night she had hurt her. Today she had lost control again. I'm a burden, she thought, her self-hatred a bitter poison. I should just die. I shouldn't be alive.
"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 not dirty. You are perfect. And there is nothing wrong with you. Vivian, I told you, 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 have no respect! 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," Sienna said, her voice dropping to a glacial calm. "For now, get out of my sight." She pulled out her phone and called Lana. "Bring up the security footage."
Linda, hearing the word "footage," panicked. When did they install cameras? She'd had them all removed when she first moved in.
Sienna dragged Aiden in front of the large television screen. She played the video. They watched as Linda sadistically whispered her cruel taunts, deliberately triggering Vivian's trauma. Aiden's eyes widened in horror. Linda... how could she say such things?
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. You have ten minutes to bring me the man who hurt my sister when she was sixteen. And don't you dare tell me you don't know who I'm talking about. 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. Ten minutes meant ten minutes.
Sienna strolled over to where Linda was cowering. Linda scrambled backward until her back hit a wall. "What do you want?" she stammered. "Sienna, I am your elder! 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!" Linda gritted her teeth.
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!" That coward? 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 stunned and thought. 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."