Chapter 5 - The Unraveling Lie
Two weeks after the bail hearing, while I remained in the hospital under close observation, a unexpected visitor requested access to my floor.
It was Sienna.
She stood at the doorway of my room, wearing an oversized sweater and plain jeans, looking entirely different from the glamorous mistress who had crashed my baby shower. Her face was pale, and she looked exhausted, holding a small brown folder tightly against her chest.
"Mara?" she asked softly, her voice trembling. "Can I talk to you? Please?"
Naomi, who was sitting near the window, immediately stood up, stepping between Sienna and my bed. "She shouldn't be here, Mara. I'll call security."
"Wait, Naomi," I said softly. I looked at Sienna, seeing the genuine terror in her eyes. "Let her speak. But stay in the room."
Sienna walked in hesitantly, her eyes scanning the medical equipment surrounding my bed before landing on my round stomach. "I... I came to tell you I'm sorry," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I didn't know he was going to hurt you. I swear to God, I didn't know."
"You came to my baby shower to humiliate me, Sienna," I said, my voice measured and calm. "You stood beside him while his mother called me a parasite."
"Because Adrian lied to me!" Sienna cried out, clutching the folder closer. "He told me you were abusive! He told me you were keeping him trapped in a dead marriage for his money! He said you were faking your pregnancy complications to make his family look bad!"
"And you believed him because he bought you expensive jewelry?" Naomi interjected sharply.
Sienna shook her head violently. "No! Because I was stupid! Because I thought he loved me! But two days ago, after Adrian was denied bail, Victor and Celeste came to my apartment. They tried to make me sign a legal agreement."
She opened the brown folder and handed a document to Naomi, who scanned it quickly before her eyes widened in shock.
"What is this?" Naomi asked.
"They wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement and a custody waiver," Sienna said, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "They offered me fifty thousand dollars to give them my baby the moment it's born, and then disappear out of the country."
I sat up straighter, my eyes narrowing. "They wanted to buy your baby?"
"They said since you took their company, this child was the only chance the Vale name had left to regain its status," Sienna sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "When I refused, Victor told me he would destroy me. He said he would make sure I ended up in prison as an accomplice to Adrian's assault charges!"
I felt a cold rage blossom in my chest. Victor and Celeste were not just arrogant; they were predatory monsters who viewed human beings as commodities to be traded and manipulated.
"Sit down, Sienna," I said, pointing to the chair beside my bed.
She wiped her tears and sat down nervously.
"Are you pregnant?" I asked gently.
Sienna pulled a folded paper from her pocket and handed it to me. It was a medical ultrasound report from a private clinic dated three days prior.
I looked at the document, then looked up at her in silence.
"It says here you're six weeks pregnant," I noted softly. "When Adrian brought you to my baby shower, he claimed you were three months along."
Sienna lowered her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "He forced me to lie about how far along I was to make the threat to you seem more immediate. He wanted to break your spirit so you would sign the divorce papers that afternoon."
"And the baby?" I asked. "Is it Adrian's?"
"Yes," she whispered. "I went to my doctor yesterday. I'm terrified, Mara. I don't have money for lawyers. My parents disowned me when the video went viral. I have nowhere to go, and Victor's private investigators are following me everywhere."
I looked at Naomi, who gave me a slight, subtle nod.
"Harrison Vance will be here in an hour," I told Sienna. "You will give a full, sworn deposition to our legal team about Adrian's premeditated plot to extort me at the baby shower. In exchange, the Ashford Trust will provide you with full legal protection, a secure apartment, and comprehensive medical care for the duration of your pregnancy."
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Sienna looked at me in disbelief. "After... after everything I did to you? Why would you help me?"
"Because you're young, stupid, and were used as a weapon against me," I said plainly. "But more importantly, because no child deserves to be born into the hands of Victor and Celeste Vale."
