"Whose tie clip is this?"
Sienna picked it up, her fingers tracing the cool metal. The design was minimalist yet striking.
She brought the platinum clip to her nose. A faint, expensive scent lingered on it—Armani cologne.
Outside, paparazzi swarmed the hotel entrance, a pack of wolves waiting for a story. Sienna slipped out through a service exit and called Arthur, arranging to meet. Now, seated in a quiet coffee shop, she watched the distant skyscrapers pierce the clouds.
Port Sterling was a glittering monument to prosperity, an international hub of commerce and power.
Her gaze drifted to the massive electronic screen dominating the international trade building. A financial news interview was playing, featuring the CEO of Apex Global. Ace. The man at the helm of America's number one international company.
A modern business legend, a miracle worker who had built an empire on his singular vision. The tabloids loved him, constantly speculating about his private life. She’d even seen a ridiculous rumor that he was gay.
On screen, the man wore a sharp, silver-grey suit. The camera caught his face in a three-quarter profile, his thin lips curved in a subtle, knowing smile. He projected an aura of cool indifference, the untouchable charm of a modern-day nobleman that women found irresistible.
A chyron at the bottom of the screen displayed his name: Ace, CEO of Apex Global.
At a nearby table on the cafe’s terrace, a group of socialites were gossiping about that very man. “I heard Ace just got back today from that Chamber of Commerce summit in the States. He’s truly the most successful entrepreneur of our generation. Imagine getting a chance to meet him… How could any woman not fall for a man like that?”
“Amazing,” Sienna murmured, her eyes fixed on the screen. A bitter smile touched her lips as she sighed. “If I’d met someone like you before I met Preston… maybe I would have fallen for you, too.”
But a man like that was from another world entirely. He was a king, and she was just the adopted daughter of the Vance Family. They were worlds apart, that eye-catching man and her.
Soon, the Vance Family’s car pulled up to the curb. Arthur, the family butler, got out and hurried over to her table. “Miss Sienna, are you alright?”
Sienna managed a weary smile. “I’m fine, Arthur. The paparazzi didn’t see me.”
“That’s good.” Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. “Right now, every media outlet in the city is focused on you and Preston. He’s incredibly popular on social media, and his fans… some of them are quite zealous. You could be attacked if the paparazzi find you.”
She knew how vicious some fanbases could be. After the news of her “cheating” on Preston at their own engagement party, his loyal followers must despise her.
Knowing she would only find vitriol, Sienna had avoided looking at the news online. “I’ll be careful. I called you because I need to know… what’s happening at home?”
This particular cafe catered to a clientele of celebrities and socialites, and at this hour, it was quiet. No one had paid her any mind.
“Alas.” Arthur’s expression was pained. “Miss Sienna, I’m so sorry. The master has forbidden you from returning to the house.”
“So Dad really intends to disown me?” Sienna recalled Chloe’s triumphant words at the press conference, a humorless smile twisting her lips.
Arthur looked deeply uncomfortable. “Where did you go last night, Miss Sienna?”
“Preston told me to meet him.”
“What?”
“He admitted it on the phone today.” Sienna gave a placid smile, a mask for the raw wound in her heart. “He’s in love with Chloe. He never wanted to marry me. My leaving the party last night was just the grand excuse he needed to publicly break things off.” Arthur looked utterly shocked. “So it’s true… Mr. Monarch and Miss Vance…”
“They set me up,” Sienna’s voice was low, her clenched fists trembling slightly. “They drugged me and tricked me into leaving our own engagement party.”
The betrayal felt like a physical blow. She had devoted herself completely to Preston, only to discover he and Chloe had conspired to frame her for having an affair.
“Auntie Eleanor handed me a glass of wine last night. After I drank it, my head felt cloudy,” Sienna recounted, forcing herself to remember. “Then I got that call from Preston, telling me to leave. I woke up this morning to Preston announcing at a press conference that I’d cheated, and Chloe declaring that the Vance Family had revoked my company shares.”
“But didn’t you have to personally sign those documents to give up your shares? To transfer them to the First Miss?”
Sienna sneered. “Of course not. Chloe had the company documents signed for me while I was unconscious last night.”
To think Chloe had actually managed to transfer all of Sienna’s shares to herself. The girl’s duplicity was truly something to behold.
Arthur, who had always believed in Sienna, broke out in a cold sweat. “Miss Sienna, we must go back to the Vance estate at once. You have to tell the master what happened. This is no small matter.”
“And would it help? Will Dad believe me over them?” Sienna knew this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment plan. To steal her shares, Chloe and Preston must have been plotting this for a very long time.
Just then, a black sedan purred to a stop at the curb beside the cafe.
Two men in immaculate suits emerged. They scanned the open-air terrace, and their eyes locked onto Sienna.
“Are you Miss Sienna Vance?” they asked, approaching her table with folders in their hands.
The man in gold-rimmed glasses, who carried himself like a high-level assistant, slid a check from his folder. “My name is Ethan Cole. I’m a secretary. This check is for you, Miss Vance. As for the reason, my master said I need only mention room 8807 at the Sovereign Hotel last night. That should be sufficient explanation.”
Room 8807. A jolt went through Sienna. That was the presidential suite she had stumbled out of this morning. This had to be from the man she’d spent the night with.
Her eyes fell to the check, the number of zeroes stark against the paper. Was this payment for the night?
She fought down a surge of savage rage, forcing a sweet, serene smile onto her face as she stood. “Please, wait just a moment.”
Sienna knew the cafe well. She walked calmly to the front counter. “May I have an envelope and a pen, please?”
“Of course,” the receptionist replied, handing her a fine, cream-colored envelope.
She tucked a few bills inside, then tore a page from her personal notebook and quickly scribbled a short, cutting message: You were wonderful. Here’s a tip.
Note finished, she returned to the table with a perfect smile, holding the envelope out to Ethan with both hands. “My apologies for the wait. Please tell your master I have no need for his check. Give this to him instead, and assure him there’s no need to thank me.”
The secretary and his companion exchanged a bewildered look.
“As you wish, Miss Vance. I will return and inform our master, and I will deliver this personally.”
The man was every bit the professional senior secretary, his words and actions crisp and unwavering. After the car had pulled away, Sienna crossed her arms. “Hmph. Thinks he can solve everything with money.”
He used her, didn’t even have the decency to show his face, and now he sends an underling with a check? What did he take her for?
What a joke. If anyone had done the sleeping around, it was she who had slept with him!
“Miss Sienna?” Arthur was staring at the space where the car had been, a flicker of fear in his eyes. “That secretary… Ethan Cole. The name sounds terribly familiar. Have you offended someone important?” Sienna said nothing. She pulled out the platinum tie clip, the one with the lion’s head. She turned it over in her palm and saw the letters engraved on the back. Ethan Blackwood.
An abbreviation of a name?
What in the world?
Sienna sneered. “It’s nothing. Let’s go. I’m going home.”