From Exile To Queen Of Everything - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Vivian stared at Vivian's face—so noble, so cool, so impossibly beautiful.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across Vivian's own lips. She strode forward. Smack! Smack! Two sharp slaps, one for each of Linda's cheeks.
Linda was stunned into silence. She couldn't believe it. The little tramp had actually hit her. "Vivian, you dare to hit me!"
"What's wrong?" Vivian spat, her voice dripping with newfound venom. "Your mouth is filthy, Linda. And so are you. A shameless, disgusting, morally bankrupt woman."
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Linda was furious, but she could do nothing.
Sienna crossed her arms, a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "Excellent. the rest of you," she said to her security team, "will collect the remainder of the debt on my sister's behalf."
One of the guards stepped forward and delivered a rapid series of slaps to Linda's face. She didn't even have time to scream before her face swelled up like a balloon, a symphony of throbbing pain.
"And you," Sienna said, turning to the maids Linda had hired, the ones who had stood by and watched Vivian's breakdown. "You're all fired."
They looked pleadingly at Linda, who could only glare back through her swollen eyes, speechless with rage.
"On what grounds?" Linda fought back. "They work for me! Sienna, your father and I are a legally married couple!"
"A couple?" Sienna laughed. "A couple needs a marriage certificate. Did you ever get one?"
Linda's face went from white to green. Sienna knew they wouldn't have.
Marrying Linda would have required Aiden to relinquish his shares in the Hart Corporation, and he was far too greedy for that.
Their mother had been brilliant. Even in death, she had ensured her deadbeat husband couldn't use her money to marry another woman.
Just then, Aiden burst back in, dragging a large, balding man behind him. "What's the rush? Why'd you drag me to your house?" the man grumbled.
The moment Vivian saw him, the blood drained from her face, the old wounds tearing open anew. Linda, however, smirked.
Aiden was panting, his face a mask of fury. No matter how flawed Vivian was, she was still his daughter. "Kevin, you bastard!" he roared. "I considered you a friend, and you assaulted my daughter!"
Kevin feigned confusion. "What are you talking about, Aiden? I don't understand."
"Don't play dumb with me! Nine years ago, I invited you to my home as a guest, and you attacked my daughter! Do you want to die?"
Kevin's face stiffened. He saw Vivian and it all came back to him. So, they're digging up old dirt. But it was so long ago. "I don't know what you're talking about," he blustered. "You need proof to make accusations like that, Aiden. What proof do you have?"
Sienna put a comforting arm around Vivian. "It's okay. He didn't succeed. Let's show them the proof and send him to prison, shall we?"
Vivian sniffled and nodded, her voice ringing with conviction. "I have proof."
All the cameras in the house had been removed back then, but the one in her room had remained. She had kept the evidence for nine long years, knowing her father wouldn't believe her, that Linda would just talk her way out of it.
Kevin's face paled. "You brat, that was years ago! You're talking nonsense! Aiden, control your daughter!"
Crash! Sienna picked up a teapot from a nearby table and smashed it over his head. Blood instantly matted his hair.
"Ah!" Linda screamed.
Sienna tossed the broken porcelain aside. "You will pay for this." she hissed.
"You—you!" Kevin stared at her in terror, his hands flying to his bleeding head. He saw the ghost of Selina. No, she couldn't be this young.
"We received a report of an assault," a police officer said, stepping into the room. "Kevin, you're under arrest for the violent assault of a minor. Come with us."
As they cuffed him, Kevin struggled. "On what grounds? What proof do you have?"
"We have video surveillance of the crime," the officer stated flatly. "If you resist further, we will be forced to use non-lethal force."
Vivian turned to Sienna, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Sienna, how did you get... ?" She had kept that video hidden so carefully.
Sienna just smiled and ruffled her hair. "Because I'm your sister."
The previous night, after Vivian's confession, she had immediately sent Lana to investigate. There was no physical evidence, but Sienna remembered the camera in Vivian's room.
She had Lana track any packages Vivian might have mailed, and sure enough, they found a record of a video file sent to a secure storage facility nine years ago.
Vivian nodded, a feeling of absolute safety washing over her. The secrets that had poisoned her for years were finally out in the open. She looked at her sister, who seemed to radiate a light that chased away all shadows.
"Miss Sienna, Miss Vivian," the chef announced. "Dinner is served."
Linda couldn't believe it. There was evidence. She was furious.
And Aiden... Aiden looked at Vivian with a deep, profound guilt. A sixteen-year-old girl... how could he have been so blind? He remembered her trying to tell him, but he had slapped her, called her a liar, accused her of trying to frame an innocent man.
He had believed Linda's silver-tongued lies. The truth was more horrific than he could have imagined. His gaze toward Linda hardened. When she tried to take his arm, he brushed her off and walked away.
Linda's face darkened. Sienna, you think a few little victories will bring me down? She thought to herself. Dream on.
At the dinner table, not a single dish was to Linda's liking. "Who cooked this?" she demanded. "Why didn't you follow my menu?"
The staff ignored her completely.
Aiden wordlessly placed a piece of meat on Vivian's plate.
If he had shown her even a fraction of this concern nine years ago, perhaps she wouldn't be the broken girl she was today.
Vivian, after a moment's hesitation, ate the meat.
The three of them ate in comfortable silence, leaving Linda to fume.
Sienna, catching her venomous glare out of the corner of her eye, gave a quiet order. "It seems this meal is not to Mrs. Lambert's taste. We wouldn't want to inconvenience her."
Two guards appeared, grabbed Linda by the arms, covered her mouth, and unceremoniously threw her out the front door.
Aiden opened his mouth to protest, but then thought better of it and returned to his meal.